Take a photo of a barcode or cover
couldnt finish it knowing there was going to be a hea after the mmc rapes the fmc after gossip and miscommunication make him angry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Minor: Emotional abuse
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is going to be a long one, I fear. I shall endeavour to do my best.
This book was first published in 1985. That’s the edition I thrifted and read. It has since been edited around 1999 and that’s the edition most see. Even the edited version includes some serious CWs (I read a few scenes from the newer edition to see what had changed, and the answer was “not everything”.) Read this book with care, friends, and keep your HR goggles on and put it down if you need to.
Whitney is young, stupid, impetuous, and infatuated with the local hottie, Paul. He strings her along until she goes to Paris to live with her aunt and uncle bc her mean, worthless dad “can’t do anything with her”. She comes back from Paris and is obviously gorgeous and perfect and desirable, bc #reasons. Paul finally sees her and wants her and foibles between them ensue. What neither of them know is that a masked man at a masquerade in Paris became equally infatuated with Whitney, and has arranged a betrothal agreement (and large amount of money) with her father. The Duke of Claymore WILL have his way.
Here’s important part: Whitney and Clayton are stupid. They are stupid for each other with the amount of love they’ve got, and they’re stupid for letting their anger control them (so. much. stupid. anger.) and they’re also a bit stupid for what I believe is 4 massive miscommunications that aren’t necessary and make the book quote long.
The other important part is it’s got the “I love my abuser” angle- even in the edited version. His I love yous and soothing kisses are enough for Whitney to apparently forget he’s a name-calling, degrading, and sometimes physically violent jerk. But he loves her! He does!
Okay now here’s the tough part. This book is compulsively readable! I was ALL IN. I had a love/hate feeling for Whitney immediately because she was incredibly fun and different from a lot of other heroines I’ve read, and despite her stupidity, I was on her team. Clayton is actually, and I’m sorry about this, hot sometimes. He smirks in all the right places, and worships Whitney about as often as he’s mean to her, but his toxicity (apparently bred into the Westmoreland Dukes from birth?) overrode all the rest of that for me, as it should have.
Anyway, TL; DR -
Am I recommending this book? Probably not. Did I enjoy my read of it? Yes, both as a study of historical romance and a story that was very compelling to read. Did it handle any of the heavy topics it should have? No, bc 1985. Is it an utter icon on the genre, against culture’s better judgement? It sure is. I dare not give it a star rating, but out of sheer curiosity, I will, in fact, be reading more McNaught!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Gaslighting
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book would’ve been a perfect 5/5 if it had been like 150-200 pages shorter.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Rape
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Gaslighting
Moderate: Emotional abuse
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’ll get straight to the point. I hated it. The only reason I forced myself to endure the entirety of this book and not DNF it was at the insistence of a friend who said it’s her favourite historical romance.
I must note that the copy of the book my friend read was a newer version that had been subject to some rewrites by Ms McNaught (where I believe some of the more abusive moments in the story we’re ‘watered down’), whereas the copy I read was the original text.
Clayton Westmoreland is the most vile, disgusting, controlling, pathetic excuse for a ‘hero’ I’ve ever read about. It didn’t take me long to realise that no amount of grovelling would ever redeem this character in my eyes.
This book left me feeling so angry every time I put it down that my mood would be sour for a good while afterwards.
This story would leave me so enraged that I couldn’t even put my thoughts into actual sentences, so here are my various reactions as I had them (⛔️ Warning: explicit language ahead⛔️):
* douchebag
* Abusive
* Insecure arsehole
* Doesn’t communicate until he’s worked himself into a rage
* Mind games
* There better be some damn good grovelling to make up for this shit
* “Little one”? Ew
* She’s going to spend the rest of her life walking on eggshells
* Page 347: “Clayton did love her. Love and possessiveness were driving him to do this terrible thing to her - she had driven him to it...” fuck that! It’s not love, it’s power, arrogance and control. And she’s blaming herself!
* ‘She was prepared to show him she was sorry - she was prepared to let him do this to her’ - victim thinking they deserve the abuse
* “I don’t want you to enjoy this too much my love” - a far cry from sweet nothings and promises of love (p 348)
* “If you’ll let me” he implored “I’d like to explain” - Clayton. OH SO YOU’RE ALLOWED TO EXPLAIN WHEN IT SUITS YOU BUT BUGGER IT WHEN WHITNEY TRIED TO EXPLAIN!
* ‘Instead he had coldly and deliberately taken her innocence. And in doing so, he had lost more than she had....’ you fucking self-important arsehole. You’ve just raped a woman but still this is all about you. The world just revolves around you at all times, doesn’t it?
* Page 354: ‘...a trial and the public scandal attached to it would ruin Whitney for as long as she lived.’ - How utterly shameful that a trial of a sexual offender would do more damage to the victim’s reputation than that of the perpetrator? There’s your polite fucking society for you!
* Page 363: ‘Oh Christ! he had all but raped her and she had cried in his arms’ - ah, mate there’s no “all but” about it, you DID rape her!
* Page 363: ‘There was nothing he could ever do to atone for the profane act he had committed against her.’ - my sentiments exactly. I don’t know how Ms McNaught could possibly salvage this relationship.
* Wow, his remorse lasted a whole four weeks. Speechless
* ‘He thought of apologising for ravaging her, but in view of the crime he had committed against her an apology was ludicrously inadequate.’ - no shit Sherlock!
* Page 433: “How will I ever wait eight weeks to make you mine?” - literally one of the worst things he could have said. Well done, dipshit.
* Page 433: ‘Eight weeks until his desire could run its natural course to fulfilment and, in that time, she would come to want him too (oh, would she now? You’ve decided that have you), and to realise that he would never hurt her (pfffft you already did, bro)
* Page 435: ‘She might be afraid of his making love to her now, but she was still a warm, passionate creature, and she would soon dismiss her fears.’ - and there he goes again dismissing the severity of what he did and the impact it may have had on her
* ‘.....she reminded Clayton of a little girl who ought to be wearing white stockings and a ruffled dress.....But here the image ended, for there was nothing childish about the lush, tantalising curves displayed to such advantage by her amber riding habit.’ - Um, ew. 🤮 I get that he’s saying she’s not a child and so there’s nothing wrong with wanting to screw her brains out in full view of the gardeners, but only a moment before he was basking in her childlike innocence.
* ‘She told him the whole story, simply, without trying to hide the hurt and anger she’d felt toward him.’ - Hallelujah 🙌 finally some fucking communication 👏👏👏
* Page 437: Laughing at her when she’s shocked he only wants to kiss her and not rape her again - classy
* Page 454: ‘He could hardly believe that after eight weeks, Whitney still thought of the final culmination of their desires as some form of punishment to which she must “submit”. - no, why would a woman who’s intimate knowledge is limited and who’s only sexual experience has been a violent one, possibly be afraid of the idea of sex?
Instances where Clayton could have been a decent fucking human being but instead decided that the opinions of others were validation enough to be a controlling shitpouch:
* when he broke up the mock proposal on the balcony (p 339-340)
* When Whitney said clearly “stop this, you’re hurting me!” (p 340)
* When he told her to “shut up!” In the carriage as she was trying to explain the mock proposal (p 340)
* When she was terrified but forced herself to ask where they were going (p 341)
* When he cut her off as she was about to explain that he didn’t need to take her to Scotland to marry her because she’d decided she’d happily do so whenever he wanted (p 341)
* ‘Pleadingly, Whitney laid her hand on his arm. “I can explain about Paul. You see—“.’ This was literally where he could have received a full explanation but instead decided to cause her physical farm (p 342)
* “You should sleep now. You’ve a long and exhausting night ahead of you” (p 342)
* When she was about to jump out of a moving fucking carriage because it seemed more bearable than being the object of his anger with no way to defend/explain herself (p 342 - 343)
* When she successfully managed to tell him she’d done as he’d asked, turning down Paul and then removed herself from the vicinity. This should have been exactly what he wanted to hear but decided to tell her to “stop boring me with your explanations”. (p 343 - 344)
* Immediately followed by threatening rape (p 344)
* When she was obviously terrified of entering his house (p 344)
* When for a second time Whitney clearly asked him to stop. “Please, please stop this!” Whitney begged frantically as he kicked open the door to a bedroom and strode inside. (p 344)
* Again when she was looking for an exit from the situation (p 345)
* Whitney’s final attempt to explain what happened in Clayton‘s absence (“About Paul—“) followed by a death threat (p 345)
* Her broken apology (p 347)
So, “why give this book 1.5 stars”, you ask? Because the writing itself was good. There’s no denying that Ms McNaught can tell a story. And the detail with which she tells her stories is fantastic. Also, the story itself was compelling. Had it revolved around different characters who behaved less abominably, I probably would have enjoyed it.
It’s just an appalling shame that she chose to make the ‘hero’ (and I use that term very loosely here) someone I would happily have pushed in front of a moving carriage or off a balcony, if I’d had the chance.
As for Whitney, amazingly she grew on me throughout the story. I started off really not liking her but by the end was able to admire her strength.
My advice, if you’re planning on reading this book: don’t even bother. Pick up A Kingdom of Dreams instead.
If on the other hand you’re looking to order a McDisaster meal with a side of emotional abuse, this is the book for you.
I must note that the copy of the book my friend read was a newer version that had been subject to some rewrites by Ms McNaught (where I believe some of the more abusive moments in the story we’re ‘watered down’), whereas the copy I read was the original text.
Clayton Westmoreland is the most vile, disgusting, controlling, pathetic excuse for a ‘hero’ I’ve ever read about. It didn’t take me long to realise that no amount of grovelling would ever redeem this character in my eyes.
This book left me feeling so angry every time I put it down that my mood would be sour for a good while afterwards.
This story would leave me so enraged that I couldn’t even put my thoughts into actual sentences, so here are my various reactions as I had them (⛔️ Warning: explicit language ahead⛔️):
* douchebag
* Abusive
* Insecure arsehole
* Doesn’t communicate until he’s worked himself into a rage
* Mind games
* There better be some damn good grovelling to make up for this shit
* “Little one”? Ew
* She’s going to spend the rest of her life walking on eggshells
* ‘She was prepared to show him she was sorry - she was prepared to let him do this to her’ - victim thinking they deserve the abuse
* “I don’t want you to enjoy this too much my love” - a far cry from sweet nothings and promises of love (p 348)
* “If you’ll let me” he implored “I’d like to explain” - Clayton. OH SO YOU’RE ALLOWED TO EXPLAIN WHEN IT SUITS YOU BUT BUGGER IT WHEN WHITNEY TRIED TO EXPLAIN!
* ‘Instead he had coldly and deliberately taken her innocence. And in doing so, he had lost more than she had....’ you fucking self-important arsehole. You’ve just raped a woman but still this is all about you. The world just revolves around you at all times, doesn’t it?
* Page 354: ‘...a trial and the public scandal attached to it would ruin Whitney for as long as she lived.’ - How utterly shameful that a trial of a sexual offender would do more damage to the victim’s reputation than that of the perpetrator? There’s your polite fucking society for you!
* Page 363: ‘Oh Christ! he had all but raped her and she had cried in his arms’ - ah, mate there’s no “all but” about it, you DID rape her!
* Page 363: ‘There was nothing he could ever do to atone for the profane act he had committed against her.’ - my sentiments exactly. I don’t know how Ms McNaught could possibly salvage this relationship.
* Wow, his remorse lasted a whole four weeks. Speechless
* ‘He thought of apologising for ravaging her, but in view of the crime he had committed against her an apology was ludicrously inadequate.’ - no shit Sherlock!
* Page 433: “How will I ever wait eight weeks to make you mine?” - literally one of the worst things he could have said. Well done, dipshit.
* Page 433: ‘Eight weeks until his desire could run its natural course to fulfilment and, in that time, she would come to want him too (oh, would she now? You’ve decided that have you), and to realise that he would never hurt her (pfffft you already did, bro)
* Page 435: ‘She might be afraid of his making love to her now, but she was still a warm, passionate creature, and she would soon dismiss her fears.’ - and there he goes again dismissing the severity of what he did and the impact it may have had on her
* ‘.....she reminded Clayton of a little girl who ought to be wearing white stockings and a ruffled dress.....But here the image ended, for there was nothing childish about the lush, tantalising curves displayed to such advantage by her amber riding habit.’ - Um, ew. 🤮 I get that he’s saying she’s not a child and so there’s nothing wrong with wanting to screw her brains out in full view of the gardeners, but only a moment before he was basking in her childlike innocence.
* ‘She told him the whole story, simply, without trying to hide the hurt and anger she’d felt toward him.’ - Hallelujah 🙌 finally some fucking communication 👏👏👏
* Page 437: Laughing at her when she’s shocked he only wants to kiss her and not rape her again - classy
* Page 454: ‘He could hardly believe that after eight weeks, Whitney still thought of the final culmination of their desires as some form of punishment to which she must “submit”. - no, why would a woman who’s intimate knowledge is limited and who’s only sexual experience has been a violent one, possibly be afraid of the idea of sex?
Instances where Clayton could have been a decent fucking human being but instead decided that the opinions of others were validation enough to be a controlling shitpouch:
* when he broke up the mock proposal on the balcony (p 339-340)
* When Whitney said clearly “stop this, you’re hurting me!” (p 340)
* When he told her to “shut up!” In the carriage as she was trying to explain the mock proposal (p 340)
* When she was terrified but forced herself to ask where they were going (p 341)
* When he cut her off as she was about to explain that he didn’t need to take her to Scotland to marry her because she’d decided she’d happily do so whenever he wanted (p 341)
* ‘Pleadingly, Whitney laid her hand on his arm. “I can explain about Paul. You see—“.’ This was literally where he could have received a full explanation but instead decided to cause her physical farm (p 342)
* “You should sleep now. You’ve a long and exhausting night ahead of you” (p 342)
* When she was about to jump out of a moving fucking carriage because it seemed more bearable than being the object of his anger with no way to defend/explain herself (p 342 - 343)
* When she successfully managed to tell him she’d done as he’d asked, turning down Paul and then removed herself from the vicinity. This should have been exactly what he wanted to hear but decided to tell her to “stop boring me with your explanations”. (p 343 - 344)
* Immediately followed by threatening rape (p 344)
* When she was obviously terrified of entering his house (p 344)
* When for a second time Whitney clearly asked him to stop. “Please, please stop this!” Whitney begged frantically as he kicked open the door to a bedroom and strode inside. (p 344)
* Again when she was looking for an exit from the situation (p 345)
* Whitney’s final attempt to explain what happened in Clayton‘s absence (“About Paul—“) followed by a death threat (p 345)
* Her broken apology (p 347)
So, “why give this book 1.5 stars”, you ask? Because the writing itself was good. There’s no denying that Ms McNaught can tell a story. And the detail with which she tells her stories is fantastic. Also, the story itself was compelling. Had it revolved around different characters who behaved less abominably, I probably would have enjoyed it.
It’s just an appalling shame that she chose to make the ‘hero’ (and I use that term very loosely here) someone I would happily have pushed in front of a moving carriage or off a balcony, if I’d had the chance.
As for Whitney, amazingly she grew on me throughout the story. I started off really not liking her but by the end was able to admire her strength.
My advice, if you’re planning on reading this book: don’t even bother. Pick up A Kingdom of Dreams instead.
If on the other hand you’re looking to order a McDisaster meal with a side of emotional abuse, this is the book for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So I don’t particularly want to rate this book because it is EXTREMELY problematic and in all honestly failed the one rule of romance for me which was a believable HEA where I thought the couple should be together. The writing was good and I did enjoy the banter but there was too much drama for me at times and I hated both of the main main characters at times while also loving them at times. This is a complicated read for me. While I’m glad I read it it’s not something I will be returning to and won’t go down as a favorite.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape