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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
This book is a roller-coaster ride of melodrama and angst -- a romance obviously inspired by Gothic classics like [b:Jane Eyre|10210|Jane Eyre|Charlotte Brontë|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327867269s/10210.jpg|2977639] and [b:Rebecca|17899948|Rebecca|Daphne du Maurier|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386605169s/17899948.jpg|46663], in which the heroine is constantly put upon and goes through hell, and the brooding, tormented hero really doesn't deserve her at all. Lily lacks the polish and depth of characterization of Gaffney's later novels like [b:To Have and To Hold|525622|To Have and To Hold (Wyckerley Trilogy, #2)|Patricia Gaffney|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1309201518s/525622.jpg|776433] (with which this book has a lot of similarities) and [b:Wild at Heart|470398|Wild at Heart|Patricia Gaffney|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1429760760s/470398.jpg|1696562], but I still got easily and happily swept up in the story.
Gaffney's heroines are amazing women, and Lily Trehearne is no exception. She is put through the wringer time after time: by her controlling cousin who wants her, for his own self-serving reasons, to marry his son; by the housekeeper at the manor house to which she escapes and finds work as a maid, who makes Mrs. Danvers seem warm and fuzzy; and by the hero, Devon Darkwell (That name! Did I mention this was a Gothic romance?), who treats her abominably for most of the book and, frankly, isn't good enough for her. Lily really loves him, though, so I couldn't help pulling for him to get his act together so she could finally have her heart's flawed desire.
Devon has a tragic past, having been abandoned by his wife years before. She only married him for his money and status (he's a viscount), and eventually ran off with another man, taking her and Devon's 8-month-old son with her. The baby died due to the wife's neglect, followed soon after by the wife and her lover. Devon doesn't trust women at all. He especially doesn't trust working-class women, having married below his station and been burned. So when Lily comes along, he is constantly fighting between his attraction to her and his inability to believe she could really be a good or trustworthy person.
It doesn't help that Lily actually is lying to him from the beginning, hiding her true name and identity after escaping from a big mess at home. Still, she is a caring, strong, intelligent, lovely woman, and he treats her so badly. Here's what he says to her at the end of the book,
"I've wronged you, Lily. From the first day we met. You were right about me - I set out to seduce you from the beginning, with no thought for the consequences or the harm it might do. You gave me - everything, and in return I offered you money. Later, I refined it to a living."
"I made that choice," she corrected softly. "You didn't force me into anything I didn't want to do."
"That's not true. But we both know that's not the worst." He girded himself to say it. "I thought you had hurt Clay - tried to kill him for money. I believed it. It's astonishing to me now; inconceivable. Abominable. I came so close to hurting you - physically hurting you." His face took on a haggard look, but he went on doggedly. "I tricked you on the eve of your wedding to a decent man. I used you in the basest possible way. I made sure that you were publicly humiliated, and then I abandoned you. I walked away and left you to face whatever would come, knowing it would be hard, something -"
He stopped. Lily had begun to cry. He couldn't look at her now, but he had to finish the harrowing list. "If Dr. Marsh hadn't explained it to me, I would not have looked for you. I'd have left you to your fate. You'd have perished with Gabriel on the moor."
Yep, that's about the size of it! He's a mess. She does at least make him suffer and grovel for a while before she forgives him, which is more than Rachel does with Sebastian in To Have and to Hold.
Even though the hero is a jerk, I enjoyed the heck out of this book. Aside from the head-hopping POV issues (which become less glaring as the book goes along), it's beautifully written and full of high drama and emotion. The story's setting on the windswept Cornish coast and the harsh, desolate moorland of southwest England is vividly described, and the secondary characters like Devon's brother Clay and Lily's housemaid friend Lowdy are well-written and interesting. Patricia Gaffney is so talented. I only wish she were still writing historical romance!
Gaffney's heroines are amazing women, and Lily Trehearne is no exception. She is put through the wringer time after time: by her controlling cousin who wants her, for his own self-serving reasons, to marry his son; by the housekeeper at the manor house to which she escapes and finds work as a maid, who makes Mrs. Danvers seem warm and fuzzy; and by the hero, Devon Darkwell (That name! Did I mention this was a Gothic romance?), who treats her abominably for most of the book and, frankly, isn't good enough for her. Lily really loves him, though, so I couldn't help pulling for him to get his act together so she could finally have her heart's flawed desire.
Devon has a tragic past, having been abandoned by his wife years before. She only married him for his money and status (he's a viscount), and eventually ran off with another man, taking her and Devon's 8-month-old son with her. The baby died due to the wife's neglect, followed soon after by the wife and her lover. Devon doesn't trust women at all. He especially doesn't trust working-class women, having married below his station and been burned. So when Lily comes along, he is constantly fighting between his attraction to her and his inability to believe she could really be a good or trustworthy person.
It doesn't help that Lily actually is lying to him from the beginning, hiding her true name and identity after escaping from a big mess at home. Still, she is a caring, strong, intelligent, lovely woman, and he treats her so badly. Here's what he says to her at the end of the book,
Spoiler
when having failed to gain her forgiveness, he has finally decided to give her what she claims to want - freedom from him, for herself and their newborn baby."I've wronged you, Lily. From the first day we met. You were right about me - I set out to seduce you from the beginning, with no thought for the consequences or the harm it might do. You gave me - everything, and in return I offered you money. Later, I refined it to a living."
"I made that choice," she corrected softly. "You didn't force me into anything I didn't want to do."
"That's not true. But we both know that's not the worst." He girded himself to say it. "I thought you had hurt Clay - tried to kill him for money. I believed it. It's astonishing to me now; inconceivable. Abominable. I came so close to hurting you - physically hurting you." His face took on a haggard look, but he went on doggedly. "I tricked you on the eve of your wedding to a decent man. I used you in the basest possible way. I made sure that you were publicly humiliated, and then I abandoned you. I walked away and left you to face whatever would come, knowing it would be hard, something -"
He stopped. Lily had begun to cry. He couldn't look at her now, but he had to finish the harrowing list. "If Dr. Marsh hadn't explained it to me, I would not have looked for you. I'd have left you to your fate. You'd have perished with Gabriel on the moor."
Yep, that's about the size of it! He's a mess. She does at least make him suffer and grovel for a while before she forgives him, which is more than Rachel does with Sebastian in To Have and to Hold.
Even though the hero is a jerk, I enjoyed the heck out of this book. Aside from the head-hopping POV issues (which become less glaring as the book goes along), it's beautifully written and full of high drama and emotion. The story's setting on the windswept Cornish coast and the harsh, desolate moorland of southwest England is vividly described, and the secondary characters like Devon's brother Clay and Lily's housemaid friend Lowdy are well-written and interesting. Patricia Gaffney is so talented. I only wish she were still writing historical romance!
This is a hard book to rate! I spend a lot of time reading more recently written historicals where the main conflict is "I'm a rake and I don't want to get married," so uh, lower stakes. This was an epic gothic suffer-fest with a chandelier-shooting hero and and a long-suffering heroine that just doesn't know when to say "Enough!"
Devon Darkwell is the Man of the Manor, a broody viscount who wears his suffering like a badge of honor. He sees his maid, Lily Trehearne, skinny dipping, and he's surprised to realize he desires her. Lily is a former gentlewoman in hiding, and Devon - no fool- realizes this instantly, but does not care. He doesn't care much for her at all, aside from using her as a plaything.
After he's injured, Devon insists on Lily and only Lily attending to him, having no inkling of the amount of havoc this wreaks belowstairs. He does not know the amount of abuse she endures for his attentions because he cannot fathom the inner lives of servants. In this, he's a typical gothic hero: aloof, casually cruel, and supercilious.
I've seen some comparisons between this book and Patricia Gaffney's upsetting masterpiece [b:To Have and To Hold|525622|To Have and To Hold (Wyckerley Trilogy, #2)|Patricia Gaffney|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1309201518l/525622._SX50_.jpg|776433], which makes sense because this is another viscount/servant romance with a cad of a hero and a heroine who simply has to endure. The key difference is that [b:Lily|525619|Lily|Patricia Gaffney|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1322372728l/525619._SY75_.jpg|513465] works as a twisty-turny adventure story, while [b:To Have and To Hold|525622|To Have and To Hold (Wyckerley Trilogy, #2)|Patricia Gaffney|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1309201518l/525622._SX50_.jpg|776433] is more of an emotional character study that somehow sells you on an enduring love that was borne from an abusive relationship. The romance in [b:Lily|525619|Lily|Patricia Gaffney|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1322372728l/525619._SY75_.jpg|513465] is held up almost entirely by Lily herself, who has an unearned devotion to Devon that the book never quite justifies. If there was an epilogue where Devon fell off a cliff, I would be okay with it.
Devon Darkwell is the Man of the Manor, a broody viscount who wears his suffering like a badge of honor. He sees his maid, Lily Trehearne, skinny dipping, and he's surprised to realize he desires her. Lily is a former gentlewoman in hiding, and Devon - no fool- realizes this instantly, but does not care. He doesn't care much for her at all, aside from using her as a plaything.
After he's injured, Devon insists on Lily and only Lily attending to him, having no inkling of the amount of havoc this wreaks belowstairs. He does not know the amount of abuse she endures for his attentions because he cannot fathom the inner lives of servants. In this, he's a typical gothic hero: aloof, casually cruel, and supercilious.
I've seen some comparisons between this book and Patricia Gaffney's upsetting masterpiece [b:To Have and To Hold|525622|To Have and To Hold (Wyckerley Trilogy, #2)|Patricia Gaffney|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1309201518l/525622._SX50_.jpg|776433], which makes sense because this is another viscount/servant romance with a cad of a hero and a heroine who simply has to endure. The key difference is that [b:Lily|525619|Lily|Patricia Gaffney|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1322372728l/525619._SY75_.jpg|513465] works as a twisty-turny adventure story, while [b:To Have and To Hold|525622|To Have and To Hold (Wyckerley Trilogy, #2)|Patricia Gaffney|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1309201518l/525622._SX50_.jpg|776433] is more of an emotional character study that somehow sells you on an enduring love that was borne from an abusive relationship. The romance in [b:Lily|525619|Lily|Patricia Gaffney|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1322372728l/525619._SY75_.jpg|513465] is held up almost entirely by Lily herself, who has an unearned devotion to Devon that the book never quite justifies. If there was an epilogue where Devon fell off a cliff, I would be okay with it.
I really enjoyed reading this book. At first, I was unsure of even finishing it. But after a few chapters it hooked me in. The relationship between Lily and Devon was sometimes so angsty and other times you could actually feel how much they loved each other. There was a few times when I wanted to slap some sense into Devon by how he treated Lily in certain parts of the book. Sometimes he treated her lovingly, the next disrespectful and then horribly cruel. I felt so bad for Lily after what Howe and Trayer did to her ,and even more so after the incident with Clay. She really endured alot and still came out strong. Very good read!!