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A review by rjordan19
A Rose in Winter by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 3.5 rounded to 📖📖📖📖 (I wanted to read this, but it definitely felt long and I felt like there was a lot of extra stuff including that it really didn’t need)
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋 (I had a bit of emotional attachment but with zero explicit details and the scenes not being very developed they didn’t feel very sensual to me)
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥 There’s a number of sex scenes but they are very short and very light in language.
Humor: A bit
Perspective: Third Person Omniscient with some of the classic old school ‘head hopping’ many are familiar with – mostly heroine’s POV but a paragraph here and there from side characters like her father, brother, etc and some from the hero.
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? slow AF
When mains are first on page together: pretty soon in, pg 13
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever
Epilogue: No
Format: read an owned paperback
Why I chose this book: I haven’t read an old school romance in forever, so I posted a poll of the ones I had accessible and let the Vintage Romance book group choose for me – this was the winner.
Mains: This is M/F relationship between a cishet hero and heroine
Should I read in order?
I think this is a stand alone?
Basic plot:
Erienne is curious about Christopher Seton – but is instead forced to marry the mysterious Lord Saxton to pay off her father’s debts.
Marking as a spoiler – if you want any kind of surprise from this novel I would just dive in! There’s a big secret that’s kept throughout most of the story.
Give this a try if you want:
- Georgian - 1792
- Northern England setting
- secret identity
- beauty and the beast elements
- sold heroine/forced marriage
- friendly enemy elements
- shelter in the abandoned stable from the rain
- lower steam – there’s a few scenes but they are very short and not detailed or explicit
Ages:
- I think the heroine is 18, didn’t catch hero but he is probably older, late 20s or more likely 30s
First line:
“Marriage!” Erienne Fleming drew back from the hearth and slammed the poker into the stand, venting a growing vexation with the still young day.
My thoughts:
The only other Woodiwiss I have tried within the last couple decades is The Wolf and the Dove and that one didn’t work for me. So I’ll admit my expectations were kind of low going into this one – and I was so pleasantly surprised!
I found this novel so sweet overall – I adored both our mains, though I think they are probably what some would call a Mary and Gary Sue 😆
This novel did feel really long to me and rather slow in parts. I could have done without plenty of side details. But when the mains were together, I really liked it. I loved how gentle and patient Christopher was with Erienne. You could just see how much he treasured her and loved her and that was romantic and special to me.
I was pleasantly surprised by this read, and while it does have a bit of dubious elements – the secret identity and heroine sold into marriage being the big ones – it’s not a rough read for an old school novel.
Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: 2
Average rating: 3.5 stars
Favorite book: This one!
Endearments
The hero calls the heroine ‘my love’.
Quotes any typos are my own! I am bad with typos, I apologize
Erienne stamped her foot in protest. “Mr. Seaton, whatever else I am, I am not your dear!” A soft chuckle conveyed his delight. “You’re the dearest thing I’ve seen for some time.”
---
“You’re conceited, Mr. Seton, if you think I welcome your protection, or your company.”
“You needn’t be so formal, Erienne,” he teased with a devilishly wicked grin. “You may call me Christopher, or my dear, or my love, or any endearment of your choice.”
---
“How long have you been sitting there watching me sleep?” she demanded.
A slow smile touched his lips. “Long enough.”
She was in no mood for games. “Long enough for what?” His smoldering gaze passed over her.
“Long enough to come to the determination that you’re worth far more than any debt.”
---
His chuckle sounded low and deep. “I think after sharing a bed and spending the night together, we should progress to something more intimate, at least while we’re alone. Now, my love, I should like you to consider the advantages of letting me become your suitor. I am not as ancient as my predecessors. A full score, ten, and three I be. I am strong and have clean habits. I have never been an abuser of women.” He ignored her light scoff. “and I have wealth to see you richly garbed, as your beauty demands. As to my appearance…” He swept a hand before him. “You can determine that for yourself.”
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
- duel is mentioned with minor injuries (both recover)
- scenes of drunkenness from heroine’s brother
- sexual harassment of heroine by an older man – he has a daughter the heroine’s age but goes to her house when she is alone (her brother is asleep upstairs) and starts making advances on her when the brother wakes up and he leaves
- mention of a pig slaughtered and the heroine slicing meat and stripping intestines
- some scenes of animal harshness – whipping the horse for a gallop, whipping hounds that were coming in for an attack (self defense) that leads to drawing blood from them
- other attempts at sexual assault on the heroine, men trying to grab at her, chase her down…
- domestic violence elements – the heroine’s father was going to punch her in the face but the hero stops his arm
- dubious consent elements – some kisses are more forceful, the hero is hiding his true identity during marriage and sex with the heroine, heroine is sold and forced into marraige
Author content warnings? Nothing mentioned
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:
Safe sex: No, but there’s no real details about it
How’s the consent? I wouldn’t read this novel if you prefer consent. There’s many dubious consent elements, including forceful kisses, forced marriage/sold heroine, and the hero hides his identity when he kisses her/has sex with her (she thinks he’s someone else)
Pregnancy/children in story? The heroine gets pregnant towards the latter half of the story but it’s not a big plot point
Pg 338 – kiss
Pg 348 – kisses that lead to missionary (v loss for heroine), very light language, short and not a lot of details. The hero is masked and she believes him to be someone else
Pg 360 – sex (very short)
Pg 408 – kiss
Pg 411 – sex (very short and vague)
Pg 466 – sex (again short and vague)
Pg 472 – sex (very short/vague)
Total pages: 567
Readability: 3.5 rounded to 📖📖📖📖 (I wanted to read this, but it definitely felt long and I felt like there was a lot of extra stuff including that it really didn’t need)
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋 (I had a bit of emotional attachment but with zero explicit details and the scenes not being very developed they didn’t feel very sensual to me)
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥 There’s a number of sex scenes but they are very short and very light in language.
Humor: A bit
Perspective: Third Person Omniscient with some of the classic old school ‘head hopping’ many are familiar with – mostly heroine’s POV but a paragraph here and there from side characters like her father, brother, etc and some from the hero.
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? slow AF
When mains are first on page together: pretty soon in, pg 13
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever
Epilogue: No
Format: read an owned paperback
Why I chose this book: I haven’t read an old school romance in forever, so I posted a poll of the ones I had accessible and let the Vintage Romance book group choose for me – this was the winner.
Mains: This is M/F relationship between a cishet hero and heroine
Should I read in order?
I think this is a stand alone?
Basic plot:
Erienne is curious about Christopher Seton – but is instead forced to marry the mysterious Lord Saxton to pay off her father’s debts.
Marking as a spoiler – if you want any kind of surprise from this novel I would just dive in! There’s a big secret that’s kept throughout most of the story.
Give this a try if you want:
- Georgian - 1792
- Northern England setting
- secret identity
- beauty and the beast elements
- sold heroine/forced marriage
- friendly enemy elements
- shelter in the abandoned stable from the rain
- lower steam – there’s a few scenes but they are very short and not detailed or explicit
Ages:
- I think the heroine is 18, didn’t catch hero but he is probably older, late 20s or more likely 30s
First line:
“Marriage!” Erienne Fleming drew back from the hearth and slammed the poker into the stand, venting a growing vexation with the still young day.
My thoughts:
The only other Woodiwiss I have tried within the last couple decades is The Wolf and the Dove and that one didn’t work for me. So I’ll admit my expectations were kind of low going into this one – and I was so pleasantly surprised!
I found this novel so sweet overall – I adored both our mains, though I think they are probably what some would call a Mary and Gary Sue 😆
This novel did feel really long to me and rather slow in parts. I could have done without plenty of side details. But when the mains were together, I really liked it. I loved how gentle and patient Christopher was with Erienne. You could just see how much he treasured her and loved her and that was romantic and special to me.
I was pleasantly surprised by this read, and while it does have a bit of dubious elements – the secret identity and heroine sold into marriage being the big ones – it’s not a rough read for an old school novel.
Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: 2
Average rating: 3.5 stars
Favorite book: This one!
Endearments
Quotes any typos are my own! I am bad with typos, I apologize
Erienne stamped her foot in protest. “Mr. Seaton, whatever else I am, I am not your dear!” A soft chuckle conveyed his delight. “You’re the dearest thing I’ve seen for some time.”
---
“You’re conceited, Mr. Seton, if you think I welcome your protection, or your company.”
“You needn’t be so formal, Erienne,” he teased with a devilishly wicked grin. “You may call me Christopher, or my dear, or my love, or any endearment of your choice.”
---
“How long have you been sitting there watching me sleep?” she demanded.
A slow smile touched his lips. “Long enough.”
She was in no mood for games. “Long enough for what?” His smoldering gaze passed over her.
“Long enough to come to the determination that you’re worth far more than any debt.”
---
His chuckle sounded low and deep. “I think after sharing a bed and spending the night together, we should progress to something more intimate, at least while we’re alone. Now, my love, I should like you to consider the advantages of letting me become your suitor. I am not as ancient as my predecessors. A full score, ten, and three I be. I am strong and have clean habits. I have never been an abuser of women.” He ignored her light scoff. “and I have wealth to see you richly garbed, as your beauty demands. As to my appearance…” He swept a hand before him. “You can determine that for yourself.”
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
- duel is mentioned with minor injuries (both recover)
- scenes of drunkenness from heroine’s brother
- sexual harassment of heroine by an older man – he has a daughter the heroine’s age but goes to her house when she is alone (her brother is asleep upstairs) and starts making advances on her when the brother wakes up and he leaves
- mention of a pig slaughtered and the heroine slicing meat and stripping intestines
- some scenes of animal harshness – whipping the horse for a gallop, whipping hounds that were coming in for an attack (self defense) that leads to drawing blood from them
- other attempts at sexual assault on the heroine, men trying to grab at her, chase her down…
- domestic violence elements – the heroine’s father was going to punch her in the face but the hero stops his arm
- dubious consent elements – some kisses are more forceful, the hero is hiding his true identity during marriage and sex with the heroine, heroine is sold and forced into marraige
Author content warnings? Nothing mentioned
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:
Safe sex:
How’s the consent?
Pregnancy/children in story?
Pg 338 – kiss
Pg 348 – kisses that lead to missionary (v loss for heroine), very light language, short and not a lot of details. The hero is masked and she believes him to be someone else
Pg 360 – sex (very short)
Pg 408 – kiss
Pg 411 – sex (very short and vague)
Pg 466 – sex (again short and vague)
Pg 472 – sex (very short/vague)
Total pages: 567