Once Upon a Tower (Fairy Tales, #5)

by Eloisa James

"As an extremely wealthy laird, Gowan Stoughton, Duke of Kinross, can have any of the maidens at the ball he attends. The only problem is they are all English and Gowan is not so certain they are suitable. He is accustomed to the hard-working lasses from his Highlands, not these dainty noblewomen who spend their days drinking tea or some other such nonsense. But then he makes the acquaintance of Lady Edith Gilchrist. Utterly bewitched by the emerald-eyed beauty with lush golden locks, he knows he must have her. He must free her from her tower. 'Edie' had the misfortune of being dreadfully ill at her debut ball and barely remembers what Gowan looks like. Even worse, she accepted his proposal the following day. Edie's only true passion is playing music--until Gowan writes a scandalous letter and stirs the most irresistible desire. Yet when they marry, Edie realizes her husband needs a lesson and locks herself in a tower. Somehow Gowan must find a way to enter the tower and convince his new bride that she belongs in his arms."--Page 4 of cover.

• ISBN10: 0062223879
• ISBN13: 9780062223876
• Publish Date: 28 May 2013
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 416
• Language: English

Reviews

[Rowena]

I've been meaning to read this book for quite some time but I hadn't gotten around to it until now and while it was a great story, there were times when it dragged on for me and the hero/heroine got on my nerves.

That's not to say that I hated the book because I didn't. I thought James did a great job of making these characters real and I really enjoyed seeing characters from Julia Quinn's books in this book. I also thought it was interesting that the hero and the heroine in this book weren't compatible sexually. And that the hero was a virgin.

Overall, this book wasn't without its faults but it was still a solid read. The romance moved slowly and sometimes that works for me but in this one, I was impatient and wanted them to get it together already. But Gowan and Edie were great characters who came into their own throughout this book and I'm glad that I finished it.

I also enjoyed the secondary story between Edie's father and step-mother. Great addition to the story.

[rakesandrogues]

Heroine: Edie will be quite a memorable heroine to me because of her passion for music. I love that her marriage did not do anything to alter that. She doesn’t give up her love of music to run a household. I also loved how the story revolved around her insecurities in the bedroom. I think that this is very realistic, as opposed to other romance novels who kind of sugar coat one’s first time. This is one of the rare occasions in romance where the long awaited event goes horribly wrong.

Hero: One of my favorite parts of the novel is the fact that Gowan isn’t your stereotypical romance hero. Unlike most romance heroes, it turns out that he’s only 22 (a few years older than the heroine, as opposed to a decade or two) and that he’s inexperienced. He reminds me a lot of Jamie Fraser from Outlander, which is a huge plus. Also, Gowan isn’t a tortured hero, which is so refreshing. His problems are a lot more realistic.

Supporting Cast: It’s not that often that I find secondary characters that intriguing, but I really enjoyed the subplot that revolved around Edie’s father and her stepmother. Lord and Lady Gilchrist’s subplot provides another look at problems that one might encounter in a marriage – which complements nicely to Edie and Gowan’s story. At the beginning, I even found myself more interested in the subplot rather than the main story. I’m glad that Lady Gilchrist plays a big role in the novel.

Plot: I enjoyed the fact that Once Upon a Tower is loosely based on both Romeo and Juliet and Rapunzel. The storyline didn’t mimic either stories, but instead, parts of their stories inspired scenes in Once Upon a Tower. Instead of a kind of predictable retelling, the plot was kept a lot more interesting.

Romance: For a lot of the book, there was no “wooing” that needed to be done. Once Upon a Tower is about the romance of a young, newly wedded couple who have to overcome a lot of communication and intimacy issues very early on into their marriage. They do fall in love fast, but they certainly have chemistry. The romance is believable and I found myself rooting for their happily ever after.

I can’t believe I waited this long to start this series – even if I didn’t start at the beginning. I am definitely getting my hands on the rest of the series as soon as possible!