Once Upon a Tower: Number 5 in series (Fairy Tales, #5)

by Eloisa James

'Nothing gets me to a bookstore faster than Eloisa James' - Julia Quinn

Once upon a time a duke fell in love...

Gowan Stoughton of Craigievar, Duke of Kinross, values order and self-control above all else. So when he meets a lady as serene as she is beautiful, he promptly asks for her hand in marriage.

With a lady...

Edie - whose passionate temperament is the opposite of serene - had such a high fever at her own debut ball that she didn't notice anyone, not even the notoriously elusive Duke of Kinross. When her father accepts his offer... she panics. And when their marriage night isn't all it could be, she pretends.

In a tower.

But Edie's inability to hide her feelings makes pretending impossible, and when their marriage implodes, she retreats to a tower - locking Gowan out.

Now Gowan faces his greatest challenge. Neither commands nor reason work with his spirited young bride. How can he convince her to give him the keys to the tower . . . when she already has the keys to his heart?

'Eloisa James is extraordinary' - Lisa Kleypas

'Romance writing does not get much better than this' - People

• ISBN10: 0749959460
• ISBN13: 9780749959463
• Publish Date: 28 May 2013
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
• Imprint: Piatkus Books
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• 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!