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ONCE UPON A TOWER by Eloisa James

ONCE UPON A TOWER

by Eloisa James

Pub Date: May 28th, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-222387-6
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins

An erotic novel set in England and Scotland in the early 1800s.

Gowan, a Scottish duke, falls in love with Edie, the daughter of an English gentleman, who reciprocates his feelings. They are both virgins: Gowan was disgusted by his own father’s philandering and wants to save himself for the love of his life, and Edie is a proper English lady. Both were raised by their fathers after their respective mothers died. As it happens, sexual incompatibility threatens their marriage, but ultimately, their shared values as well as their deep love for one another will save it. Edie is a talented cellist who might have been a world-class performer had she been born a man. She jealously guards her time for practice. It was her father who taught her to play, and music was how they connected. Gowan, meanwhile, runs the family estate and oversees the workers, unlike his father, who was an irresponsible drunk. Gowan also has a half sister he wants to raise with Edie. Edie loves her stepmother, whose own marriage to Edie’s father is on the brink. The two women help each other with marital advice that eventually will pay off. The dialogue between characters is witty, but there are too many explicit, repetitious bedroom scenes. According to the author, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and the story of Rapunzel inspired this book, and there are references to and quotes from both.

A work of romantic historical fiction with an emphasis on sex.