A Widow's Vow
by Rachel Brimble
I thought the premise of a woman inheriting a brothel from her late husband would be interesting, but A Widow’s Vow wasn’t that straight-forward. Instead of a protagonist shocked by her husband’s business, instead her backstory includes a past career in prostitution. She merely inherits a house from her husband and decides to turn it into a brothel herself. Slightly different, but much more difficult to root for. During the 1800s, as this story takes place, a woman who was turned into a lady by her marriage would never decide to sink low into society by becoming a madame. She and her maid, another former prostitute, would never tell people they were “proud” of their former profession. Historical inaccuracies are a pet peeve of mine.
If you don’t mind, you’ll find a very typical romance story in this book. The heroine has her share of obstacles as she finds her “girls” and sets up shop – going so far as to solicit customers herself by flirting with men outside the theatre. But, for safety’s sake, she decides she’d better hire a live-in bodyguard. Enter the love interest: a professional fighter with a raging temper, but who hates to see violence against women. Every woman’s fantasy? Certainly not mine. If a man has a raging temper, he’ll take it out on anyone whenever his own nerves are nicked – and it certainly doesn’t mean he’ll be a great “protector”. I just couldn’t get into this book. Thankfully, it read very quickly so I didn’t have to waste much time on it.
If you don’t mind, you’ll find a very typical romance story in this book. The heroine has her share of obstacles as she finds her “girls” and sets up shop – going so far as to solicit customers herself by flirting with men outside the theatre. But, for safety’s sake, she decides she’d better hire a live-in bodyguard. Enter the love interest: a professional fighter with a raging temper, but who hates to see violence against women. Every woman’s fantasy? Certainly not mine. If a man has a raging temper, he’ll take it out on anyone whenever his own nerves are nicked – and it certainly doesn’t mean he’ll be a great “protector”. I just couldn’t get into this book. Thankfully, it read very quickly so I didn’t have to waste much time on it.