Review: Ravishing the Heiress

Ravishing the Heiress by Sherry Thomas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thomas does something rare in romance books: she takes her time. There are a lot of stories built on the idea of loving someone since childhood: but mostly they have one or two scenes in the past and leap to the present, and the main of the story takes place over a few weeks. It's not uncommon to leap again into the future to show a highlight of the happy ever after, as an interstitial piece or as background in a series of related characters. And that's nice: seeing that the HEA incorporates changes and adjustments and growth.
But Thomas goes longer: in this case, more than eight years. It's fascinating. Her people don't make just one mistake, they make many, and different kinds at different times, under different stresses. Whatever implausible incidents start the relationship, the longer view makes the relationship feel more real, in part because there's more nuance and variation in their interactions.

And is it just me or do romances have more sad to them these days? Not sad endings, but more real-life grief and hardship and such. Again, I like it for nuance and depth, but also it makes the HEA feel more joyous and more deserved.

in sum: Thomas is just a damn good novelist.

Library copy

First lightening bug sighting of the year, speaking of joyous.

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