Books › A rose in winter
A rose in winter
567 pages
A sweeping, gothic-tinged romance where duty and desire collide in a manor full of secrets.
What it feels like
Reading this classic historical romance feels like wrapping yourself in a heavy velvet cloak on a stormy night. The narrative unfolds at a steady, deliberate pace, allowing the lush, descriptive prose to build a deeply atmospheric, gothic-tinged world. You are immersed in a swoony, suspenseful mood where every glance and hidden secret carries the weight of life or death. The emotional texture is rich with angst, tracing a journey from the despair of a forced arrangement to the tender, slow-burning revelation of true love. It is a story built on grand theatricality and earnest melodrama, delighting readers who crave the sweeping, unabashedly romantic epics of the genre's golden age, complete with a mysterious, masked hero and a fiercely resilient heroine.
- Mood
- gothic-tinged
- atmospheric
- swoony
- suspenseful
- Tone
- earnest
- melodramatic
- romantic
- sweeping
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- duty versus desire · hidden identities · beauty and the beast · redeeming power of love
- The writing
- Lush, descriptive, and unabashedly flowery, leaning into the grand theatricality of classic historical romance.
- The arc
- Moves from the despair of a trapped obligation through a slow-blooming trust, culminating in a dramatic revelation and passionate devotion.
- Who it's for
- Readers who crave sweeping, old-school historical romances with a Beauty and the Beast dynamic and plenty of atmospheric angst.
Content notes
- forced marriage
- parental betrayal
- gambling addiction
About the book
In A rose in winter, the fairest flower in Mawbry is Erienne Fleming, the daughter of the village mayor. She is beset on all sides by suitors, but Erienne's heart belongs to one, Christopher Seton. But marriage for love is not to be. In an attempt to end his gambling debts, Erienne's father auctions her off to the mysterious Lord Saxton. The passage of time reveals a gentle and adoring husband, and Erienne vows to be a loyal wife. But Seton returns.
Description from Open Library.
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