Books › Portrait of Bethany
Portrait of Bethany
192 pages
A sun-drenched, emotionally turbulent vintage romance that cleverly subverts the classic love triangle.
What it feels like
Reading this vintage romance feels like stepping into a sun-drenched mid-century melodrama, where lush Italian villas and foggy London streets set the stage for intense emotional turbulence. The narrative moves at a steady, deliberate pace, wrapping the reader in a wistful and earnest atmosphere that initially feels like a traditional tale of forbidden longing. Yet, beneath the elegantly dated, descriptive prose lies a surprisingly subversive emotional journey. It masterfully plays with genre expectations, leading you down a familiar path of childhood devotion before executing a brilliant pivot toward a more mature, unexpected passion. It is a deeply satisfying read for fans of classic category romance who delight in shifting romantic paradigms and the thrill of an unpredictable happily-ever-after.
- Mood
- sun-drenched
- emotionally turbulent
- nostalgic
- Tone
- earnest
- melodramatic
- wistful
- romantic
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- first love vs. mature love · deceptive appearances · coming of age · shifting romantic paradigms
- The writing
- The writing is elegantly dated and emotionally heightened, characteristic of classic mid-century romance with lush descriptions of European locales.
- The arc
- The protagonist moves from the agonizing, naive longing of a childhood crush to the surprising, empowering realization of a mature and unexpected love.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love vintage category romance but crave a subversive twist on the traditional hero dynamic will devour this.
Content notes
- pseudo-incest/step-sibling dynamic
- emotional manipulation
About the book
Bethany was an unwanted stepdaughter when David swept into her life and took her to Italy to his beautiful villa. Forgetting the blood tie between them. she fell in love with him — and when David sent her back to England, denying the love she was sure he felt for her, she was heartbroken. But time passed, and Bethany met Robert Rathbone — a practised seducer who, to her astonishment, asked her to marry him. Then after she had accepted him, she learned that she and David were not related after all. But was he still free? Did he love her? And what of her commitment to Robert?
Unusual love triangle for an M&B book; 2 men in love with same girl - Bethany - she thinks she loves the one she grew up with, but ends up with the supposed 'cad'. Story is unusual as it outlines B's relationship with childhood love, which comes VERY close to being fully sexual and follows all the cliches of a M&B to lead reader on to think this is the 'hero' - but book does a 360 degree turn and the 'happy ever after' is with the man one didn't expect. Ending scene is with childhood love, regretting losing B, whom he describes as 'his other half'.
Description from Open Library.
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