Format: E-book
Read with: Kindle for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
Hero: Gilbert Truman, Viscount Waite
Heroine: Rose Davenport
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: January 15, 2013
Started On: January 23, 2013
Finished On: January 24, 2013

Unforgivable by Joanna Chambers is my first experience reading something by the author. Though I shy away from reading too many historical romances, there are certain themes that call out to the romantic hidden inside of me and one of them happens to be the marriage of convenience theme. Coupled together with a heroine who is not the type of beauty that men would happily go to war for (though I would never understand the concept behind the notion) I thought that this would be the perfect read to curl up with.

Unforgivable starts out with a sickly looking Rose Davenport who just survived a vicious bout of the chickenpox being offered to Viscount Waite for marriage. Rose has no clue as to how the arrangement to marry the very handsome and appealing Viscount Waite comes about. And since Rose is pleasantly taken aback with surprise because Viscount Waite makes her open up and feel alive for the brief moment in time they meet before their nuptials, she is more than bewildered to say when the man who turns up at the church to marry her remains cold and aloof at best.

Gilbert Truman’s intention to marry the beautiful Tilly who captured his heart flies out of the window when he is forced to marry a woman not of his choosing. Bitter about being cornered into a place he doesn’t want to be in, Gilbert does what he must in order to survive being married to Rose. He keeps her away at one of his country estates and ignores her completely.

Years pass on by and Rose grows up, loses the awkward edge about her and becomes determined that she would confront her husband and force him to acknowledge her existence one way or the other, and thus Rose makes her way to London and ends up getting embroiled in a scheme of deception that doesn’t end up all that well. Now Gilbert and Rose are at odds, both fighting their true emotions, each too proud to let go of the hurt and misunderstandings that grows and fosters between them to really see through all that and grab the chance at happiness that awaits them.

I didn’t end up enjoying Unforgivable as much as I thought I would. I didn’t overly like the hero much and believe me I am someone who practically likes every hero in a romance novel – even the ones that most feminist readers do not like. But somehow I didn’t relate that much to Gilbert and thus the enjoyable factor in the novel sizzled down a bit for me. And then there is the heroine Rose. I loved her at the beginning of the novel, rooted for her and ached to see her become all that she could be and more given half the chance. But then things went a bit downhill for me towards the latter part of the book. Nevertheless I’d still say that Unforgivable is a good read worth your time if you like a bit of angst in your romances.

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