#81 GUHRKE, Laura Lee, The Marriage Bed

Synopsis: 

Everyone in society knows that themarriage of Lord and Lady Hammond is an unhappy one. Everyone knows they havebarely spoken to one another in over nine years. But what no-one in societyknows are the reasons why ...

Lady Viola Courtlandwas a romantic and impulsive young girl when she fell instantly in love withthe handsome and dashing Viscount Hammond. Unbeknownst to Viola, John Hammondhad already given his heart to the only woman he would ever love--his cousin'swife--but he was in dire financial straits and desperately needed to marry awealthy heiress. In Viola, he thought he had found the perfect woman--beautifuland rich with a sweet nature. But Viola was neither practical nor sensible whenit came to marriage, for she fully expected her husband to love her and wasdetermined to settle for nothing less. Soon, however, John's secret wasunwittingly revealed, but by then they were married and it was too late. Untilone day, John finally came to his senses and prayed it wasn't too late to winback the love of his very own wife.

My review: 

I love Laura Lee, I think she has a special sensibility for creating characters that complete each other. Their stories are usually well conducted by the writer. I loved John and even Viola, who held back but at some point stop fighting her own feelings and fought her fears. As for John, in the and, there's this little surprise that makes us like him more. I like the fact that this isn't the usual plot... They're both working on their marriage and fighting adversities... As for the novel, at some points (this may be absurd) but I really thought I was re-reading Gone With the Wind. At some parts it was very obvious to me that the writer was inspired by it. When a baby is born, for instance. His reaction to the baby's blue eyes and her answer...Well... I read it in two nights, so gave me a few pleasent hours.