The Gilded Rose by Joanna Shupe
Love isn’t always a fairy tale.
Charming and popular, Orson Grey is the most sought-after bachelor in Manhattan. When Caroline pledges to spend her life with him, it feels like the beginning of a fairy tale.
The fairy tale quickly turns into a nightmare.
Behind closed doors, Orson is controlling and cruel. Trapped by laws that prevent women from leaving unhappy marriages, Caroline has no choice but to endure her husband’s behavior. Each day grows more intolerable, and her frustration and resentment mounts. Even her passion for rare books is stifled, leaving her isolated and lonely, a fading rose trapped under glass.
When Caroline is offered the opportunity to catalogue a private library, she seizes it like a lifeline. Exploring the literary treasures, she discovers a friend in the library’s owner, Zane Bishop—a brilliant, wealthy recluse who was disfigured in an explosion years ago.
Thoughtful and kind, Zane is everything Orson is not. As their trust builds, Zane realizes that Caroline’s pain runs much deeper than she lets on. He suffers with her, knowing precisely of Orson’s cruelty firsthand. Zane will stop at nothing to set Caroline free, even if it means risking everything.
The Gilded Rose is a story of resilience, passion, and the transformative power of love.
Tropes
Gilded Age
Fairy tale retelling
Friends to lovers
Review: Thank you to Avon Books for a gifted copy of this novel!
ZANE BISHOP THE MAN THAT YOU ARE.
Ok, had to get that off my chest first. Now on to my real review.
First, I have to tell you that I am an absolute sucker for a fairy tale retelling so I was sold on reading this when I heard it was Beauty and the Beast but retold in Gilded Age New York with the twist being what if Belle had married Gaston first? Soon after her marriage, Caroline realizes that her husband Orson Grey is not the man who courted her but a cruel and controlling man. Trapped by the laws of the day, Caroline has little recourse to change the reality of her gilded prison and can no longer pursue her passion for rare books or really anything else she would like. Until she is given the chance to catalogue a private library and meets the wealthy recluse who owns it, Zane Bishop, a man who was gruesomely disfigured by an explosion years ago. Zane is everything her husband is not.
Before you read this, it is crucial that you know that this has significant triggers, including marital rape. The author does include this warning in a note before the start of the book but it's still hard to read and if it's too much for some readers, I think they should know in advance. Caroline is absolutely horrifically abused by her husband, and I love that the author gives her a redemption story but also sheds light on the limited freedoms and rights women had up until VERY RECENTLY.
The romance in this truly undid me. I read a lot of books each year. I like a lot of them. Few have me in an absolute chokehold the way this one did. The way Zane yearns for Caroline to the point of physical pain absolutely undid me. I love the way he watches her in his library and all the lovely nods to the original fairy tale. I love the way they both come to this relationship with serious psychological and physical trauma. They HEAL each other. The way he will burn down the world and destroy anything that dares to threaten or hurt her, but is the gentlest beast in the world to her really did it for me. This is very spicy, but you know what, these two deserve it and I was egging them on.
Beyond the spice, this is also educational. We learn: 1) The laws around women's lack of rights within marriage in Gilded Age New York were appalling and 2) Everyone is worthy of love regardless of physical appearance. Caroline's husband was handsome but evil underneath. Zane is horribly scarred but an absolute angel at heart.
I was disappointed in the pacing of this at the very end. I read this was an absolutely feverish devotion but it lost me a bit in the last 10-15%. It felt rushed and too tidily concluded. My only other real complaint is that they feigned protest against their commitment to each other for too long. On the one hand, they both have been traumatized and can scarcely believe their good fortune. On the other hand, guys, you're in each other's bed left and right, let's just admit you're down bad for each other and stop pretending you can't believe it already.
BUT all in all, I enjoyed this book so much. While it's grounded in reality and isn't a fantastical fairy tale like the original Beauty and the Beast, it was transportive in that it still feels like the fantasy of this knight in shining armor with immense love and resources that swoops in and rescues the very deserving and long-suffering lady who very much needs that happy ending. It got me good.
Favorite Quotes:
"My name on her lips felt like a gift, a reward for years of torment - and I'd endure a hundred more merely to hear her say it again."
"I feel many things for you, Caroline, but pity is not one of them."
"She was my first thought upon waking and the last before sleep claimed me each night. My obsession, my fixation. Quite possibly my destruction."
"Christ, how am I to resist you? I tried so hard, Caroline, but you have torn down every one of my defenses and slipped through the barriers I've used to protect myself. I am helpless around you."
"I hadn't known, hadn't dreamed, kissing could feel like this. As if I were an equal partner. As if I mattered."
"Caroline, I could live a thousand years and never meet a woman more beautiful, more perfect than you. And if you were mine, I'd ensure you never doubted it for a single day of your life."
"Haven't you realized there is no limit to what I will do for you, no lengths too far where you are concerned. You have my heart wrapped in your tiny fist. You are every star, every sunbeam. Every source of light and joy in my world. My life is worth nothing if you are not in it."
Stars: 4.5
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