8. The GIlded Cage by Luisa A. Jones

listened on Audible

2023
332 pgs.
Adult Historical Fiction
Finished 1/26/24
Goodreads rating: 4.23
My rating: 4.5
Setting: Very beginning of the 20th century, England

My comments: The Goodreads synopsis gives a taste for the story, which was actually quite mesmerizing, so I won't mention here.  I used to, years ago, love the "gothic" novels of Mary Stewart and Victoria Holt, which this reminded me of -- EXCEPT there was a little bit more description of the sexy parts.  There was a lot of physical abuse, mainly referred to but not described much (a good thing?), and plenty of psychological abuse, which was not glossed over.  Other than feeling depressed and frantic for the things that were happening to the protagonist at the hands of a husband she did not speak up against, I looked forward to returning to this narration as frequently as I could.  

Goodreads synopsis:  1897. Rosamund bows her head and steps slowly down the aisle. The satin of her gown whispers against the stone floor and a single tear falls into the bunch of yellow roses twisted in her trembling hands. Despite rumours of his cruelty, Rosamund has no choice but to become this man’s second wife. After her wedding, Rosamund finds herself trapped in Sir Lucien Fitznorton’s lonely country estate. As she wanders the chilly halls, made shadowy by drapes of heavy velvet, she longs for the lost comforts of her childhood home, where she was the beloved only daughter to a doting father, now buried miles away. As a young woman with no fortune of her own, only death can release her from this misery. Until she meets Joseph , her husband’s gruffly handsome new chauffeur. With his mop of salt-and-pepper hair and lilting accent, Joseph is from another world. One of clambering children and tea at scrubbed kitchen tables, the hollow scratch of hunger and long hours of hard work. Despite their differences, they find themselves increasingly drawn to one other. But Sir Lucien is not only cruel, he’s devious too, and soon Rosamund finds herself caught in a dangerous web of secrets and lies. Is Rosamund’s fragile marriage nothing but a golden cage, trapping her between two men who desire her… and to what end? One holds her captive and the other offers a hope of escape… but who really holds the key to Rosamund’s gilded prison? A gripping and emotional historical novel, fans of Lucinda Riley and Tracy Rees won’t be able to put this book down.