The Gilded Cage

Rating:
Summary: The Gilded Cage
Review: The moment Josh saw Lucy, he wanted her... The moment Lucy saw Josh, she fought to quell her desire for him... This book is very good. It sexual tention between characters is exciting. The setting is set in post-Civil War New York, and the writing is such that you feel like you are there with the characters. You also meet Josh's younger brother Gray, and you can read his story in The Silvery Moon.

Rating:
Summary: NOT my favorite romance novel
Review: This book is well written, however, it failed to pull me into the story. First, it is very wordy - you have to read at least five chapters to have any idea of where the book is going, and even then, the prose winds and winds in such an obscure way that I didn't always understand what Ms. Layton was trying to say. I thought I was finished with that kind of writing when I graduated school. Second, the novel has too many sad parts to it. I like a romance novel to be happy, I don't want to read a novel to be reminded about all the unhappiness, unfairness, and suffering in the world. I get enough of that on the news.
Third, the romance takes a bit too long to develop, for my taste - and when it does - they seem to fall in love for no real reason that I can see - and the author does not give us any sense of understanding why Josh prefers Lucy over Gloria - is it because Lucy is prettier? He met Lucy first? She is more educated? (She's not). I rather liked Gloria, actually, and wanted to see more of a reason for his preference to Lucy (besides that it's a better story).

To Ms. Layton's credit, there are some good points, too, and here they are: First, like I said, it's pretty well written. Second, you do get swept away into that time period - and Ms. Layton portrays the mood and scent of New York of that era very, very, accurately. Living in New York today, I see it exactly the way she describes it - certainly very close to the New York my grandparents lived in. This is an excellent portrayal of New York post-Civil War.
Third, the ending was really, really good. Although the first part of the book is very slow going, towards the end it builds up, and the ending leaves you with a very satisfied feeling.

Edith Layton is a good writer, but in my opinion, not great. A little too slow, and a little too much realism for my taste.