Book Review: A Reliable Wife

Title: A Reliable Wife

Author: Robert Goolrick
Type: Fiction
Series: no
Genre: Historical 
Acquisition: Paperback from a friend
Pages: 305

Premise/Plot: Set in 1909 in the frozen north that is Wisconsin, an aging 50+year old wealthy man, named Ralph Truitt, puts an ad in the paper for a Reliable Wife. Catherine a younger woman replies as honest and simple, but with her own agenda. It was not to be a reliable wife. In fact, she is both complex and devious.  Both being tortured by their pasts, they weather the storms, but who's plan comes together? The darkness rises and the snow relentlessly falls. This early 1900s story has twists and turns you never see coming.

Rating: 4.25 Stars

Summary: Our main characters, Ralph and Catherine, are beautifully written.  He is the wealthy businessman done wrong in a previous marriage, she is the orphaned young woman trying to keep herself off the streets, together they are what each other would need, right?  Wrong, these two are dark, tortured souls! And... AND you get told all about how they came to be that way.  One of my favorite things about this book was how the author told, in detail, how these characters came to be by giving the reader sections of their pasts. It was done so in a good way too. It wasn't a flat 10 page rambling, it was relevant to the story and timed beautifully. Bits and pieces of the puzzle.  Enter now a third character Antonio aka Tony the son of Ralph very much the opposite of his father in a business sense, he's sharp though, streetwise and it lends to how he develops his role in the story. I don't want to give too many details but Catherine's sister also makes an appearance in the story and it was a need piece in seeing Catherine through her growth and change through the book. The story itself was what you might say is cookie-cutter? or has been done before: Rich man. Poor woman, each with their own agenda, add a twist and finish... oh no, no, no.  The twist was a squarely landed punch to the gut that quite literally made me gasp and say, WTF! and the feverishly read on, like is this happening?! How dark and twisted can this book be?! You think you know, and then it goes one step further, pepper in a few more unforeseen twists and the finish was nicely done, though I want to know more about what happens to the characters, I'll be content with the story wrapping up here.

Dislike: This book wasn't all good moments though.  While the sexual tension builds, the yearn for touch and ecstasy ran through character's minds the sex scenes were dull, to say the least. They fantasized wildly in their heads, but when they got down to the deed itself, it was one of the rare times the author wasn't great at giving the reader the descriptive mood-setting that hitches the heart rate. 

Quote:    "He touched her with his hands; he kissed her with his tongue, and she moved under him as gentle as water, as warm as a bath"

Gross, give me a hot, near scalding passionate scene here!  This guy hasn't been between a women's thigh is a long ass time, where is the urgency to delve into the hot sex of a young, beautiful woman? It was hard for me to even consider this romantic in the fact that the sex was lack lustrous to the reader.

Portions of the book were slow, the beginning was one of them, but I did like the descriptive scene writing. When I read a book it plays like a movie in my head. Tell me what I want to know about the scene and about the mood. Here is an example: 

Quote:    "The land lay covered already in trampled snow. The land here flew away from your eyes, gone into the black horizon without leaving one detail inside the eye, Stubble through the snow, sharp as razors. Crows picking at nothing. Black river, frigid oil."

It's not just a snowy day in winter, this is a mood. It's dark and hardened and it's through the eyes of the character so it sets their tone in a moment. This book is filled with descriptive moments (except the sex scenes).

Overall: I'm super glad I read this book! I was hesitant to read it due to seeing a lot of negative reviews on GoodReads.  My coworker gave me the book and said to trust her and give it a read. First, historical fiction isn't my favorite genre, that being said I wasn't sure. Second, those other reviews...without having spoilers some of them said it was wordy and the characters flat, etc..  I will say the second couldn't be further from my take on this book.  I hope you enjoy it if you do read it let me know!  I'm always curious to hear from you, let me know in the comments what you think!