jayvall reviewed Once upon a tower by Eloisa James (Avon historical romance)
Review of 'Once upon a tower' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
Once Upon a Tower is the fifth entry in her Fairy Tale series and is loosely based on the tale of Rapunzel. Very loosely. I don’t fully remember the story of Rapunzel other than she was locked in a tower by a witch and was rescued by a prince who climbed up her hair, but other than a tower climbing scene, Once Upon a Tower had little to do with Rapunzel. Although I’ve enjoyed James’ previous renderings of fairy tales, this one left me feeling cold. I never warmed up to the hero - I found Gowan pig headed and stubborn and annoyingly foolish- and Edie was a one-note Sally who only cared about her music. I usually like books that feature a marriage of convenience but this wasn’t a marriage of convenience. Gowan presumed to have fallen in love with a girl he danced with once and was so …
Once Upon a Tower is the fifth entry in her Fairy Tale series and is loosely based on the tale of Rapunzel. Very loosely. I don’t fully remember the story of Rapunzel other than she was locked in a tower by a witch and was rescued by a prince who climbed up her hair, but other than a tower climbing scene, Once Upon a Tower had little to do with Rapunzel. Although I’ve enjoyed James’ previous renderings of fairy tales, this one left me feeling cold. I never warmed up to the hero - I found Gowan pig headed and stubborn and annoyingly foolish- and Edie was a one-note Sally who only cared about her music. I usually like books that feature a marriage of convenience but this wasn’t a marriage of convenience. Gowan presumed to have fallen in love with a girl he danced with once and was so sick she couldn’t carry on a conversation. So naturally when Edie shows up at Gowan’s castle, she’s nothing like he expected and hilarity, allegedly, ensues.
Once Upon a Tower is the first book that I’ve read by Eloisa James that I can describe as hate-reading. I hated these characters. Hated them with a passion. And yet, I continued reading to see how the story was going to play out. While the story never quite redeemed itself to the point where I could like Gowan and Edie, I got to the point where I could at least understand where they were coming from. I do think that the story’s conflict could have been resolved if only Gowan and Edie had actually talked to each other rather than letting hurt feelings fester, but I appreciated that the conflict that James tackled - sexual incompatibility - is one that doesn’t come up often in romance. At the end of the day, I can’t say that I enjoyed Once Upon a Tower as a story but I always enjoy James’ craft and skill as a writer.
