One of my favorite historical romance novels is Devil in Winter, written by Lisa Kleypas. It tells the story of Sebastian the debauched Lord St. Vincent, and Evie the shy, stuttering, sheltered young heiress. Sebastian desperately needs to marry into money, and Evie needs to escape the control of her selfish relatives who want Evie to marry her cousin so the money stays in the family. So, Evie goes to Sebastian with the proposition of an eloped marriage of convenience. Sebastian has no other options, and he does find Evie physically attractive, so he agrees and they immediate set out for Gretna Green.
Evie has standards for the man who will win her heart and Sebastian rises to the occasion and becomes a better man in the process. This growth isn’t easy for Sebastian who has to earn the trust of his wife that he will be a faithful husband and not continue his lifestyle of womanizing. And, over the course of the novel, Sebastian comes to love and respect Evie for everything she is: emotionally, mentally, and physically. And Sebastian becomes the faithful husband Evie deserves.
And for Evie’s part, she has to learn to trust her husband’s love as genuine and real. She watches him grow as a person, and she has to have the strength to take the leap and believe that he is becoming a better man. She cautiously gives him the opportunity to grow and encourages him on his journey. And by the end of the book, she knows their shared physical intimacy is a demonstration of his all-consuming love for her.
There is a give and take to this relationship. They both grow individually and that makes them stronger together as a couple.
I say all this, because this is the set-up, I saw for Shizuru and Tsugumi. The sheltered, young miss who catches the attention of the educated, worldly, sexual, older man. And no matter how much I tried to separate the stories, I just couldn’t stop judging and comparing Shizuru and Tsugumi to Sebastian and Evie.
And I just couldn’t get into the relationship dynamic between Tsugumi and Shizuru. There wasn’t a give and take between our two leads and the trust Tsugumi held for Shizuru wasn’t earned.
And, to me, something about their relationship simply felt…icky.
As always, character and plot analysis and spoilers after the cut!
Continue reading “Nil Admirari no Tenbin: Teito Genwaku Kitan – Shizuru Migiwa ~ Plot & Character Analysis”
Otomes as Novels 