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Title: A Notorious Vow
Author: Joanna Shupe
Sub-genre: Historical
Trope(s): Marriage of convenience
Content warning: Abusive parents, discrimination against hard of hearing
At this point, Joanna Shupe might be my most reviewed author because I cannot seem to get enough of her Gilded Age historicals and she keeps on coming out with brilliant new ones and I need them all. Notorious Vow was probably my least favorite I’ve read of hers, but that being said, I still think it was an interesting read.
Christina is the daughter of nobles from England who have lost all their money, traveled to New York and plan to sell their daughter to the highest bidder so they can clear their debts and reclaim their spot in London society. The highest bidder happens to be a lecherous old man whose previous wife died under suspicious circumstances. Christina turns to her reclusive next door neighbor for help. Oliver lost his hearing after an illness and has totally removed himself from New York society. At the time, many who were deaf or hard of hearing were treated as though they had a mental illness, and he has found it easier to shun society rather than try to change people’s minds. Oliver happens to have a ton of money, so he spends his time working on inventions to help the hard of hearing community (aka the first hearing aid). Oliver agrees to marry Christina, but tells her they will only be married for a year. He pays off her parents, and Christina and Oliver develop a deep friendship that turns to love. Their love is tested by some truly evil family members, but of course, they come out on top in the end, and live happily ever after.
First and foremost, it should be clearly stated that Christina’s parents are mentally, emotionally, and verbally abusive to their daughter. As such, Christina is a different kind of heroine than we see in most historicals these days. She is not feisty or spirited, she is beaten down and broken. Did I want her to stand up for herself? Of course. Did I understand why she didn’t? Absolutely. It also should be mentioned that during the black moment of the book, Oliver is sent to what was, at the time, referred to as an insane asylum. And the things that happen there are not pretty. It was historically accurate, but definitely not fun to read.
So while I loved Oliver and Christina’s relationship (in particular how he teaches her sign language), and thought the way they helped each other overcome some of the damages they’ve endured was beautiful, this wasn’t my favorite book from Joanna. It was hard to read a lot of the stuff with Christina and her parents (especially as someone who endured similar kinds of abuse from a parent) and it was really difficult to read about Oliver’s treatment by the “medical” community. The book was well-written, and meaningful, but a tough one to enjoy.
Overall Rating: 4 stars