THE VIRTUOSO was a charming tale of two people coming
together and overcoming many obstacles on their way to
love. The two main characters are Lord Valentine Windham,
who has recently found out he can never play the piano
again, and the widow Ellen Fitzengle Markham.
The story is
written from Valentine's point of view. This was a little
different; I am used to having two view points or more and
not very often is the story written from the man's point of
view. While this writing style gave me a connection to
Valentine, I felt that it took away from the connection that
I could have had with Ellen. Both characters are hiding
secrets from each other and those around them. However, you
know what Valentine is hiding. What you do not know is what
is really going on with Ellen. While the author may have
intended for this to keep you guessing I felt that it took
away from the story. I was frustrated with not connecting
to Ellen and wondering what she could be hiding that was so
important to the story. I was halfway through the book
before that connection was really made. This was a little
disappointing. Ellen's character was almost diminished in
some way. I began to feel that I was reading the story for
Valentine so that I would know what was going to happen
with him.
I immediately felt connected to Valentine. A handsome man,
in the prime of his life, who has just been delivered a
devastating blow; Valentine's life has been made up of his
music. Now lost to him, he finds himself throwing all of his
energies into a property that he won in a game of cards.
Valentine is intrigued by the widow next door and finds
that the monotony of his life is easily broken up by his
daily visits to check on her. No matter how close Valentine
thinks he is getting to Ellen, he feels that she is holding
parts of herself back from him. Why has Ellen secluded
herself from society and more importantly what is she
hiding from him?
Renovating the newly acquired Markham estate has turned
into quite the undertaking. Valentine is beginning to
wonder just what he got himself into. Then one thing after
another simply doesn't add up. Incidents that Valentine
used to believe were just simple accidents have been coming
more and more frequently. Who is trying to sabotage his
every advancement within his new holdings? These strange
and possibly deadly incidents lead Valentine to determine
that something foul is at play on the Markham estate.
Valentine begins to question who has anything to gain and
the answer comes back as only Ellen.
Once secrets were revealed and a little bit of the mystery
began to unfold the story flew by. I found that I had
connected with Ellen somewhere along the way and was just
as interested in ensuring that she was going to come out
unscathed as I was with Valentine. My recommendation is
when in doubt keep reading!
The highly praised trilogy of Regency romances by
award-winning author Grace Burrowes concludes with gifted
pianist Valentine Windham, youngest son of the Duke of
Moreland. Val retreats to the country after an injury robs
him of his musical ability, only to learn from impoverished
widow Ellen Markham that he can be loved even when his music
falls silent.
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