The Countess by Rebecca Johns. ISBN: 9780307588456 (ARC - published Oct. 12, 2010).
After her husband dies, Countess Bathory pursues her husband's friend,
Thurzo, with the hopes of remarrying and securing her position for the
sake of herself and her young son. Thurzo is not a physically
attractive man, but Bathory comes to find him attractive in other ways.
I get this. My fiance is not what most people would call an attractive
man. He's got this big head, if we were in another era he would be
wearing Professor Farnsworth glasses,
and his lack of hair would be astonishing if it were not for the over
abundance of forehead which makes up for it. No one would mistake him
for being handsome, although you would not necessarily run from the room
screaming either.
He makes up for it. He's not rich, or successful, or cultured, but he
has a sweetness and a sincerity that people who know they're attractive
tend to lack. Danny is open and warm with me in a way that my more
attractive lovers have not been. It's as if without the dignity that
comes with beauty, we can truly be ourselves, we can be as ugly as we
want with each other, but more often we are tender and loving. He knows
when I show him affection that it is more than genuine, that I love him
despite how he looks and all his flaws. And I find comfort
knowing that he realizes exactly how lucky he is to be loved by me,
rather than just being one in a long string of girls who have fawned
over him.
I've even come to like the way he looks. He is by no means pretty, but
there is something satisfying and wonderful in looking at him and seeing
his particular brand of unattractiveness. He almost does become handsome after awhile. Everyone else may still
see a frog, but I've started to see, if not quite a prince, my groom.
My review can be found on Goodreads.
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