No Greater Love

I was drawn to this novel since it was described as a storybook come to life - the story of Rapunzel trapped in a tower. But it was not a storybook life for our hero and heroine or their families. There is sadness but it is softened with a great deal of laughter and love. Georgia and Nicholas are married hastily very near the beginning of the book so that he might inherit his beloved estate, Ravens Close. Georgia has been trapped in a horrible situation sewing in a turret tower for Nicholas's step-Aunt Jacqueline in nearby Ravenswalk. She agrees to marry since it appears the only way out for her. They take up residence in Raven's Close. The home is barely habitable, robbed of most of the furniture and anything valuable, and almost falling down around them. Believing Nicholas to be poor, both Georgia and he set out to make the house a home completing all necessary repairs themselves. She coaxes the flower garden out of ruin reminding Nicholas of his mother who had gardened there before her untimely death. Helping them in their endeavors is Binkley, a very proper man of all work, butler, valet and friend. But Nicholas is not poor and he decides to woo his lovely skittish wife, knowing she would feel unworthy if his wealth is known. In fact, Nicholas fears he can never make her forget her former husband thinking him a Nordic god by the way Georgia talks about him. That was a rather funny situation as he TOTALLY misinterprets what Georgia is telling him about her first husband! There are so many ups and downs to this story. I do not want to spoil it by telling all. Nicholas is hiding other truths from Georgia. The reasons he has been away for ten years and the source of his nightmares. The other characters in this book are so well fleshed out. There is Cyril, Nicholas's dark tormented and despondent cousin, Uncle William who is Cyril's father dying slowly after a stroke, servants, friends, rescued orphan Pascal, a sweet dog Raleigh and a horrible villainess Jacqueline Raven. Jacqueline (Uncle William's wife) is evil personified and as frightening an adversary as you could ever find. She does get her due in the end. There are shipwrecks, saviors and sickness. Another reviewer mentions needing a hanky at the end and indeed you may. Eventually Nicholas and Georgia find passion and happiness and you will find the novel hard to put down and unforgettable. Highly recommended.

I did not think she could ever top her masterpiece, The Sound of Snow but boy oh boy, No Greater Love moved me like no other romance book has in a very long time. I laughed, I cried, and I was amazed the whole time I was reading this book at how much I was enjoying it. The phrase, "it's a keeper" does not do this book justice. I just loved EVERYTHING about this book.It's a well-written and well-told emotional love story that words just cannot describe. Try to find the book first and if you're lucky enough to find it, buy it. You'll want to vacuum seal it to keep it from yellowing just like I did after reading it.

Nicholas Daventry is a man with a secret. The terror he relives of drowning in his dreams each night as he sleeps keeps him from ever letting him fall in love. His greatest wish, though is to marry some day, have a family and fill his boyhood home, Ravens Close, with the love and joy he had growing up. He fears he will never experience that dream for he has been exiled. Banished by the Uncle he loves for a crime he didn't commit. Then he receives a letter from his uncle calling him home, wanting a reconciliation. But he must face his greatest fear. His step-aunt, who was the cause of his bannishment for lies she created and honor that she stole from him.Georgia Wells has a few secrets of her own that she keeps. Widow of a man whom she experienced nothing but pain, she was forced into a life of servitude and near slavery. She ends up as the modiste of the lady of Ravenswalk. Kept in her tower room like Repunzel, she slaves away for a woman who is pure evil incarnate, who likes nothing more than to userp her power over those she deems lower than herself. When Nicholas finally arrives home to claim the home he loves, he finds his uncle in a state of apoplexy and his step-aunt in charge. She informs him that he will not receive his inheritance until and unless he is married in three weeks. Feeling nothing short of dispair, he goes to his home to find it in a state of total disrepair. Georgia and Nicholas meet and it comes to him later that she is the one who can help him get his home back.NO GREATER LOVE is one of Katherine Kingsley's greatest. The relationship between Nicholas and Georgia is one of great love that we see develop gradualy. The dialoge is whitty and superb. They draw us in to their life with such great ease and warmth, the reader can't help but fall in love with them right from the start. The way that Nicholas and Georgia help each other through their most difficult times is only the most touching part of this truly superb story. If you can find one, I suggest you grab it. You will not be disappointed. But keep the Kleenex handy for the ending. You'll need it.