Eternity

By Jude Deveraux

{Warnings for Eternity: sexual content}

I’m not an avid romance reader. Honestly, I tend to avoid the genre because of the high rates of sexism, thinly veiled misogyny, and abuse in romance novels.

Six of the 200+ books in my home are categorized as romance. All of them came from 50 cent boxes of books from garage sales my friend’s mother frequented when I was younger. Six is about to dwindle to just one: three of the books have been relegated to my donation box, and two more are heading straight for the recycle bin. Yes, they were that bad, and I won’t foist their pages on someone else. Better to grant them new life.

But what about Eternity? Overall, it was a pretty cute book.

The main character, Carrie Montgomery, is a 20-year-old socialite from the East Coast of the United States. She’s spoiled rotten but still kind and funny enough to be likable. The premise of the story is . . . relatively unbelievable, but I was willing to suspend my belief because of the genre. No lost points there. (No, I don’t actually give novels I read a grade. They get stars on StoryGraph and GoodReads!)

Once we get to the main story line and our heroine and hero meet, things get messy in a hilarious way really fast. I want this post to be as spoiler-free as possible, because the “how they met” is part of the fun! So, if you want to know that bit, you’ll need to pick up the book.

I will say my favorite characters are actually the two kids. They’re, well, kids: silly, innocent, a little manipulative in a child-like way, and in need of some love. If you don’t like children in your romance novels, this may not be the book for you. They play a big part of the story, and they’re in almost every scene that isn’t just the heroine and hero “alone together.”

That being said, I did like Carrie and her new husband quite a bit in their relaxed moments. Carrie grew on me more than Josh (the husband) did throughout the novel, but I didn’t hate him. He’s secretive and can be taciturn and quick to anger. But his anger was never violent; Carrie was never physically abused. I will say that the two verbally abuse each other through most of the novel. It’s not framed as a negative besides being “the hero and heroine butt heads.” We, in real life, know that’s a red flag in a relationship, but it wasn’t so bad in the novel (and understanding the circumstances and genre) that it ruined the book for me. Just remember that actual couples genuinely should not be shouting at each other and insulting each other all the time, and you’ll be golden.

As a romance novel, of course there’s some sex. I’m happy to report that all sex scenes in this book are conducted with enthusiastic consent from both parties! The only, and I mean only, thing that made me roll my eyes was the “woman feels pain the first time she has sex because she’s a virgin” thing. This detail did lessen the scene for me somewhat, because, knowing Carrie’s history and physical activity level, her hymen most likely broke while horseback riding long before she ever had sex. She was aroused enough in the scene that I also doubt there was a lack of lubrication. Not impossible, but the details in the scenario and known history all point to a big “no” on Carrie experiencing pain.

That’s about it without getting into spoiler territory. Do I recommend the book? Sure! If you like romance novels, kids, and don’t mind a fair amount of yelling, you’ll enjoy the book! It’s a cute read overall, and, of course, has a happy ending.

~ Anna

(Entry 19)