When I left you with the first installment of Forever Amber, I was about half way through. I had just gotten to the part where London is struck by plague and Amber is confronted with her own mortality.
True to form Amber rises above the wreckage of post-Plague London. She manages to get married to a series of men, each rising her further up socially, with boatloads of money of her own.
One of her husbands is a total Puritan whose household is completely horrified that their father should marry someone so obviously below them in station. The family does their best to tar and feather her in the eyes of their father but he is blinded by passion and Amber can basically do as she likes. When he dies he leaves her a lot of his money and she takes this and parlays it into her next marriage.
One of her marriages is to the cruelest of men with no fortune but a title. At this point, she’s all about the title. Eventually there is more time with the King, which she really makes the most of.
I don’t want to give very much more away. The end was very surprising. Even more surprising was when I was telling my mom about this addictive book I was reading and when I mentioned the title she was all “you’re reading Forever Amber?! Isn’t it great?!”
I’m not sure how to feel about my mom having read such a smutty book but she assures me she was very young when she read it so I guess that’s OK.
My book club recently decreed that we would be reading Fifty Shades of Grey so I’m thinking this will not be the smuttiest book I read. But I definitely won’t be mentioning Fifty Shades of Grey to my mom.
No offense Mom.
Anyway – Forever Amber. Look into it because it’s terrific.
The Paperback Princess 