I haven’t read a romance in many years and if this book is any example, they have deepened in a variety of ways. While the rich, handsome hero is fully present and the strong heroine may be swept off her feet, she knows who she is and what she wants.

The beauty of found family and the pleasure experienced by the wealthy sparkle with description. But beneath the glamor, the globetrotting and a magical life when money and time are plentiful, this story explores some very serious issues.

At its heart, it is a story of female strength in a world of changing mores—the ability to overcome the damage of an abusive marriage, the confidence it takes to break from the constraints of expectation, and the beauty of developing deep relationships later in life.

The story is grounded in the stratosphere of immense wealth, the remaining expectations of European royals, and finding love and purpose in unexpected places.

American Louella Bentley, divorced mother of a teenage son meets Alexdrina Viera and her mother, Carolina at JFK when their flight is delayed. The mother and daughter are Portuguese royals. It is kismet. Not only do they become instant friends, but their lives going forward are completely intertwined and reimagined. When Louella visits Alexdrina in Lisbon, she arranges a party for Louella to meet Lucas, and it is love all at once.

Alexdrina or Alex as she is called is married to Thomas and has two children. She is well aware of what her duties are in this lush but closed society and struggles. She is a talented painter eager to emerge from this lovely golden prison she inhabits with a husband who discounts her art as a hobby.

The story takes off with Lucas and Louella at its center. We learn in detail of how abused she was in her first marriage and how the telling of it along with Lucas’s love, will help get her heal. Parallel to that, Alex meets someone who loves and fully supports her art.

The story is layered. It is interspersed with a great deal of history and literature, in addition to the revelations. Through it all, I am uneasy. Louella is vulnerable. Lucas is perfect in everything he does. Too perfect. All the minor players, Lucas’s sons, Louella’s son, the extended family, the friends, are aligned with a happy ending to this fairy tale romance after Louella’s marriage to a psycho is fully behind her.

But will there be a happily ever after for this couple whose past is fraught with trauma? I’ll leave it there…

I must admit I was bogged down by some of the detail in the book. Long lists of descriptions, Louella’s dispassionate recitation of her abuse whenever Lucas asked, the many literary references. And perhaps, most of all, the tidy tightening of connections.

But don’t let that hold you back. I was too knotted up waiting for a shoe to drop. And isn’t that what a good romance does? Especially one like this, weighted with serious issues confronting women who have one foot in the present, one in the past, and hope for the future.

As Louella observes, “no one can damage the eternal part of us.” Something we all should remember.

Author Melynda Taylor has had a varied career and brings a wealth of experience to her writing. Her career includes but is not limited to politics, business, media, and international travel. She now lives in the south of France.