The Proud Wife by Kate Walker

The fire burning beneath the ashes.

When Pietro officially ‘summons’ Marina back to Sicily with the excuse of discussing the terms of their divorce, she attends, only to have the satisfaction to tell him she wants nothing from him, but to send their short marriage into oblivion. None of them imagine the attraction that brought them together is still there. And the passion is burning hotter than ever. Unexpectedly, they are facing each other and their painful past.

A past where everything happened so fast and it was so painful that they didn’t have time to develop a relationship. The Proud Wife by Kate Walker is about finding closure for the painful experiences shared and connecting as a real couple.

My favorite part is when they finally talk about the death of their baby. The biggest misunderstanding in their relationship. Marina breaks down, Pietro gives her the sympathy and soothing he couldn’t before, and somehow they find closure. However, Pietro and Marina still have too many pending issues. Pietro’s idea of intimacy is making love. He thinks he is doing what she wants, but Marina needs much more. He has been emotionally unavailable in the past. While Marina was feeling used as a breeder to produce an heir, never truly loved and inadequate as a princess.

The Proud Wife is one of the books that I’d read where the characters’ emotions convey to the page the best. Kate Walker did a great job channeling their adversities, the emotional portion of the story is deeply touching, there were moments I was teary-eyed.