Normally I love a good romance rekindled theme. I'm big on second chances and I like seeing lovers have another go at working out their relationship. In the case of The Earl Claims his Wife, though, the compromises seemed a bit one-sided and I had a hard time wanting to see this couple get back together.

Several years prior to the opening of this novel, Gillian spotted Brian Ranson, Lord Wright, at a ball and was instantly smitten. This led to an introduction and eventually their marriage, instigated by Wright's father. After their wedding night, Wright told Gillian of his mistress and confessed to her that he loved the mistress and not her. Sounds like Gillian picked a real winner, doesn't it?

Wright, a younger son, subsequently went off to war and Gillian lived unhappily with his parents and then with one of her own relatives. Though Wright hasn't visited or done much to stay in touch with his wife, Gillian has managed to find some contentment in life. As the book opens, we quickly learn that a dashing Spanish baron has been courting her and that she has decided to return his affections.

At this point, Wright shows up to order Gillian back to his home. Gillian resists, but, as her aunt reminds her, she has few rights or options as a married woman. What ensues is a rebuilding of the relationship that Gillian had hoped for when she first met Wright.

This could have been a very touching story, but it never quite hit the emotional level it needed in order to succeed. First of all, without completely spoiling the story, I will simply point out that Wright is no longer with his mistress, but it's not a matter of him coming to his senses and choosing Gillian over the other woman. There's more to it than that. And that's where some of my problems with the story come in. Given what Wright did to Gillian, he really needed to not only fall in love with his wife, but also to apologize convincingly. I could easily believe that Wright saw Gillian as a better option for him than the mistress, but believing in his permanent, deep love for her was more difficult.

Not every second chance at love tale needs a big grovel scene, but this one really did - and I just never got anything that convinced me of Wright's contrition. Toward the beginning of the book, Wright takes Gillian home and they go about building a relationship almost as if the past four years of betrayal and neglect hadn't happened. The story has some touching moments and some happy scenes, and I basically liked the characters, but the glossing over of the couple's past just didn't work for me.

In addition, Gillian kept cycling through, "I love you, Wright. No, I must love Andres (the baron)." And then back to Wright. Given the circumstances, her conflicting emotions make sense at first, but her flip-flopping goes on way too long. I felt sympathy for her initially, but by the last third of the book, I just wanted to tell Gillian to make up her mind already. It's a pity, really, This book set itself up for fantastic drama, but the characters simply proclaimed they had changed rather than letting readers see them grow as people. Needless to say, that took a lot of the emotional potential out of the story.

As a result, I felt somewhat distanced from the characters. Their emotions felt muted, and so too did mine. This book wasn't a bad read, but it never felt special enough for me to recommend either.