The Unwanted Marriage

It's Dion's Turn, Spicy Book Dragons

Alright spicy book dragons, ya'll ready for the third book in The Windsors series? If you've picked up on the pattern by now, Grandma Anne is working her way through those Windsor siblings from oldest to youngest.

Ares? Married. Luca? Married. Next victim, please! Dion Windsor, come on down.

Unlike the first two marriages, Dion's future bride isn't exactly a surprise. His marriage to Faye has been arranged since they were children. Their families have been connected for years. Dion and Faye's mothers were best friends, both were concert pianists, and they ran the Windsor Staccato Foundation together. After their tragic deaths, Dion eventually took over the foundation they left behind. So Dion and Faye have always known marriage was waiting for them. That doesn't mean either of them is emotionally prepared for what happens once their wedding finally becomes real.

The Windsor Marriage Contract Refresher

Of course, we can't have another Windsor wedding without reminding ourselves of Grandma Anne's rules. The couple cannot spend more than three consecutive nights apart. When they're together, they must share a bedroom and bed. They have to remain married for three years, remain completely faithful, and genuinely give their marriage a chance instead of holding onto their previous lives.

If they make it through those three years, Grandma Anne signs the necessary paperwork and everyone receives what was promised in the marriage contract, including the Windsor inheritance. If they fail? They lose everything. And after three books, we should all know one thing. Grandma Anne does not fuck around, ya'll.

Meet the Characters

Faye (FMC): A famous concert pianist who is intelligent, shy, funny, loyal, and far stronger than she initially realizes. Faye's abusive father has spent most of her life preparing her to become Dion Windsor's future wife. He controlled her interests, behavior, and choices, molding her into what he believed Dion would want. After Faye's mother died in the same tragic accident that killed Dion's parents, she was left with an abusive alcoholic father and a stepmother and half-sisters who do little to protect her. Beneath the carefully controlled version of Faye her father created is a woman with her own opinions, dreams, humor, and personality that Dion desperately wants to see.

Dion Windsor (MMC): Dion handles everything involving the overseas side of the Windsor empire. He's intelligent, serious, loyal, protective, possessive, and more than a little unhinged when someone hurts the people he loves. Dion has carried tremendous guilt surrounding the accident that killed his parents and Faye's mother. He cares about Faye far more than she realizes, but he's convinced himself that he doesn't deserve her.

Basically, we have two people who think the other doesn't truly want them. Fantastic. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

"Can You Be a Good Girl and Do That for Me?"

Before their wedding, Faye has a boyfriend named Eric. She decides to go on a date with him at a restaurant located inside one of the Windsor hotels, and when they're heading upstairs afterward, they run directly into Dion. That goes about as well as you'd expect. Dion is not happy.

Faye begins having a panic attack, and Dion immediately steps in to calm her down. Then he tells her that now that their wedding date has been set, she needs to end things with Eric. She has until their wedding day to get over him. And she isn't to contact Eric again. Then Dion basically hits her with:

Can you be a good girl and do that for me?

Yes, sir. We sure can. This is where you start realizing that the emotionally distant Dion Windsor might not be nearly as indifferent to Faye as she thinks he is.

Dion Wants the Real Faye

Once their wedding becomes real, something starts changing between Dion and Faye. Dion reaches out more. He attends Faye's concerts. He spends more time with her at Windsor family events. He asks her to supervise the remodeling and decorating of the home they'll share after their wedding. But more importantly, Dion starts realizing just how little of the real Faye he's actually been allowed to see.

For years, Faye's father has controlled nearly every aspect of her life in preparation for her marriage to Dion. If Dion showed an interest in something, her father made sure Faye did too. She was taught how to behave, what answers to give, and how to become the perfect future wife for a Windsor.

That's part of why Dion kept his distance. Whenever he was around Faye, she seemed almost robotic, giving him whatever answer she thought she was supposed to give rather than telling him what she actually thought. Then pieces of her real personality start slipping through. And Dion loves it. He sees her humor. Her opinions. Her temper. Her stubbornness. The parts of Faye her father spent years forcing her to suppress.

So Dion starts intentionally provoking her. Not because he wants to control her, but because he wants her to stop giving him the answers she thinks he wants. He wants her. The real Faye. And the more glimpses Dion gets of that woman, the more he wants to know her. Before long, the man who spent years keeping his distance is counting down the days until their wedding.

And Then There's Eric

Of course, things can't be that easy. Faye promises Dion she'll stop talking to Eric. Then Eric sends her an article revealing that she's engaged to Dion and asks whether it's true. Faye answers his call. And Dion catches her. In a fit of anger, he takes the phone from her, tells her:

"I warned you."

And throws the damn thing into the water. Sir. That's certainly one way to handle that. Unfortunately, Eric doesn't exactly take the hint. He continues trying to contact Faye, practically crashes their wedding, tells her he'll wait for her, and even shows up at one of her concerts. And Eric isn't the only person causing problems.

Eric and Maria Need to Go Somewhere

Dion's secretary Maria creates plenty of tension too. Photos and articles make it look like something might be happening between Maria and Dion, which understandably makes Faye insecure. Then Maria starts trying to involve herself in things that are absolutely none of her business. Including Dion and Faye's home. Excuse me, ma'am?

Faye is supposed to be overseeing the remodeling and decorating, yet Maria tries to take charge and insert her opinion where nobody asked for it. Between Maria making Faye question her place in Dion's life and Eric refusing to disappear from hers, their marriage starts off pretty damn rocky. But slowly, Dion and Faye begin choosing each other.

Faye Slowly Takes Back Her Life

One of my favorite parts of this book was watching Faye slowly take back the life her father never allowed her to have. She has spent years being controlled. Her father decided what she should like, how she should behave, and what kind of woman she needed to become for Dion. Faye was essentially raised with one purpose:

Be the perfect future wife of Dion Windsor.

But Dion doesn't want the woman her father manufactured for him. He wants Faye. Marriage unexpectedly starts giving her something she hasn't had in a very long time. Freedom. Faye begins helping with the administrative side of the Windsor charities, especially the Windsor Staccato Foundation their mothers once ran together. Raven, Valentina, Sierra, and Grandma Anne make an effort to welcome her into the Windsor family and show her that she belongs.

And Dion slowly begins uncovering everything Faye has endured. The more he learns, the more protective and slightly feral this man becomes. He helps Faye break away from her father's control. He protects her from her family and encourages her to make her own decisions instead of automatically wondering what everyone else wants from her. Most importantly, Dion doesn't ask Faye to become his perfect wife.

He gives her the space and support to discover who Faye actually is. Watching her become more confident, start putting her foot down, express her own opinions, and finally begin living for herself was one of my favorite parts of their story.

Dion Windsor Goes Feral

Listen. There is protective. There is possessive. And then there is Dion Windsor when someone hurts Faye. This man gives serious FA/FO vibes. And I'm here for it.

Dion has spent years convincing himself that Faye deserves someone better than him because of the guilt and darkness he's carrying around. But once he finally allows himself to love her? Good luck to anyone who hurts his wife.

I also loved how Faye and Dion both have their own battles with guilt, self-loathing, and feeling unworthy of the other. They're not simply healing Faye. They're helping each other heal.

And yes, Dion calling Faye his good girl throughout the book? The Dom Daddy energy is strong with this one.

The Piano Means So Much More

Some of my favorite moments between Dion and Faye weren't the spicy ones. They were the ones involving music. Both of their mothers were concert pianists, so the piano carries an enormous amount of emotion and grief for them. 

At one point, Faye is struggling with a piece she's composing. Dion helps her. And eventually the piece becomes a duet. I loved this scene. Because of everything surrounding his parents' deaths, Dion hasn't been able to experience the piano the way he once did. But through Faye, he begins finding his way back to it.

She has the piano his mother left him, and eventually Dion starts playing again. For a couple whose relationship was arranged before they ever had a say in it, some of their most beautiful moments come from the connection their mothers left behind.

The Little Things Dion Does

Dion's grand protective gestures are great, but some of his quieter moments with Faye were my favorites.

When he discovers that Faye's mother's locket was taken from her and that she doesn't have a single picture of her, he searches through old family photographs just to find a picture of her mother. Then he gives Faye his own mother's locket because their mothers had matching ones. Come on. My heart.

Even Dion's favorite color changes. It was green. Then suddenly it's blue. The same color as Faye's eyes. This man is gone. Absolutely gone.

He also starts helping Faye experience the things she never got to do because of the way she was raised. Those moments really reinforced what I loved about their relationship. Dion isn't trying to decide who Faye should become. For the first time in her life, someone is encouraging her to figure that out for herself.

Secrets, Trauma, and Plenty of Spice

Of course, this is still The Windsors, so don't expect everything to go smoothly. There are secrets. Family drama. Past trauma. Crazy revelations. Relationship problems. And enough twists to keep things interesting.

The deeper Dion digs into Faye's past, the more he learns about what she's endured and the things that have been kept from both of them. Meanwhile, both of them are carrying guilt surrounding the tragedy that took their mothers. There are moments when everything between them feels like it's finally coming together, only for another revelation to shake their relationship.

And yes, my fellow spicy book dragons, I thought this one was a little spicier than the first two. Dion's whole good girl thing certainly isn't hurting anything.

The Windsor Family Is Still One of My Favorite Parts

I continue to love the Windsor family dynamic throughout this series. Raven, Valentina, Sierra, and Grandma Anne all try to make Faye feel comfortable and welcomed. That becomes especially meaningful when you compare the Windsor family to the environment Faye came from. 

Faye hasn't had many people genuinely looking out for her. Not the pianist. Not Dion Windsor's future wife. Not the daughter who is expected to behave a certain way. Just Faye. And now she's slowly gaining an entire family that wants her around.

The Verdict

Highly Recommended For: Fans of arranged marriage, billionaire romance, protective and possessive MMCs, touch-her-and-die energy, emotionally wounded characters, healing together, family drama, childhood connections, forced proximity, spicy romance, and slightly unhinged men who will absolutely destroy anyone who hurts their wife.

The Unwanted Marriage was another great addition to The Windsors series.

What I loved most was Faye's growth. This isn't a woman who spent her life willingly trying to turn herself into Dion's perfect wife. Her abusive father spent years controlling her and forcing her into the mold he believed would make her suitable for Dion Windsor. And ironically?

Dion doesn't want that version of her.

He wants the woman underneath it. He wants her opinions, her attitude, her humor, her dreams, and even the parts of her that disagree with him. The woman whose father spent her entire life forcing her to become his idea of the perfect wife finally gets the freedom to discover who she actually is and what she wants.

Add Dion going completely feral over Faye, their shared connection through their mothers, the emotional piano scenes, the matching lockets, Eric and Maria stirring up trouble, family secrets, plenty of spice, and two damaged people slowly helping each other heal, and I really enjoyed their story.

Now I'm ready for Windsor sibling number four. Bring on the next arranged marriage.

Happy reading, and remember my fellow spicy book dragons, before starting a book please check the tropes, and always check for trigger warnings. Nobody likes an unfinished book because the tropes aren't your cup of tea or having a bad reading experience because of unexpected trigger warnings.