Seventeen-year-old Emma is sent to London by her family, who want her to find herself a rich husband amid the glamorous high society of city life. The night before she leaves, Emma is out for a walk and by chance meets and falls in love at first sight with a mysterious gorgeous man who claims her first kiss only to disappear, thought never to be seen again. Twelve years later, Emma is a widow who is visiting the home of the Earl of Greyston to discuss the upcoming marriage of her step-daughter to the Earl's younger brother. While staying at the Earl's home, Emma sees a portrait on the wall of a man she thought she'd never see again – the man who stole her first kiss many years ago! There is a mystery afoot in the Earl's tower, and it's up to Emma to find out what is going on or risk losing her first love forever.
Overview:
There is nothing special about this manga. As a Harlequin release, it is standard romantic fare set in a Regency-era London with frilly gowns and upper-class hijinks for everyone. It is, as a whole, not great – but it is not bad. The art is what you would expect, very flowery and sparkly at moments, overly-dramatic at others, and all the characters are very pretty – even the male character who is meant to be horribly disfigured. Karin Miyamoto and Gayle Wilson clearly know the conventions of 19th-century high-class London, and use their knowledge well without overwhelming the reader. Now, if only the typesetter would stop putting text half in the speech bubbles, an error that is clear and present from page one; if they want to set themselves apart as a professional publisher, they should get better typesetters for speech text so that it flows a lot better. Added to the fact that this was available on a rather clunky and unmanageable e-reader, and these small errors work against the manga in a big way.
As for the story itself, its premise is all too familiar to anyone who reads shojo manga: girl meets mysterious boy, kisses, meets him again years later in unusual circumstances – except that these aren't high school kids in adolescent love but grown women and men who have been brought together through coincidence. Emma is a heroine in the sense that she knows what she wants – to find out if the man in the tower is the same one from twelve years ago, as well as to make sure that her step-daughter is married to the man she loves – and will do almost anything to get it done, even if it means going against the standard social mores of the time. She is not the most outstanding protagonist, but it is Emma's determination and inner strength that moves the story along. Emma's character is really the bright spot in an average book. Prisoner of the Tower is worth a read for fans of the romantic history story but for everyone else, it won't be their cup of tea. It is not inventive by any means, but it is solid enough that at least it won't be a regrettable purchase.
ComicsOnline gives Prisoner of the Tower 3 out of 5 castle romances.
