Friday, April 25, 2014

An Unexpected Sin

Just be prepared- I am on a romance novel run as of late. You're going to see quite a few reviews come up in the next few weeks. What can I say? I was in a mood when I organized reviews.

An Unexpected Sin -  Sarah Ballance
An Unexpected Sin
Colonial Salem
 
The moment the stranger's dark eyes meet hers, Anne Scudder's world is immediately overthrown by chaos. That single flare of desire is immediate, driving away all notions of propriety. Instead, Anne is consumed with sinful thoughts - ones that no unmarried girl should ever have for a man who isn't her husband... 

But Josiah Cromwell is no stranger. 

It's been six years since Josiah stole kisses from Anne, his best friend's younger sister. Six years since Josiah left after his best friend's death, burdened by the knowledge that he was responsible for destroying Anne's family. Now he's returned to claim the woman he can't live without. But even as their desire threatens to consume them both - body and soul - the dark workings of suspicion and witchcraft are afoot. 

Because in Salem, too much passion can lead a woman to ruin... and condemned to death.


I keep trying historical romances because I have friends who swear by them but I don't know- I just can't get into them. Maybe it's the dialogue, maybe it's being chaste but wanting to really let go anyways, I don't know. One thing that did get me to stick with it was the secondary story line of witch craft in Colonial Salem, something that I've always found fascinating. 

The story centers around Anne and Josiah. Anne loses her brother to a tragic incident years ago. Josiah, her brother's best friend and the man Anne loves, is essentially banished because of that and his own mother's death, he's believed to be the reason for both. Fast forward a few years and Josiah returns and their love story picks up from there. Anne wants nothing but Josiah, but Josiah fears that once her parents know his true identity (because he's working for them now but they don't recognize him), they would never give their blessing for Anne to marry him. Never mind that Anne is fearful of the witchcraft accusations so she needs to be careful in her own actions. Also add in Anne's grandmother who essentially doesn't speak but periodically says random and cryptic things to Anne and Josiah, and Anne's mother seems determined to not let Anne figure out what's going on. We, of course, do find out what the grandmother is alluding to and I kind of pieced that together as the story went on. Not all is what it seems and that's OK. 

It's not the greatest romance I've read, but as far as historical romance goes it's fairly solid. If you are a fan of historical romance, you would likely really enjoy this one. 

You can find this book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and at the time I'm typing this- it was on sale for $.99. The author, Sara Ballance, has a website and a blog as well that you should check out if you are in the market for other historical romances or want to learn more about her. 


1 comment:

Karen C said...

Historical romance isn't usually my favorite read, however I am really enjoying the Sins of Salem series. I think Sarah does a good job of taking us into the frightening time of the Salem witch hunts while providing a bit of mystery and good romance.