Monday, October 14, 2013

My Review - A Reluctant Courtship


A RELUCTANT COURTSHIP by Laurie Alice Eakes is the third installment in The Daughters of Bainbridge House.  Following the haphazard life of Honore Bainbridge was a rollercoaster ride of adventure and emotion.  I couldn’t help but want to see her redeemed in the eyes of her family and countrymen.

Honore Bainbridge’s choice in men has tainted her reputation.  Being courted by a traitor and then a murderer, her heart anxious for love has always steered her wrong.  When she meets Lord Ashmoor, she is sure her luck has changed.  When she finds out he is under suspicion for helping French prisoners escape, she feels once again betrayed by her heart.  Not willing to give up so easily, she decides if she can prove Lord Ashmoor’s innocence, he will gain acceptance and her family will allow her what her heart wants.

Lord Ashmoor finds himself under suspicion by unsubstantiated circumstances.  Because of his American upbringing, and the fact that his father died falsely accused of murder, Lord Ashmoor must figure out a way to regain his place in society.  Knowing a marriage to the right woman, with the right bloodline could ease him back to good-standing, he sets out to find such a match.  Unfortunately, his heart keeps steering him towards Honore Bainbridge, a young woman with a tarnished reputation.  He tells himself she is off-limits, and that he needs to secure a relationship with someone who will elevate his standing.  But the heart wants what the hearts wants even though it could mean they both are accused of treason.

A RELUCTANT COURTSHIP was truly a love story of underdogs.  Honore has been banished to the family home in order to keep her out of trouble, and Ashmoor lives with a cloud of suspicion hanging over him because of his father’s sins.  While both Honore and Ashmoor’s intentions are to clear their names, they can’t seem to keep themselves on the right side of the law. 

I enjoyed the story, complete with all the ups and downs.  I would’ve liked to see more interaction between Honore and Ashmoor, but because of the period in which the story takes place, the two characters had to stay at arm’s length as much as possible.  Though I guessed who the true villain was in the story, it didn’t diminish my interest in seeing how this person came to light.  The only person I had real objection with was Honore’s brother.  He seemed a bit too cruel to me, something I don’t remember from the previous books in the series.

Book provided for review purposes.

Available October 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group

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