Review: Her Lord and Protector

Title:  Her Lord and Protector (formerly titled On Silent Wings)
Author:  Pam Roller
Genre: Historical Romance (also listed under gothic)
Book Size:  211 pages / 4825 KB

Destitute and voiceless, a jilted bride living under the guardianship of an aloof man who may have murdered his wife wonders if it’s her heart, or her life, that hangs in the balance.

His is a heart of iron...
Embittered lord Alexander Fletcher must shelter a penniless mute in his ancestral home, Drayton castle. Although he makes no pretense he resents the intrusion, the woman stirs his heart into an unwelcome gallop. He wants only to be alone and not to love another woman who, like his wife, might grow to hate him so much she will take her own life.

And she is slowly melting it...
Lord Drayton's detachment only adds to Katherine Seymour’s distress of losing her voice. But after he gives her a searing kiss just before he introduces the husband he's chosen for her—and whom she promptly refuses—she discovers his horrid secret.

But someone is watching.
Only Agnes Cooke knows how Alex's insane wife died, and she will not hesitate to kill again in order to be the next Lady Drayton. Watching Alex go out of his way to help Katherine regain her voice, however, is more than she can take. This plan will require more than just laudanum and mercury....

While the blurb is somewhat of a spoiler and gives the ending away (why do that??), I thoroughly enjoyed this story and the author's storytelling abilities.

Each page I read kept me turning for the next. Excellent research in writing the story, the characters, costumes of life in 1667 England were well played-out. I particularly like how even though the heroine is mute for most of the book, her thoughts and actions are easily known.

If you're not into head-hopping, quick-fly point-of-view changes, then the author's writing style may not be for you. I will say that while I don't care of this type of writing, I enjoyed the story none-the-less. It's easy to follow whoever's head you're in at the moment. (which might say a lot for the author's writing ability)

In the end, I'm glad I took time to read this well-written story with an excellent HEA, feel-good ending.

***** 5-Star Review

Review: Dark Genesis (The Darkling Trilogy Book 1)

 Title:  Dark Genesis (The Darkling Trilogy Book 1)
Author:  A. D. Koboah
Genre:  Science Fiction / Fantasy
Book Size:  299 pages / 722 KB

Life for a female slave is one of hardship and unspeakable sorrow, something Luna knows only too well. But not even she could have foreseen the terror that would befall her one sultry Mississippi evening in the summer of 1807.

On her way back from a visit to see the African woman, a witch who has the herbs Luna needs to rid her of her abusive master’s child, she attracts the attention of a deadly being that lusts for blood. Forcibly removed from everything she knows by this tormented otherworldly creature, she is sure she will be dead by sunrise.

Dark Genesis is a love story set against the savage world of slavery in which a young woman who has been dehumanised by its horrors finds the courage to love, and in doing so, reclaims her humanity.

 While this isn't the genre of story type I normally read, once started I had to read it through to the end.

The story is slow to start, almost to the point of dragging, but then picks up and you're on taking back into time with wonderful storytelling. There are a few nit-picky points that took the book down a notch - such as the British form of English when the story takes place in America. Another item that kept throwing me out of the story is the use of metric measurements in place of imperial (or standard). I wouldn't know how far a dozen meters is, for instance, and I doubt a slave would either.

I think the author must have researched her subjects and location extensively to bring it all to life the way she has. Linguistics is another High-Five as Luna's speech pattern is perfect and true to form from beginning to end. I did become rather annoyed at her constant bursts of anger which seemed a weak form of keeping the story's romantic element alive.

The ending was not one I enjoyed, but reminded myself this story wasn't a romance. I'm sure others will like it and I can appreciate a story well written and edited.

**** 4-Star Review