Coffee2words

The year is 1643, and England is at the height of civil war. Families and towns have been torn apart by people taking different sides in the battle. Follow the King or the Parliament, your choice will dictate your path.

Deliverance and Penitence Felton (yeah I really didn't like their names!)

But soon enough I figured they were appropriate for the time period and let it go, especially when they started using shorter nicknames (Pen and Liv) at times.

The story was a typical Alison Stuart historical. Strong women in tough situations thrown together with hunky men and forced to deal with the situation together, even if they don't want to initially. The recipe is a good one, and it works in every one of Alison's books I've read.

I liked too, the dichotomy between Deliverance's stubbornness and Penitence's typically soft female role for that time. One is decisive and fiery (Liv), the other demure and wise in the ways of running a household (Pen), one is deeply in love (Pen) the other is aghast at the idea of needing a man (Liv). It really works well, and when twists and turns happen under the pressure of the besieging armed forces, the outcome is rather amusing.

I quite liked the first fiery scenes with Deliverance and the man sent by their father to protect their home, Captain Luke Collyer. The way in which they irritated each other was amusing.

The same sort of dichotomy could be seen in other supporting characters, and it was used well, if a little caricatured in the extremes. Add in a little intrigue and you've hooked me.



The heat level of this story is quite low. The intimate scenes are rather gentle and lovely, nothing too explicit. Certainly suitable for those who like sweet to moderate romance and sizzle-factor.