For Her Love

Rating:
Summary: Thought-provoking yet thoroughly enjoyable
Review: Although very different from the author's debut, "For Her Love" proved to be very enjoyable and an excellent story. I got into this faster than "Into His Arms", and it kept my full attention to the very end. It didn't take much for me to develop a crush on the hero, Giles. Our heroine, Grace, was also memorable. I loved the way she had compassion for her father's slaves (a good example is a poignant scene in which she cares for an injured slave child). The relationship between Grace and her nurse was touching. I fell in love with the way Giles was so patient with Grace throughout their whole relationship, and I found myself longing for him to be real.

Another high point in this book is when we see Diego, a side character whose story will be told in the upcoming "Nobody's Saint". Diego's kind nature is first revealed in "Into His Arms", and we see more of that come out in "For Her Love".

Although it's a sweet love story, this book also deals with slavery, molestation, and prostitution, among other sensitive subjects. Some might say including such issues is unnecessary and disgusting, but I don't think the author included any subject that wasn't important (for example, the fact that Grace was sexually violated as a child plays an important part in her relationship with Giles once the two are wed).

In general, this was a highly enjoyable read and I find myself eagerly awaiting the author's next release, "Nobody's Saint".

Rating:
Summary: For her conscience...
Review: Raised on her father's Jamaican sugar plantation, Grace Welbourne has developed a sincere disgust for the way her father's slaves are treated. She'd love to get away from plantation life, but can't leave the traditional way because she's decided (much to her father's chagrin) never to marry.

Giles Courtney, playing follow the leader (as he's always done), wants to get married because his business partner and former captain has found great happiness with a wife. Now a captain in his own right, Giles (like any seventeenth century privateer turned decent citizen again) wants a nice traditional life with a wife and family.

Giles is instantly bowled over by the beautiful Grace when he makes a stop to pick up sugar from her father's plantation. He scores points with her when he refuses to transport some slaves for her father, citing his general dislike of slavery. Over the course of an afternoon, these two take a cautious shine to one another. When Giles returns to the Welbourne Plantation a few months later at Grace's father's invitation, he and Grace frolic in their mutual hatred of slavery and bond over the death of a young slave girl. After a few hours together, Giles asks permission to marry her; finally repulsed beyond her ability to bear by her father's treatment of his slaves, Grace agrees to marry Giles to get away. Also, she is pretty sure he's a nice guy.

Grace is a difficult character to like. Sure, some awful things have happened to her, and she has to deal with some things that would have been difficult to reconcile in her time period, but I'm just not sure I like her. Rather than being somewhat grateful to Giles for marrying her in spite of her insane family, Grace is temperamental with him at the beginning of the marriage. A little later, she completely loses it in an almost uncharacteristic moment of weakness when Giles tries to consummate the marriage, sure there are deep seeded reasons for this, but I just don't buy that she would utterly collapse, she seems so strong otherwise.

Giles is a good hero. Reed does an excellent job of moving him from "first mate" follower in her previous book to "hero in his own right" here. It's so cool to see him chasing after Grace when she's kidnapped, his ruthless side emerging as he goes along to the point where he coolly dispatches the villain without blinking an eye. I was skeptical about Giles being the hero when I read the back of the book, but he turned out wonderfully.

I'm not thrilled with the fact that Giles and Grace are only given a few days as a married couple before she is kidnapped. It's a little difficult for me to buy that these two could have come to deeply love each other in that time. Not that their brief married days aren't wonderfully done, and so touching--I just wish we'd been able to see more of that.

The heavy emphasis on slavery was, at first, one dimensional victimization, but quickly moved into stories of African triumphs of spirit and intelligence that I truly appreciated. One of Reed's greatest strengths is her ability to fully flesh both her story and her characters. I'm not thrilled with the long separation during Grace's kidnapping. Nor am I thrilled with the fact that, on top of slavery, we have to take deep looks at prostitution, molestation, and incest. It's all a bit depressing when things are all said and done, and the romance doesn't quite have the oomph to pull away from the relentless gloominess of the world our characters inhabit.

"For Her Love" is very readable, if nothing special. Special kudos for the seventeenth century Caribbean setting (which has become all too rare in the historical romance market) and for a black/white interracial romance (as someone in such a relationship, I'm always happy to see someone breech this final racial taboo). The romance is nice, but lacks steam. The hero is excellent, but I find the heroine somewhat lacking. Reed's strength is in writing a story that keeps you turning the pages. I give this book three stars; it is above average, but not on the level of her last work "Into His Arms".

Rating:
Summary: A FABULOUS follow-up for Reed!
Review: When I read Paula Reed's first novel, Into His Arms, I could hardly believe it was this author's debut! It immediately took its place on my keeper shelf, and I eagerly awaited the follow-up, For Her Love. Ms. Reed did not let me down! Giles Courtney and Grace Welbourne were well-written, fresh, fascinating characters that I couldn't help but sympathize with and root for. The plot was fast-paced and intriguing, and like no other romance I've ever read. The descriptions were vivid and colorful, and I truly felt transported back to the Caribbean in the 17th Century.

For Her Love was truly a treat, and I'm eagerly anticipating Reed's next book in the trilogy, Nobody's Saint.