NUMBER: 42TITLE: Petals on the River
AUTHOR: Kathleen E. Woodiwiss
STARTED: April 25, 2006
FINISHED: May 1, 2006
PAGES: 547
GENRE: Romance
FIRST SENTENCE: The London Pride chafed against the quay as the currents of a rising nor'easter slowly rocked the vessel on her cables.
SUMMARY: [From barnesandnoble.com] The fiery and outspoken adopted daughter of one of England's most formidable women, Shemaine O'Hearn has made powerful enemies. And now her adversaries have found a way to remove the hot-blooded beauty from her life of privilege: by falsely convicting Shemaine of thievery and sending her in shackles to America, where she is to be sold in indentured servitude to the highest bidder.
In a bustling port city in the colony of Virginia, she becomes the servant of Gage Thornton - a shipbuilder with a young child in need of a nanny. And despite whispered rumors condemning the handsome widower for the untimely death of his wife, Shemaine cannot ignore her desire for this caring, generous and enigmatic stranger who silently aches with his growing need for her - even as grave peril reaches out from across a vast ocean to threaten their flowering love.
REASON FOR READING: I was in the mood.
THOUGHTS: This was typical Woodiwiss. The writing was eloquent but bordered on verbose and flowery. The characters and plot were all very intriguing, but felt a bit flat. I felt as if Woodiwiss fell into a rut of "This is what romance novels look like." There was nothing exceptional about the book. I honestly envisioned a Hallmark made-for-television movie as I read this.
While the book was enjoyable, I only wish that Woodiwiss had used the aura of the time period more.
MISCELLANEOUS: I wish more romance novels were set in colonial America.
KEEP/SHARE/CRINGE(?): PBSing
RATING: 5/10 [I didn't particularly like it or dislike it; mixed review]
CR: The Perfect Wife by Victoria Alexander
RN: Beyond the Pale by Savannah Russe
Comments