Robin M. (robinmy) - , reviewed on 7/19/2019 + 2104 more book reviews

Cassie Blackwell needs slaves and indentured servants to work her father's Virginia Plantation. When she gets to the auction, she finds a man who contracted a fever on the ship. Hoping to nurse him to good health, Cassie purchases the indentured papers of Cole Braden, a man convicted of ravishing women. The last thing British Shipbuilder Alec Kenleigh remembers is being attacked on the streets of London. Now, he is in America where everyone is calling him Cole and no one believes his wild story. The sheriff listens to his story and promises to send inquiries to England. In the meantime, Alec is stuck in Virginia, working for Cassie with the rest of the convicts and slaves.

This book was Pamela Clare's debut novel. It's nice to read a historical romance that isn't set in Regency England. There are so many stories to tell in Colonial America. I wish more authors would use this setting.

I liked the story and the characters, especially Alec. He can either decide to stick around and wait for word from England to clear him of the charges, or he can try to escape and make his own way back to his home. When Cassie allows him to talk to the Sheriff, he promises her he will not try to run. That promise gets very hard to keep later in the book.

Cassie was a nice heroine, but she drove me a little crazy when she would suddenly start doubting Alec's story. I did like that she was running the plantation herself, telling people that she had received instructions from her father who was away. Actually, her father is suffering from dementia and has been moved away from the plantation where someone could take care of him. Cassie knows that a woman alone would never be allowed to take over the working plantation. Someone would see that she was married immediately so her husband could take over.

Overall, a solid historical romance. My rating: 3.5 Stars.

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