Reviewer: Lori Graham
Title: A Forbidden Love
Author: Alexandra Benedict
Publisher: Avon Books
ISBN: 0-06-084793-X
Release Date: December 2005
Genre/Sub-genre: Historical Romance
Year/Setting: 1812/Dover, England
Overall rating: 4.5
Sexual content rating: Subtle/Sexual
Alexandra's Website:
www.alexandrabenedict.ca
Anthony Kennington, the third Viscount Hastings, lives a blessed life, although he doesn’t entirely realize this fact. His father is slowly retiring so he is only gaining additional responsibility as his father deems. He has developed a reputation as a bit of a womanizer which isn’t entirely unfounded. The family is busy debuting his youngest sister so he is just sitting along the sidelines and watching the chaos. When it reaches a point he can’t handle the turmoil any longer and needs to clear his head, he heads for the woods beyond their property.
Anthony is a logical man who doesn’t believe in beings such as faeries; that is until this walk. He comes to a pond lit by moonlight and sees a woman bathing who must surely be a nymph. To his pleasure he discovers he is wrong and she is truly flesh and blood. Sabrina Kallos is a vibrant, beautiful woman whose only flaw (at least to the members of the ton) is she is a gypsy. As she leaves her moon-drenched spot to redress, she is accosted by several men. As this violence has unsettled his fantasy, Anthony can not help but get involved. Once the men are handled, he is left with an unconscious woman who he must now care for.
Sabrina and Anthony find themselves in a situation as old as time. They come from two totally different backgrounds – in fact, they couldn’t be more opposite. In spite of this fact and the knowledge their families will never approve, they find themselves drawn to each other way. More strongly than either of them can understand. How can they ignore what society dictates and what their families demand? How can they circumvent the beating of their own hearts?
This is a debut work for Alexandra Benedict and I found A Forbidden Love to be almost Shakespearean in flavor. She found a way to tell a story as old as time in a new and entertaining fashion. The scenes could have been just a bit clearer in my mind but this is a truly trivial point in comparison with the vibrancy of the characters created. While we have all read stories about society and how they handle situations, it isn’t often we find the gypsy’s shown in a positive light. Granted the society looks down on them, but they are portrayed as moral, energetic people – in spite of being as rigid as the society matrons. Maybe the two cultures are more alike than they think? I am still not quite clear on the background of the "villain" Gillingham and what his goal is in this story but I would strongly encourage a sequel to look into that venue a bit more – maybe using Vincent????? Anyway, the story is well worth the read as it flows through the arenas of relationships.
The battle of the heart is strong and well in this epic and the winner is the reader.
Lori
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