Reviewer: Janet Davies
Title: Eden's Child
Author: Margaret Blake
Publisher: Whiskey Creek Press
E-book ISBN: 978-1-59374-687-2
Release Date: January 2007
Genre/Sub-genre: Romantic Suspense
Year/Setting: UK, France & Queensland, Australia
Overall Rating: 4.5
Sexual Content Rating: Subtle
Language (Profanity) Rating: None
Violent Content Rating: Minimal
Margaret's Website: None found
A hit and run accident victim lies in an English hospital wondering who she is. All that is known to her that she was found wearing a grey tracksuit and no one cares enough to come forward to claim her. She is frightened, alone and battling amnesia.
But suddenly after eight long weeks a man comes forward. Every natural instinct within her warns her not to trust him. However fate decrees she has no choice. Colin Franklyn knows who she is. Her name is Maddy Ballantyne and he has been charged with the responsibility to take her home to Australia to her husband.
What this man tells Maddy does not make sense. She does not recall living in Australia. The land is foreign to her. And if she is indeed married to this man called Nevis Ballantyne, why has he not come to England to take his wife home? Why send his flunkie?
Once at the property called Mandorah in the Queensland tropics, Maddy knows the answers that she so desperately needs to find are not going to be easy to come by. No one seems to like her and her husband Nevis’opinion of her is not high. Maddy Ballantyne is considered a thief, a liar and a complete bitch. So why can’t she remember any of this? And why is her wardrobe full of lavender coloured clothes that don’t seem to fit her?
Nevis Ballantyne is confused by Maddy. Why is she suddenly doing things she never did before? Why is she suddenly speaking French, horse riding and cooking? Maddy is softer and sweeter than she ever was. Is she faking her amnesia to get sympathy?
None of the pieces of Maddy’s life fit together. Vague memories of a woman called Millicent and her childhood in France are on her mind. Nevis is also on her mind. She is falling in love with him. Will this lead to heartbreak?
Eden’s Child is about the agony of not knowing who you are. Both Maddy and Nevis are suspicious of the other. Yet they are also reluctantly attracted as well. There is also a great deal of guilt as the story enfolds and they begin to realize that there is much more going on under the surface than they are aware.
I liked that fact that it was not obvious straight away what was going to happen to Maddy. The book could have taken any direction as it slowly enfolded allowing clues to surface. I did not like Nevis straight away but came to like him as he started to fight Maddy’s battles. As for Maddy she is likeable, sweet but tough when it counts. Maybe a little too forgiving but this makes her a human, fallible character you can identify with.
I was quite surprised when I read at the end that the author of Eden’s Child was English. The Australian characters and language is so true to life. I was convinced and I’m Australian.
This book is a page turner. You want the answers as much as the heroine does. Read it and you will not be disappointed.
Janet
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