Author: Christine Blevins
Publisher: Berkley
Year: 2009
Genre(s):historical fiction, historical romance
Part of a Series: No
Rating:
Why I read it: Amazon recommended it years ago and I finally got around to it.
Summary: Anne Merrick is a widow doing her best to survive in Manhattan duing the American Revolution. Her husband was a well-known Loyalist but she is able to adapt depending on who controls the city. That is until Jack Hampton re-enters her life. A proud Son of Liberty, Jack pulls Anne firmly onto the side of the Patriots and enlists her to help him print up Patriot pamphlets. When George Washington leaves, though, and the British take the island, she is forced to be a Loyalist yet again. However, she risks her own life to get valuable information to the Patriots…and Jack.
Review: I had been interested in reading this one for a while, much like The Night Circus. But unlike The Night Circus, I enjoyed this one for the most part. So, let’s get my only quibble out of the way first.
I thought the book would be more focused on Anne than it was. The book tended to jump between her and Jack more than the summary had suggested. While Jack was an interesting character, I wanted to read about the Tory Widow who used her position to become a spy for the Patriots. There wasn’t much spying until the very end, when we spent more time with Anne.
The other problem with spending so much time with Jack is that it undermined the romance, in my opinion. There were quite a few times where I had to wonder if I really was supposed to be rooting for them to end up together. He seemed to be more interesting in riling her up and spending time with some ladies of the night rather than actually being a romantic lead. And there was a moment toward the climax that also made me question if I really wanted this romance to work out.
Anne was a great protagonist. She’s clever and a survivor, figuring out how best to keep herself out of danger during the uncertain times of the Revolution. When the Patriots hold Manhattan, she serves them. And when the British hold it, she serves them—though she does spy on them for the Patriots. She knows what is expected of her as a respected gentlewoman and she uses it to her advantage, unafraid to encourage officers’ romantic attention to achieve her goals while never betraying her heart. She’s also fiery and not about to take anyone’s nonsense—especially Jack’s—but she also cares deeply for her loved ones—including Jack.
Jack is an interesting character. He’s a Patriot through and through and willing to take risks for the cause, including spying on the British himself. Jack tends to act first and think later, which gets him in trouble. He’s also a passionate person, which combined with his other tendency leads him to do some rash things and that’s why I would wonder if I was supposed to really root for him to end up with Anne. I do believe in the end, he did care for her but I still pose the question to myself every so often and I’m afraid I still don’t have an answer.
Our two main side characters are Sally, Anne’s assistant, and Titus, her freeman worker and Jack’s sidekick. Both are entertaining on their own but provide great help to our main characters, no matter what they are doing.
As for the plot, while I would’ve preferred to see more of Anne being a spy, it was still very well done. It moved at a good pace and hardly dragged. Blevins clearly did her research and was able to capture the early days of the Revolution well, including the battle strategies of the Patriots and the British. All the intrigue and danger helped advance the plot and she used it well.
Bottom line: A good Revolutionary War novel with a slightly misleading title and an iffy romance but worth a read.
Sex: Mentions, usually showing the afterglow.
Moonlight Musing
Have you ever wanted to rewrite a book’s synopsis to make it less misleading?
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