Burning Embers by Hannah Fielding

By: Unknown on Friday, October 25, 2013

Title:  Burning Embers

Author:  Hannah Fielding

Published:  April 2012 by Omnific Publishing

Page Count:  269

Genre:  Historical Romance

Shelf:  Review Copy

Rating:  ★★★★

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Coral Sinclair is a beautiful but naive twenty-five-year-old photographer who has just lost her father. She's leaving the life she's known and traveling to Kenya to take ownership of her inheritance--the plantation that was her childhood home--Mpingo. On the voyage from England, Coral meets an enigmatic stranger to whom she has a mystifying attraction. She sees him again days later on the beach near Mpingo, but Coral's childhood nanny tells her the man is not to be trusted. It is rumored that Rafe de Monfort, owner of a neighboring plantation and a nightclub, is a notorious womanizer having an affair with her stepmother, which may have contributed to her father's death.

Circumstance confirms Coral's worst suspicions, but when Rafe's life is in danger she is driven to make peace. A tentative romance blossoms amidst a meddling ex-fiancé, a jealous stepmother, a car accident, and the dangerous wilderness of Africa. Is Rafe just toying with a young woman's affections? Is the notorious womanizer only after Coral's inheritance? Or does Rafe's troubled past color his every move, making him more vulnerable than Coral could ever imagine?

Set in 1970, this contemporary historical romance sends the seemingly doomed lovers down a destructive path wrought with greed, betrayal, revenge, passion, and love.

My Review:

This novel is quite eloquently written. Fielding employs brilliant descriptions to bring her world to life. She paints a lovely picture of Africa, without mincing words or making anything superficial. She grazes on the nitty gritty as well as the sublime. As a reader you become fully immersed in the culture and superstitions surrounding the estate, as well as the region as a whole. The novel is also solidly set in the time period in question. The author never flits from time period to time period, not even with a slip in dialect or slang.

Fielding has some very well developed characters that bring this novel to life. Although very stuck in their ways they are quite true to what they believe. I love how the male lead is simultaneously strong and weak. He epitomizes the time period of this novel, without becoming a cliché. It’s actually the perfect balance. The female lead is unique in a very different way. The supporting cast is also quite well developed, ensuring a well-rounded and full bodied story that revolves around people and their interaction rather than where they are.

Overall, this story is vividly raw and real. Fielding brings to light many less than savoury issues in a very tactful way while creating a world that her audience loves to walk through.

Add to your Goodreads or Shelfari shelves.

Buy online via Amazon, Amazon.ca, B&N, Kobo, or Chapters.