Upon Your Return by Marie Lavender

By: Unknown on Saturday, March 08, 2014

Title:  Upon Your Return

Author:  Marie Lavender

Published:  February 13th 2013 by Solstice Publishing

Length:  352pgs

Format:  ebook

Genre:  historical romance

Shelf:  review

Rating:  ★★★★

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Fara Bellamont has been back in society for a year after leaving Cluny Abbey, where her uncle sent her long ago. When he chooses a suitor for her for marriage, she fears that she will be forced to marry a stranger and live a miserable life.

But, Fara finds herself thrust into an adventure of a lifetime when unforeseen circumstances cause her to place her trust in a strange man for protection. His intervention not only saves her, but puts her in an even more compromising position.

Grant Hill, a trading captain, is enchanted by the young heiress not only because of her beauty, but because she is hardly conventional. Underneath her ladylike exterior lies a tigress. Grant cannot help but offer his protection as she is in need and he is far from immune from her charms.

Fara just never bargained on the passion that she feels for Grant Hill. As events unfold, she must decide whether her desires and the dictates of her heart should trump the rules of society in this exciting tale.

Adult-content rating: This book contains content considered unsuitable for young readers 17 and under, and which may be offensive to some readers of all ages.

My Review:

This novel was very smoothly written, allowing the reader to immerse themselves fully in the storyline. Lavender stays firmly in the time period that she’s chosen, weaving her tale in and out of the social norms of the day (which she does take the time to point out for her audience, rather than assuming that they know). This is not only an intriguing and unique historical romance, but it was also historically significant. Lavender brings everything together in a multilayered storyline that’s about more than just the romance.

I quite enjoyed the diversity of characters in this novel. I really felt for the main character. She was left questioning social norms while trying to fit into them, despite the difficulties that her desires set in her way. I was left with one lasting question about the characters however. What in the world was up with the main character’s mother and her uncle. It was made out as very important in the story yet was never explained.

This was a sensually sweet story that had me smiling and cringing in turn. I quite enjoyed this novel and would definitely look further into works by this author.