Review: a love story in a time where any behavior that is considered different is suspect.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 04 14, 2014
Originally reviewed for Bodice Rippers, Femme Fatales and FantasyAn Unexpected Sin caught my attention because it was different. Author Sarah Ballance instead of writing a book about Recency England, which is the "in" setting these days, stepped out of the box and chose Salem as her setting. Salem, during the Witch Trials, to be exact.Ms. Ballance tells a love story in a time where any behavior that is considered different is suspect. Where being prettier, nicer, wealthier can be dangerous. All it took was one envious person and you could be declared a witch. A truly scary time in our history.Our heroine Anne Scudder tried to be a dutiful daughter but she had an independent spirit. When her brother died and her parents chose to move from Salem Village to Salem Town, Anne chose to divide her time between the two Salems. Never completely turning her back on the friends she knew there. When a friend of her brother's returned after six years away, Anne knew he was one of the reasons she had stayed.Josiah Cromwell had watched his best friend drown and always blamed himself. After being hustled out if town by his father his shame only grew over time. But finally he had returned, an educated man, who wants only to find the lively Anne and make her his. Only her family stands in the way.Witchcraft plays a part in this story by remaining a constant fear. Something that had to be true during Salem's witch years. Having to always conform had to be hard on a person, especially women. This was a well done story.Another thing that caught my attention was the tone Ms. Ballance set. While using modern language it seemed like this book could have been written during that time period. It had a decidedly Hawthorneish feel to it.A book to consider.ShauniThis review is based on the ARC of An Unexpected Sin, provided by netgalley.