Review: 4.5 Stars!  Great read even if you're not into historical romance!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 5, 2013
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started this, as I’m not a big fan of historical romance.  I’m happy to say, I was pleasantly surprised.  It may be about puritans, but there isn’t anything pure about it, if you know what I mean (wink, wink).Set in Salem during the Puritan days, Henry is a mysterious stranger thrown by his horse on the road and saved by Lydia.  Lydia is trying to start a new life in Salem and questions about her absent husband are causing problems, not to mention they are caught in a compromising position, so she and Henry fake a marriage.  Things heat up when the chemistry between them is undeniable and the vows they’re faking take on a new meaning (nudge, nudge).  But, the Salem Witch hunt soon turns its sights on Lydia, threatening not only Henry and Lydia’s blooming love, but Lydia’s life as well.I was captivated by this book.  As I said, I’m not much for historical romance, but this was a very exciting read.  The backdrop of Salem in the 17th century just adds to the allure of the overall story.  And Henry is quite simply dashing…yeah, that’s right.  He had ripped abs before ripped abs were cool.  Plus, he’s the classic “I will fight you to the death for the love of my woman” kind of hero.  Like I said: dashing.What I liked most about this book was the way the town and people were described.  They really jumped from the page and made it easy for me to become invested in what was happening.  This is a fairly short read, but full of action, love and of course, sex.  And the sex scenes I found to strike the right balance of romance and just plain old fashioned boning...and not the kind found in a corset, but corsets were involved.  I’m a fan, Sarah Ballance.  I’m a fan.Lydia was such an interesting and multi-faceted character as well.  She was a trained midwife trying to escape an abusive past and a dead husband.  She is a very strong and independent woman, and I like to think that even though in this time period women were second-class citizens to men, there were really women like Lydia around.  She rocks.Overall, I really enjoyed this book.  I hope that there are more in this series; I will snatch those up right away!  4.5 stars!