Review: Worth reading
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 23, 2012
This story is about Sarah, a headstrong independent woman made so by the many disappointments the weak men in her life caused her to suffer.  While tending to her mother on her deathbed she learns her mother had been saving money in an account for Sarah because she knew her step-father and two step-brothers would not care for Sarah once she died.  Unfortunately for Sarah, her evil step-brother Hollis overhears this confession.Hollis tries to make Sarah's life unbearable while attempting to get his hands on the money her mother left behind.  A huge scandal occurs and Sarah escapes to try to build a new life of her own.  Being involved in the woman's suffrage movement, she has dreams of opening a shop where she can create and sell the very scandalous Bloomer costumes to other women. She leaves California setting sail to Victoria, Vancouver Canada.While on the voyage to Canada she meets and befriends the sister and two daughters of Victoria's governor Jon Cromwell.  Since Sarah has no friends or family in the Victoria area Esther, Jon's sister, insists she stay at their home until she can find a place of her own.Sarah meets the strong-willed governor and informs him of her plans to manufacture her Bloomer costumes.  Of course he is greatly opposed to this ridiculous idea and puts as many roadblocks in her path as possible.  He even has his council come up with a new form for her application for a license that almost ensures her business pursuit will be an impossible task.After a disastrous first marriage, Jon had put the idea of marriage out of his mind permanently. Unfortunately for Jon, he finds himself becoming more and more attracted to Sarah.  He can't seem to think of anything but her and finding a way to have her as his own without the complication of marriage.  The problem is getting Sarah to agree to some type of arrangement . . .Ms. Watters develops the story quite wonderfully as the attraction between Sarah and Jon grows and tries to flourish.  Sexual tension is quite palpable between the two characters without being tasteless and tacky.  I couldn't help myself but root for them to overcome their past disappointments and discover they belonged together. It was nice to have a strong heroine who had actual viewpoints and didn't cow down and admit defeat when it would have been so easy for her to do so.I enjoyed this book a great deal and would recommend it highly.