Jo Goodman knocks it out of the park again with MY STEADFAST HEART (Thorne Brothers Trilogy #1). In this complex and difficult tale of family, love and loss, the author makes you laugh and cry and immediately download the next two books in the trilogy. I give it 5 stars.
In this first installment of the Thorne Brothers trilogy, Colin Thorne has lost his entire family after his parents are murdered by highwaymen and his brothers are adopted by different families. Colin is sold to a sea captain just weeks before a solicitor arrives at the workhouse searching for him.
Captain Colin Thorne wins a wager made with the Earl of Weybourne on how fast Colin can sail his clipper roundtrip from London to Boston. The Earl challenges Captain Thorne to a duel, accusing him of cheating to win the wager, and then forces his niece, Mercedes, to keep Colin from showing up to the duel. What follows is a richly embellished plotline where nearly every major character has an agenda.
I loved this novel. I've read several series of books based on the heart-wrenching scenario of separated or lost siblings. This is one of the best, and is distinct from those other trilogies.
One of my foremost thoughts about MY STEADFAST HEART is "This is a romance novel?!" The romance in this novel is so unconventional that the novel might be better categorized as historical fiction instead of a romance. One hundred pages into the novel, and no romance in sight. The focus of the novel is clearly the drama and intrigue, not your stereotypical warm and fuzzy relationship between Mercedes and Captain Thorne, and in my opinion, the novel is the better for it.
The romance is graphic and the circumstances are not for the faint of heart, so the novel is appropriate for adults only.
The characters in the novel have depth and complexity that can rival any daytime television drama. The pace and suspense were fantastic. I kept guessing how the story would proceed, how the characters would react, but I was wrong every time. It was so refreshing.
The conclusion of the novel leaves you eager to read the next novel. I highly recommend MY STEADFAST HEART to all.
*Review shared with The Romance Reviews.com at http://www.theromancereviews.com/viewbooks.php?bookid=13267.
PS - the other books in the series are just as good!
