Book blurb (from Amazon):
Ana María Bailon believes her heart is as shattered as the burning city she flees. Once bold and brilliant in her father’s war councils, she now carries a secret child and a soul scorched by the siege of San Sebastián. When an English captain offers a hurried marriage and safe passage to a foreign land, Ana wonders if she is walking toward healing or a new form of heartbreak.
Captain Peter Ashmore lives with memories that stalk him like smoke from a burning town. Honor compels him into a marriage of convenience, yet every glance from his Spanish bride stirs a longing he fears he does not deserve. As they travel to his English estate and step into a world of drawing rooms and whispered judgments, Peter grapples with guilt, desire, and a God he worries has turned away.
In the quiet rooms of Abbeygate, Ana starts to trust the gentle man beneath the scarlet uniform, but nightmares, secrets, and grief threaten every fragile step. Peter feels himself falling for the courageous woman he vowed to shield, even as the truth of her past and his role in the siege loom over them both.
Can Ana and Peter confront the ruin behind them and choose a love that rebuilds what war tried to destroy?
Review:
The best part of this book is the unique setting that provides an unexpected and well-done history lesson. The author places her characters inside their world with wisdom and compassion. The Battle of San Sebastian is interesting enough that I ended up down a rabbit hole to explore this piece of European history. What a mess it was.
Ana and Peter make for good protagonists. I loved that Peter got in a mess made out of his own chivalry. Their merging of culture and belief in a complex, war-torn world is likely to resonate with readers.
Parts of this book are very toned-down for the intended audience. Most of the terrors of war happen off page. We start the book well into the story in order to avoid what might make readers uncomfortable, which ignores a lot of the history that Ana would've experienced. I have mixed feelings about marketing this book as a romance. To me, it is an historical fiction with a romantic subplot. I understand that romance sells better, but I think categorizing it that way undersells this story where the times they are set in largely drive the drama. Fans of historical romance won't be disappointed - but fans of historical fiction might pass this by when they would otherwise have picked it up.
While I'm being nitpicky, the cover art is lovely but mundane. I have seen something similar on dozens of books. For such a unique story, it was not given quite the cover it deserved.
However, for the intended audience, this is a lovely story. It has more depth than most Regency romance. The characters deserve their happy ending. It is a lovely book for a Sunday afternoon.
Purchase Information:
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Siege-Her-Heart-Jessica-Brousseau-ebook/dp/B0G5292ZJ4
This book is widely distributed online and in local bookstores.
Thanks to Cedar Fort Publishing for the Advanced Reader copy of this novel.
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