giving this abecause it holds the key to my love of reading, In real life. . Its a/tops. FLAMES OF PASSION by Sheryl Flournoy was theth book in Pocket Books' TAPESTRY line of historical romance novels, The novel was published in Novemberand runspages, The bio page at the end of the book says this is the author's third novel, The FictionDB index lists onlyof her novels, with this being the earliest one she wrote another Tapestry novel later in the series, However she apparently also wrote two Silhouette Desire novels under the penname Sherry Dee one of which predates Flames of Passion, It's too bad that Ms, Flournoy wrote so few novels, since this one was a terrific read which captivated me from the first few pages,
The book does contain aspects that some readers may find problematic, offensive, and/or annoying, The hero rapes the heroine multiple times already in the first two chapters he has raped her twice, He also kidnaps her and forces her into marriage, locking her in a room until she agrees to marry him, He expects her to be completely submissive to his will and treats her as his possession, At the same time she fights his attempts at control, both in large ways threatening to jump from his boat and small insisting on riding her horse despite his disapproval.
The two lovers are like each other, both unwilling to voice the words "I love you, " Their bond seems strongest in bed, lusting over each other, a mere physical attraction, and yet they are alike in their stubborness, their willingness to fight to protect each other from enemies.
Another problematic aspect is the stereotyped dialogue of the hero's black servants who are not slaves, despite this taking place in the South during the War of.
The maid Mattie seems based on "mammy" characters like in "Gone With the Wind," and the black characters' dialogue is always written in extremely broken English to evoke their dialogue.
While this helps the reader to "hear" how they talk, it is a bit cringey to read, making them seem like comic relief unlike the white characters,
Despite these potentially problematic elements, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and give itstars, The story had a bit of everything: love, murder, action, espionage, secrets, villains, and a secondary romance among two supporting characters, I look forward to reading more by this author and more Tapestry romances,
Don't waste your time with this one, I couldn't even finish it, the book was so ridiculous, Amber agrees to marry a man she never met and who's old enough to be her father, in order to save her aunt and uncle from financial ruin.
After making this decision, she abruptly changes her mind, flees the church not hard to do since she got there before everyone else and then runs and runs and keeps on running, and observing people, and stopping in shops, and getting herself lost, and wandering into a tavern at a late hour, and getting outraged for being mistaken for a whore well, DUH.
!, and getting dragged off by two ruffians, and getting rescued by a ship's captain who in turn drags her off to his ship, and getting raped by the captain who also thought she was a whore.
. .
Need I say more But if the answer's yes, I'll go on a bit longer, The captain regrets his actions when he discovers she was a virgin and he proves his regret by RAPING HER AGAIN!! Wasn't that charming! Then, he tenderly holds her and decides he'll never let her go, as she's affected him as no other woman ever has.
So I guess he only rapes women he truly cares for, what a prize! Amber asks, then begs, then cries, then orders him to turn the ship around and take her back home, like that's gonna work! It seems she's had a change of heart and wants to return and do her duty and get married, because she loves her aunt and uncle and doesn't want them to suffer.
So how come she didn't think of them while she was at the church The captain declares he'll never let her go, while Amber declares she'll find a way to escape and that she HATES him! Next thing you know, he's begging for her to give herself to him willingly, she says NO, he feels hurt and rejected, she feels sorry for him and changes her mind, he angrily declares he wants none of her pity, she has too much pride to tell him it isn't pity but love what happened to the HATE she felt that same morning, wants him desperately, yet pretends the next time he touches her to feel nothing.
Then, in just a couple of weeks, she learns to be an expert sailor, even navigates the ship, and when pirates come aboard, she fights like a battle hardened warrior, even killing the pirate leader! Well, that was it for me! For ayear old girl who had lived a life typical for her earlythc time to suddenly become a fighting Amazon with skills at the cutlass it takes years to learn suddenly at her deadly fingertips, insults the intelligence of anyone foolish enough to keep reading this book, and since I'm no fool, and don't care to have my intelligence insulted.
. SHE WOULD NOT, COULD NOT SELL HERSELF
With no money, no family and no home, Amber Kensington fled from the grimy London church and a bridegroom old enough to be her grandfather Then, terrified and exhausted, she fell into a doorway but her respite was brief.
The rugged stranger who rescued her from the attentions of two drunken sailors, who tenderly carried her unconscious body to his ship, demanded an equally tender payment, He never thought that it was he who would pay, Forever. With all his heart and soul, AKA Sherry Dee.