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On the heels of the slave uprising in Haiti, the French Empire is rocked by another slave revolt, this time in its colony Saint Helen. The upheaval pits the settlers and slaves against each other, and plunges the colony into a racial war that keeps blacks and whites divided long after Emancipation.
Born into this polarized society where the colour of one's skin determines one's social status, Christian Joseph, a mulatto, finds favour because of his complexion and being brought up by priests. His world is turned upside down when he discovers that he was born out of wedlock to a white planter and a poor black girl. To his dismay, he further discovers that his father has died and willed his estate to Christian's mother, to the disbelief and outrage of many in the community, including the clergy. This forces Christian to return to the village of his birth to try and uncover the secrets of his past.
Anonymous
Posted February 2, 2013
Love, love, loved this book. I couldn't put it down. Loved the story line and fell in love with the characters! Looking forward to another book from Williams!
MarissaA
Posted August 16, 2012
I think the book description, first of all, is so accurate and it's a
great insight of what you will read, what you will expect. From the
description, you already know that ok, yes, they are related, but these
two characters definitely do not know at first. This realization comes
later when Bryce's grandfather (Matthew's Dad) passes away, and she sees
Matthew again in Minnesota. This news shocks both of them, and for some
reason though, in this FORBIDDEN territory, the love between these
relatives (Yikes!) feels so natural, so right to them, so what will they
do to stay together? Well...you will just have to read this story and
find out, and honestly, it's such a good one that you will not want to
pass up! Ok, yes, the situation of relatives falling romantically in
love with each other, to me is a shaky subject, but in this story, there
just no denying how these two feel about one another. I found this story
to be fascinating, really! To me, this was not just a forbidden love
story; there was definitely some mysterious factors from a family's
past! There are a few secrets here, and I wanted to know them pronto!
There was a good amount of suspense; there were certain events that were
placed throughout the novel that kept me guessing what the truth was,
for example, who Bryce's real father is! Is it someone we have perhaps
known all along? Or is it someone that's so unexpected, that you did not
see coming? There's also another event that suddenly occurs, that ok you
may have been thinking would happen, but as you read more of the story,
you might forget about it, but when that event does happen, whoa, the
story really takes another turn! But is it for the best or worse?
Hmmm.... There was gritting emotion here from some of the characters, I
felt for them, I really did; it's just undeniable. I felt towards the
end of the story that there were some many intense events, situations,
that occurred, and I really liked it! The mystery that overshadows the
story is something that I never saw coming; it blew me away! When you
read the truth, you understand why Michelle ran away from home when she
was so young, and my heart really felt for her. Aside from the
mysterious factors, this is also a love story, and it was beautifully
written including the love scenes, the feelings/emotions that Bryce and
Matthew have for one another just really grabbed me, and I was pretty
content when I finished this story. The characters were really well
developed. The family conflict that occurs in the present, and even in
the past was well described, and I thought the flashbacks were so
necessary and well written again! There was a good pace here; everything
flowed well. The writing was pretty good! Williams really is a wonderful
writer and just has a captivating story here. I can't wait to read
another book written by her. All in all, this was a fantastic story with
love and a surprising amount of events that will keep you turning the
pages, and this is a novel I really really recommend!!
Overview
On the heels of the slave uprising in Haiti, the French Empire is rocked by another slave revolt, this time in its colony Saint Helen. The upheaval pits the settlers and slaves against each other, and plunges the colony into a racial war ...