Saturday, May 17, 2014

Review: An Unexpected Sin by Sarah Ballance

An Unexpected Sin (Sins of Salem #2) by Sarah Ballance
Published April 14th 2014 by Entangled: Scandalous

Colonial Salem

The moment the stranger's dark eyes meet hers, Anne Scudder's world is immediately overthrown by chaos. That single flare of desire is immediate, driving away all notions of propriety. Instead, Anne is consumed with sinful thoughts - ones that no unmarried girl should ever have for a man who isn't her husband...

But Josiah Cromwell is no stranger.

It's been six years since Josiah stole kisses from Anne, his best friend's younger sister. Six years since Josiah left after his best friend's death, burdened by the knowledge that he was responsible for destroying Anne's family. Now he's returned to claim the woman he can't live without. But even as their desire threatens to consume them both - body and soul - the dark workings of suspicion and witchcraft are afoot.

Because in Salem, too much passion can lead a woman to ruin... and condemned to death.

My Thoughts
An Unexpected Sin was a great story that took very little time for me to fall into the historical cadence. I was looking forward to this book because I was hoping to cleanse my reading palette with something a bit different and this book fit the bill perfectly.

In this novel, we get to meet Josiah and Anne as they come together after years of separation because of a tragic event that occurred when they were teenagers. When Josiah comes back to Salem, it’s in the midst of the Salem Witch Trials where a careless accusation can cause someone their life. Any misstep could be the catalyst to an inquisition where a woman could be burned at the stake with little to no grounds for the accusation.

As Josiah and Anne start to develop deeper feelings for each other, the past eventually pulls them apart and Josiah makes a choice to keep Anne safe from the dangers of the Witch Trials. Their story is filled with believable and captivating drama, and when you couple that with two characters that are easy to fall for, I found myself captivated by their journey.

However, I struggled a bit with a few writing nuances. I don’t think I’ve come across the word verily as much since the initial BDB books by JR Ward. The extensive use of this word was a big distractor and it left me wondering how much this story could have been better with some sound editing.

Now, An Unexpected Sin seems to be the second book in the Sins of Salem series and when I was offered a copy of the book by the publisher, it wasn’t made clear. However, I feel this story can easily be read as a stand-alone and not leave the reader feeling like they walked into the middle of a conversation. I would, however, like to go back to read the first installment because the small part Henry and Lydia played in this installment had me liking them immediately.

Overall, I was in the mood for a historical romance and An Unexpected Sin was a perfect choice. It was filled with an interesting plot and plausible backstory. Well done!
3 Suns




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