Night in Eden

2.5 stars

I read this as a buddy read, to see all my thoughts, comments, and quotes: Night in Eden Buddy Read

This started off really strong for me, Bryony is sentenced in the murdering of her husband and sent to Australia. There's ample description of how horrible it was for the women convicts there and I liked how the author incorporated real historical people and places (it made me search out historical non-fiction about these women). I liked how the wildness of Australia called to Bryony and that brought a connection to the man, Hayden, who ends up taking her as his servant.

You're going to have to accept and like power dynamic play, there's a fair amount of scenes where Bryony finds herself attracted to Hayden with his position of show more power over her mingled in the desire. This is where the heat comes from between the two in the beginning and I could go along with it because I 'knew' Hayden wouldn't force her and it's all in fictional play in my mind.

The second half dragged for me because the heat scenes between Bryony and Hayden were repeated too much and there was nothing new there or growing. The author didn't seem to know how or why she was incorporating Aboriginal people and it came off clumsy. There was an ending reveal to add some angst but it made me roll my eyes more than anything.

I liked this, until I didn't. show less

C.S. Harris is one of those authors whose books I preorder every year. I've read all of her St. Cyr books and her American Civil War book Good Time Coming. I knew she also wrote under the name Candice Proctor but this is the first of those books I've read. It's historical fiction set in Australia during the Regency period when England was using the country as a place to transport criminals.
The plot is intriguing. Pregnant Bryony Wentworth is transported because of her husband's death. Her baby dies almost as soon as they reach Botany Bay and she is assigned to master Hayden St John who needs a wet nurse for his baby son. He takes her to his home in the bush country where a slow-burn romance takes place.
We also learn a lot about how show more convicts were treated. St. John is a fair master, but many of the others are not. One may whip a convict but not hit them. The women are abused both physically and sexually. The author researches her novels thoroughly so this is a sometimes horrifying view of life in early Australia.
There are some good twists though the plot has a few minor holes, but all-in-all this is a good romance and good historical fiction. show less

Candice Proctor/C.S. Harris is spectacular. This book is cracking. The initial scene is incredibly vivid--as are many others, and it's about a female convict.

I wish I had the energy to write a better review, but I'm reading a lot on a beautiful weekend for a reason, which is I don't feel well, so reviews will have to wait a bit...

Best I can say is--can you get your hands on this? If yes,read it.

(some sensitive content though...)