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#Review of For Her Honor (the Gentrys of Paradise #4) by Holly Bush w/a rafflecopter giveaway! @hollybushbooks #historicalromance

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Holly Bush will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

1873 –

Adam Gentry, heir to the celebrated Paradise Stables in Virginia, is haunted by the visions of his lost love. Feeling cursed by fate, he slips deeper into grief, shrouded in a cloud of liquor and depression, and neglects his duties and responsibilities. But when Adam is forced to accept that there’s nothing he can do to change his past, he knows he must move on.

And he accepts his own destiny: that he will never love again.

Emmaline Somerset finds herself in the worst possible position any unmarried woman can be in. She will have to abandon all of her plans, hopes, and dreams for an independence using her own talents. The only viable solution is to move to a distant relative’s home and reinvent herself as a widow with an infant. No one will ever be the wiser.

Adam, now determined to secure the Gentry legacy, plans to save longtime family friend Emmaline from her embarrassment with an offer of marriage. But what Adam didn’t plan on was how his unexpected attraction to her would stir something inside of him, something he’s kept locked deep within.

Can love finds its way between two troubled souls, one driven by duty, the other by honor, both determined to find their way home?

Read an Excerpt:

Emmaline Somerset’s bedroom door opened, and her mother poked her head inside.

“Mother, please,” she began but stopped speaking as the door opened wide and Adam Gentry walked into her room.

“I know this is unusual, Mrs. Somerset, but certainly you’ve known me and my family long enough to know that I intend nothing untoward. But I would like to speak to your daughter alone.”

Adam stared at her as he spoke to her mother and she could see Jane and Betsy behind him, eyes wide and their hands over their mouths.

“It’s not p-proper, Adam,” her mother stuttered.

“I’m fine, Mother. Stand outside my door if you wish.”

Emmaline looked at him and noticed that he was thinner than the last time she saw him. He was still very handsome and even intimidating, filling the room with his presence. He was the oldest among her generation of Gentrys and Somersets but had been removed a bit from the rest of them as they grew up together. A bit apart from John and Matthew and Jim, who’d been fast friends growing up, and from Olivia and Nettie and Marabelle Winston, whose family owned the mercantile, and her. He hadn’t been aloof, but he hadn’t gotten into the same type of trouble that John and Matthew had.

Women swooned over him, and he smiled back and tipped his hat in such a way that made a female feel as if she was the only person of her sex in the world. Except right now he wasn’t looking so sure of himself and not particularly happy, either.

Many of you know that I do read historical romance, just not Western-themed historical romance.  Why?  Mainly because I live in Texas and believe this or not, I’m not into anything western, rustic, country, etc.  I live in a small town so I see it every single day.  I’m surrounded by it and my heart is still tied to a big city.  Its where I was raised and lived for almost 40 years.  So why did I read this book?  Because of Ms. Bush and I just LOVE her Western Historicals.  She doesn’t have to “explain” everything to me and beneath the setting of the book, it is just a story about a boy meeting a girl and falling in love with her.

The Gentrys will always have a place in my heart.  I’ve read all the books and have waited for Adam’s for a long time.  I really thought going into it that it would be a sad story but it wasn’t.  It was funny, sexy, sweet and I loved the growth that he showed from the beginning of the series to now.  Adam was like a mythical creature that we only got to see glimpses of but Ms. Bush knew what she was doing but having his book last.  We need to see Adam lose and then pull himself back up.  I loved that Adam wasn’t perfect in his relationship with Emmaline and that’s what made the story just sing for me.  Imperfection can still be perfection.

Emmaline is just a funny character.  Scatterbrained to some, wistful to others but independent to herself.  I loved that Ms. Bush actually had her do something that at the time, was considered taboo a bit for women.  I won’t tell you what it is but let’s just say that Ms. Bush knows something about.  Plus, she stood up to Adam.  Made him think and not too many writers in the genre will write a female character that way.  In fact, some of the conversations with her married sister are downright hilarious.  Sex was NOT talked about during this time but Nettie and Emmaline talk about it.  And they even say the words.  Great dialogue between them that led to Emmaline talking to Adam about it.

I didn’t see the plot twist coming at all.  Nope, I couldn’t even imagine what Ms. Bush was going to do but when she did it, it was great.  Emmaline finally stood up for herself without the help of Adam and they both realized that they were equal partners in the relationship.  Adam really needed to learn that and unfortunately, he learned it the hard way.

Ms. Bush has written a brilliant Western Historical Romance series that is definitely a keeper on my shelf.  We get to see all of the Gentrys in this one.  I, for one, didn’t even find it jarring when Mrs. Gentry did her thing.  Again, not going to tell you but I wasn’t surprised.  Disappointed?  Nope.  The epilogue is GENIUS!!!!  I’m praying, lighting candles that its the start of a new offshoot.  *bats eyelashes*  I’ll be the first to pick it up.

About the Author:

Holly Bush writes historical romance set in the U.S.in the late 1800’s, in Victorian England, and an occasional Women’s Fiction title. Her books are described as emotional, with heartfelt, sexy romance. She makes her home with her husband in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

http://www.hollybushbooks.com
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http://www.amazon.com/Holly-Bush/e/B006ZDTQ1A/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

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9 thoughts on “#Review of For Her Honor (the Gentrys of Paradise #4) by Holly Bush w/a rafflecopter giveaway! @hollybushbooks #historicalromance

  1. Hello! Thanks so much for sharing your book with us. Always fun reading about another book to enjoy.

  2. Oh, Harlie, thank you for the great review! I loved writing Adam and Emmaline’s story even though it started out in dark place for both of them. Thanks for having me!

  3. I love the cover. The splash of light in the scene underneath the title really catches your eye.

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