Renegade is Sarah Parr’s first historical romance and the most promising debut I’ve read so far this year. It’s reminiscent of old-style action-adventure romances, set in exotic locations, but thankfully without the obligatory “forced seduction” scene and overbearing hero.
The story opens in Constantinople in 1762. Captain Jonathon Barry is a trader who sails the world in search of valuable antiquities. His aim is to return to England a rich man and petition the young King George III to reinstate his family’s lost ducal title. On the trail of a certain relic, Jonathon meets the beautiful slave, Jaline, who sells him information about its possible location. When Jonathon subsequently wins Jaline in a game of dice against her owner, he decides to make her his mistress and bring her back to England.
What follows is a fast-paced adventure story with several twists and turns. The voyage back to England is not without incident, and a peaceful idyll is not awaiting them upon their return. Among other things, Jonathon’s brother, Edmond, needs rescuing from his unscrupulous fiancée; an unwelcome blast from Jonathon’s past stirs up mischief; and demons from Jaline’s childhood have followed her to England and are intent on doing her harm. Added to all of this is Jonathon and Jaline’s blossoming romance and the problem of class distinctions.
There’s a lot going on in this book and it held my attention from start to finish. The unusual setting made for a refreshing change. What I particularly appreciate is that Jonathon treats Jaline with respect from the very start. He does not regard himself as her owner. There are no “forced seduction” scenes, and Jonathon very soon determines to marry her. Resistance to this scheme comes from Jaline, who has been a possession for too long and craves her freedom. While I understood her trepidation, I wish she had confided in Jonathon sooner as it would have allowed more time for their relationship to solidify.
One aspect I thought particularly well done was the description of the secondary characters. All of them were multi-dimensional, and even the less pleasant characters had some redeeming features. I liked Edmond a lot and I hope he’ll feature in the sequel.
A couple of minor quibbles: not much is revealed about Jonathon and Jaline’s respective pasts. I would have liked more information on this topic as it would have given me a better understanding of their motivations. Also, the pace stalled briefly after they return to England, but thankfully it picked up again after a couple of chapters.
All in all, Renegade is a strong debut and made a refreshing change from most of the historical romances available today. Sarah Parr is definitely an author to watch. And at the tempting Zebra Debut price of just $3.99, you really can’t go wrong! Grade: B+
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Hi Sarah,
I have this book on its way to me and after reading this I look forward even more. I like exotic settings and the romance sounds good. And I love the Zebra debut line, for such cute prices I love to pick up a copy of a debuting author!
@Leontine The marketing department at Zebra are definitely on to something with their special offer debut books. At such a nice price, I’m much more likely to take a chance on a new author. I’ve read a few of their historicals over the past year and found most of them good. I particularly enjoyed Carrie Lofty’s ‘What a Scoundrel Wants’. I also have Kris Kennedy’s medieval, ‘The Conqueror’, but I haven’t read it yet. I’ve noticed Zebra seem to publish a lot of historicals with unusual settings, both in terms of time period and geographical location.
Sarah Parr is a very promising author. Sometimes when people think of Zebra, they feel because of the low price and the covers that they are not getting quality. Parr has proven them wrong. About time more historicals were written in far off places and not the typical wallpaper type stories.
@katiebabs I don’t understand why people think low price equals low quality. I’ve heard this argument used about Harlequin books because they are short and cheap. Some are good, some aren’t. The same can be said of any publishing house. The Zebra books are basic with no fancy typography or stylish stepback covers. As long as they continue to produce good books, I don’t care about the packaging.
Frankly, I have more of a problem forking out double for a trade paperback. I resent paying so much more for what is essentially the same sort of story as I can get in mass market format.
I have this one on the way to me. It sounds like such a fun book!
Wow, this sounds like a really good book! After both you & KB like it, I think I will have to buy it.
@Mandi @heidenkind
I bought it after reading Katiebabs’s review. I was in the mood for something a bit different and ‘Renegade’ certainly delivered.
Sure sounds promising!! and for this price, worth a try
Thanks for the review Sarah!
@nath Hope you enjoy it, Nath.