Love's Challenge

Reviewed by Crystal Jemond © 2006

Wild Child Publishing.com © 2006

Title: Love's Challenge
Author: Dalia Trevino
Publisher: Wing ePress
Genre: Historical Romance
ISBN Number: 1-59088-484-1
Release date: January 2006
Author's website: Dalia Trevino

Diana Burrard just lost her mother and now faces a marriage to the man who systematically stripped them of their money while her father was away fighting a war. Instead of shackling herself to a thief, she runs to the front line of battle in Spain to find her father.

When one of Major Anthony Aubrey's men tries to steal Diana's horse, he saves her and brings her back to his camp to discover what a young Englishwoman, a lady, is doing alone in war-torn Spain. When he tries to settle her with friends until he can tell her father where she is, she runs away and gets captured by the French. And not just the French, but Napoleon himself. Anthony rescues her again, and realizing she'll never stay put if he leaves her anywhere, offers her protection on her way. When they find her father, they learn he died only a few days before their arrival.

Soon after, Anthony receives word that his elder brother has died, and he must resign his commission and leave for England to take up the family title. As an Earl, he has a duty to marry and produce an heir. His time in Spain with Diana makes her an obvious choice, but she's still a target of the French, because Napoleon won't give up a woman he wants so easily.

Diana is kidnapped multiple times and always manages to escape unscathed, so when Anthony discovers incriminating documents in her possession, he automatically assumes that she's a spy for the French. They eventually unravel the mystery and discover that Anthony's neighbor is a traitor and collaborated to have Anthony's brother killed because he was a double agent for England.

As a heroine, Diana was a bit too impulsive to be believable. She races off to be with her father, intending to cross a mountain range alone with no food and no warm clothing in winter, then runs away from the regiment in the middle of a battle on foot and gets caught by the French. She also claimed to have no concerns about sleeping alone in tents with men and ruining her reputation, which is an historical inaccuracy that jarred me from the story. The first time they kissed, Diana told Anthony to stop and he didn't. She tells him no during most of their sexual encounters throughout the book, and he never listens. While the author makes it apparent that Diana enjoyed their physical interaction, as a reader I was extremely turned off by Anthony as a hero. Especially considering he forced her to sleep with him when he considered her a traitor to her country.

I also noticed several very glaring point of view jumps between characters in the middle of a scene. That and the fact that several scenes were from the point of view of secondary characters and did nothing to advance the story made the book far too long. With tighter writing, this had the potential to be a very good story.

Rating: 2 Cats

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To find out more about how to purchase Love's Challenge, visit Dalia Trevino's website.