Review by Chisholm Chiasmus -- For the Love of Suzanne

[Chisholm Chiasmus]

[Following is a volunteer review of "For the Love of Suzanne" by Kristi Hudecek-Ashwill.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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For the Love of Suzanne Book Review
By Kristi Hudecek-Ashwill

For the Love of Suzanne is an inspirational, fictional, time-travel romance novel set in the 1860's. This book explores the abusive relationship between a husband, Beau, and wife, Suzanne, along with how Suzanne is able to overcome this abuse and find love anew. The majority of this book takes place in the Southwest territories in the 1860s. Our hero, Cody, is half Native American and as such, the book is also able to highlight the culture, attitude, and tensions between pioneers and Native Americans. Ultimately, even though she travels through time, Suzanne is able to find her own happily-ever-after.

This book starts out intensely, drawing us into Suzanne plight within the first sentence. Here, she is being physically abused by her husband, Beau. Though their marriage has not always been so, it has deteriorated throughout their years together as Beau has turned to drinking. Now, a pregnant Suzanne decides to turn her future around for her unborn child and kicks her husband out of the house. Shortly thereafter, Beau dies in a freak accident and Suzanne now has a brighter future ahead of her. Driving her car later with a sense of freedom, she is transported to the desert where she meets Cody Black Wolf, an Indian agent. Suzanne now has to adapt to the new situations that living in 1860 present. She is at first presented as a possible slave the the local Chief, but instead taken to the nearby fort. She endures a skirmish, kidnapping, incarceration, illness, bad weather, and near-death experiences before she and Cody are together again.

Suzanne and Cody are presented with situations in which they have to deal with the attitude of white settlers and soldiers against Native Americans as well as how the Native Americans view white people. Cody, as an Indian agent, feels torn between his heritage and doing the right thing by Suzanne. Of course, in the end, we are happy that he chooses Suzanne.

Certainly, this book draws you in and you genuinely want Suzanne to find happiness; however, the sheer amount of bad luck, bruises, and vomiting episodes this poor woman has to go through seem completely unbelievable. I am a sucker for a hero who rescues the damsel in distress and this book has that in spades, but at times, Cody is so wishy-washy over his decisions regarding Suzanne, you want to strangle him, but these small annoyances do not make the book less enjoyable. I very much appreciate the authors decision to have Suzanne get herself out of an abusive relationship, and I had a, “You go, girl!” shout at that point in the book.

I rate this book a 3 out of 4 stars. Ms Hudecek-Ashwill delivers an inspirational romance novel that captures your attention with a believable heroine and hero who have an inordinately large amount of bad luck, which is at times, unbelievable. This alone made my decision for 3 instead of 4 stars. In the end, they get their happily-ever-after and the reader is glad they have found it together. I would recommend this book for anyone wanting a heartfelt romance read.

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For the Love of Suzanne
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