Review of The Path of the Vestal

[Sarah Schmidt]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Path of the Vestal" by J D Easterling.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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The Path of the Vestal is a historical romance novel written by JD Easterling. Set in the eighteenth century, it follows the explosively passionate and forbidden affair between a nautical captain and the heiress he must transport across the sea to her groom’s manor.

Evelyn Dalton is suffocated by the rigidity of her station. At Airedale Keep, her only function is as a bargaining chip for her father as a bride-to-be. The Talliskers arrive at the Dalton family’s holding, and soon after, she learns of her marriage to Edmond, their son. The only issue with that is she has eyes for Captain Finn Harper, a daring merchant captain who sets her heart pounding. Aboard the Vestal, the ship he captains, she is closely watched by her father’s guards and accompanied by her mentor, Madame Bellegarde, joined as well by her betrothed. She unexpectedly finds common ground with Edmond. That doesn’t hold a candle to her and the captain’s desire and growing love for each other. If anything, it makes Harper more determined to see his love through. Their fates hang in the balance when enemy ships ambush them on their voyage. They soon discover a more sinister plot afoot, the choice between duty and love chasing them across the sea.

I had a laugh in the initial phases of the book. This was because Evelyn was really selling the ‘princess trapped in her tower’ image. She seemed to feel a kinship with every lonely thing, from a caged bird to a lifeless doll to the room of the Great Hall when it’s empty. I wasn’t mocking her plight, but the overly dramatic cant of her moroseness gave off Shakespearian, damsel-in-incurable-distress vibes that was humorous but oddly nostalgic.

This book almost went with a cliched angle. It didn’t, thankfully, have a predictable ending. I love where it left off and the potential it creates for a prequel. It was almost bittersweet, though most would staunchly oppose the nature of the ‘ever after’. Discussing it further borders on spoiler territory, so I leave it up to future readers to discover.

Honestly, I quite loved Edmond. This is strange, as I’m normally all for the bad-boy persona in love triangles. This isn’t to say I preferred him over Finn Harper, but normally, authors tend to craft the second lead with a fatal flaw that makes the first male lead an obvious choice and a fan favourite. I loved how he stuck through the story with an intact moral code and always looked out for Evelyn, bettering himself even with the hand he’d been given in the form of his father. He has an arguable fighting chance, not to mention some star quality.

Another source of enjoyment was the battle on the sea. Everyone’s perspectives—the fight scenes, the references made to Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and Calico Jack Rackham, the believable injuries and casualties, the strategies the characters employed—were deftly written and a gripping element successfully incorporated. The revelation of the true antagonist also twisted itself into a great subplot, which I enjoyed. Evelyn and Harper were honest lovers, at least with each other, engaging in somewhat racy exploits that perhaps require a minor content warning for sexual elements. Profanity was there but infrequently so.

There were many issues in the book that led me to believe that it has not been professionally edited. For one, there were a lot of misspelt words. Less importantly, I saw punctuational errors that affected reading flow, as well as inconsistencies in characters’ names. One minor example is the first mate’s name spelling being juggled between Nicolas and Nicholas. I believe another round of editing is necessary to improve the finish of the novel.

I give this book a well-deserved rating of three out of four stars. The only truly negative aspect of this book had to do with its editing quality, resulting in a one-star deduction from my final rating. Otherwise, I enjoyed the simultaneously tender and heart-racing ride that was The Path of the Vestal. It would be a good recommendation to readers who enjoy forbidden romances and love triangles. Readers looking for a dose of seafaring action would also enjoy this book.

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The Path of the Vestal
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[Nwankwo GC]

Historical romance fiction can never not provide intriguing scenes. I'm sure this will interest lovers of the genre. Great review

[cutemami]

The plot of this book stole my heart. No-matter how cliche it gets, i will always love a forbidden romance. Thankfully though, the review mentions that the story is not as cliche as it seemed to be at fist. I will enjoy reading this book. Thank you for your review.

[Mbenma Esther 080]

Reading books open my mind to more realities that can be obtainable unreal life and equips my imaginative mind to be creative. I enjoyed every bit of this review. Awesome and honest review.

[Reading_Jack]

This sounds like a historical romance. it is intriguing. thanks for an interesting review.

[NightOwl11]

I liked this review until I got to your comments on typos. Here's the thing a lot of book reviewers don't realize: All books published by major publishing houses go through a main (head) editor and a team of subsequent proofreaders before they hit shelves. And even then, the industry "acceptable standard" for errors is 1 per 10k words. But indie authors and indie publishers are working with much smaller teams, sometimes only one editor. So if you read an indie book that has a few dozen typos scattered among 90k words, it was more likely than not professionally edited. And somewhere out there is an excellent editor who busted their hump eliminating hundreds (sometimes thousands) of typos and errors in the manuscript you don't think was professionally edited because you caught a few dozen typos, so please don't ever assume a book wasn't professionally edited unless nearly every single page is egregiously filled with errors—as is how most unedited books look. Pressing forward in your book reviewer journey, please bear this in mind.

- A Professional Book Editor

[Pauls_]

The storyline is so intriguing. It felt as though I was watching a movie as I read through the review. Edmond sounds like a sweet guy. Thanks for the apt review.

[Aisha Yakub]

Great plot. I think this is an adventurous tale. Reading about love triangles could be exciting until they don't end as expected; I hope this did. Thank you for the review.