Review by Amagine -- For the Love of Suzanne

[Amagine]

[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 by Kristi Hudecek-Ashwill goes like this; Suzanne Dillon is a pregnant woman in an unhappy marriage with a husband who beats, cheats and belittles her. One day, a freak accident occurs that kills her husband and leaves her a pregnant widow. Lonely, but determined to get life back in order, Suzanne takes a drive into the desert of Arizona hoping that the sunshine and fresh air would brighten her spirits. Her drive through the desert turned out to be more than that as Suzanne finds herself transported over 150 years into the past and at the mercy of the handsome half Indian man, Cody “Black Fox.” Together they must survive battles between the Americans and the Indians, Suzanne’s growing pregnancy and come to the acceptance of their growing feelings for one another. Oh yeah, they still have to figure out how to get Suzanne and her baby back home as well.

I knew this was going to be an interesting read because the author followed one of my golden rules when writing an intro: start in the middle of some action. The beginning also served to give the reader vital information and background into the heroine and title character, Suzanne. We witness all of Suzanne’s trials and tribulations through the clear and concise imagery the author presents us. There’s much gratitude to the author, that even with the husband’s death, no time or plot was wasted in introducing us to a male lead that can steal any reader’s heart; “Black Fox” better known as Cody.

What makes this novel interesting is not just the romance story but the fact that it is set 150 years in the past where Indians are slowly losing their land and America is gradually growing. You can tell this is an author that did a little research as we are presented with imagery of the landscape and interesting characters who you can truly believe probably existed sometime in the past… okay enough about the historical content, let’s get back to the romance in the story.

Most romance novelists have their characters rush into a romance early on the book, but the author made this one more realistic. We see the unfolding of a genuine love story that starts off with curiosity of one another, trust, budding affection and then a true development of love. The ending of their story was also a very satisfying end that any reader would appreciate.

If I had to give negatives there would only be a few, but they do exist. My main one would be with the character, Suzanne herself. In the book, the author tries to portray her as a strong and kind hearted woman but she comes off as a burden and constant damsel in distress. Besides her romance with Cody, there’s nothing else noteworthy about her as she always seems to be in some kind of danger that she can’t get out of and has to wait for Cody to save her and usually many other characters die as a result of it. She even offers to whore herself out to him for his protection.

After the introduction of Cody, I couldn’t help but note that Suzanne almost becomes a secondary character and it becomes Cody’s story. Cody becomes the “Mario” of the story and Suzanne is nothing more than “Princess Peach” whose only purpose is to highlight just what great of a guy Cody is because he’s always there to save her from the many perils she faces.

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. Yes, the character Suzanne comes off as dull and useless but I can still appreciate a great love story and a great male lead. I also enjoyed the historical content that the author placed in the novel. I would recommend this book to any reader who enjoys not only historical romance novels but romance novels in general. This is one that they wouldn’t want to put down until the very end.

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For the Love of Suzanne
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Like Amagine's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Pilar Guerrero]

Thank you for this review.
The first sentence that comes to my mind is "you write the way you speak". When I went to study in UK, a girl told me "you speak the way we write"... yes, Spanish is my first language.
After reading your review I have started thinking about the role of women in literature and how much the appreciation for strong women has changed. I think that 40 years ago, a character like Suzzane would have looked very different in the eyes of young women, when I grew up it was not wrong to be a dimsel in distress who has a strong guy by her side to save her. Because there was an intrinsic value in a woman who could have a man like that, and men liked to have a woman to protect and to defend. I think it was a way to portray masculinity and femeninity.
Nowadays the roles of men and women have changed and a character like Suzzane is not as worthy as she may have been decades ago, which honestly, brings me joy. I like to be strong.

[Amagine]

I agree with you that one way to look to look at Suzanne and Cody is by seeing them portray their respective roles; masculine =strong and brave, feminine= weak and fragile. You are right, in another time period, this would be the norm. I also like the strong feminine role and I love seeing a woman defy the odds placed against her. If Suzanne had been a stronger character, I would've given the novel 4 stars.

[va2016]

It's a pretty good story, and I found the Cody character to be fantastic. Though the story overall feels rustic because of the age in which most of it happens, the feelings and emotions of the characters compensate for it. A story that I cannot not easy forget! Magical unbelievable transition in scenes at the beginning and the end though!

[Amagine]

It's a pretty good story, and I found the Cody character to be fantastic. Though the story overall feels rustic because of the age in which most of it happens, the feelings and emotions of the characters compensate for it. A story that I cannot not easy forget! Magical unbelievable transition in scenes at the beginning and the end though!

Yes, it was a great story. I loved Cody's character. Also the emotions and feelings in the novel do seem so authentic. This was a good romance novel.

Thank you for reading!

[Jaime Lync]

Great review. You really gave Suzanne a beating with your words! I liked your honesty. I am not sure if I like stories that downplay their main character after they introduce another protagonist.

[Amagine]

Thanks for reading! ?

[Rosemary Okoko]

Sounds like an interesting story line. Good to know you enjoyed reading it. Thank you for this review

[Amagine]

Thank you for reading! ?