Broken Wing
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Abandoned as a child and raised in a brothel, Gabriel St. Croix has never known tenderness, friendship or affection. Although fluent in sex, he knows nothing of love. Lost and alone inside a nightmare world, all he’s ever wanted was companionship and a place to belong. Hiding physical and emotional scars behind an icy façade, his only relationship is with a young boy he has spent the last five years protecting from the brutal reality of their environment. But all that is about to change. The boy’s family has found him, and they are coming to take him home.
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Sarah Munroe blames herself for her brother’s disappearance. When he’s located, safe and unharmed despite where he as been living. Sarah vows to help the man who rescued and protected him in any way she can. With loving patience she helps Gabriel face his demons and teaches him to trust in friendship and love. But when the past catches up with him, Gabriel must face it on his own.
Becoming a mercenary, pirate and a professional gambler, Gabriel travels to London, France, and the Barbary Coast in a desperate attempt to find Sarah again and all he knows of love. On the way, however, he will discover the most dangerous journey, and the greatest gamble of all, is within the darkest reaches of his own heart.
Reviews
“The Napoleonic era comes brilliantly alive in James’s debut adventure romance. Sarah, Lady Munroe, has traveled to postrevolution Paris with her half-brother, Ross, to find their long-lost younger brother. Young Jamie suffered few ill effects while residing at a Parisian brothel thanks to the protection of Gabriel St. Croix, a “glittering catamite” who returns to England with them at Jamie’s insistence. While Gabriel’s attraction to Sarah begins as an innocent shared admiration for astronomy, their sensual love scenes intensify as Gabriel reconciles his tender feelings with his sordid past. The pace never falters when the lovebirds are separated and pursue adventures on their own. The extensive historical detail goes a long way, but Sarah and Gabriel’s heart-wrenching struggle to keep their love alive is what will really keep readers entranced throughout this epic read.”
-Publishers Weekly
“Fans of epic tales, tortured heroes and good historical romances, this is the book you have been waiting for. Go out now, and buy yourself a copy or two of Broken Wing and you will be richly rewarded. As for me, I think I will read it a couple more times. What a book! Grade A”
-ALL ABOUT ROMANCE
Desert Island Keeper, honourable mention Best of 2008, AAR Buried Treasure, Best Tear Jerker annual readers poll
“When I think of what constitutes a superior historical romance, I think of real characters connecting on many levels with a believable setting that pulls me into the story and sweeps me along into another place and time. Judith James’s novel Broken Wing is such a tale; I was hooked from the first pages and found myself sighing with satisfaction at the end. Broken Wing is both well-written and compelling, and I found the pages flying by as I wrapped myself in the tale of the numb Gabriel being brought to life by the vivacious Sarah. I found there was much to love about this story of two star-crossed lovers finding one another in many ways. Superior reading indeed.”
-Tamela McCann Historical Novels Review
Editors’ Choice Titles for November 2008
