Ransome's Honor by Kaye Dacus

Reviewed by Lori Fox

"...presents you with a story that is so out of the ordinary for this particular genre that it's positively gripping..."

The young Julia Witherington was captivated by the handsome William Ransome, as he seemed to be with her. Despite rumors swirling around her that the young lieutenant in the Royal Navy was courting her only to win favor with her father, a captain, Julia firmly believes that he is as in love with her as she is with him, and she's determined to accept his offer of marriage when it comes.

Twelve years after Lt. Ransome didn't propose, Julia stands to inherit a large fortune. As a single woman approaching the age of 30, she doesn't have many possible suitors except in the form of her handsome layabout cousin. Just as Julia is about to inherit her fortune, her cousin and her aunt are about to lose theirs. The only honorable way to keep her fortune from falling into their rapacious hands is to marry another-- except, the only eligible bachelor in her sphere is the handsome Captain Ransome.

I asked to review Ransome's Honor by Kaye Dacus because I'm a fan of her contemporary Brides of Bonneterre series. I honestly wasn't sure if an author of contemporary romance could pull off a historical, but I think Ransome's Honor is even better than her contemporary books! Let me explain...

Kaye Dacus has a real knack for creating unique story lines with interesting characters. Nothing in her books reads like the "same old, same old" that you tend to get in popular genres. Her characters think differently, act differently, and have different things happen to them. Her stories are fresh and intriguing. Aside from the disconcerting habit of describing things that have nothing to do with the story at hand, she writes contemporary romance very, very well. It's not easy to do that in two genres.

However, her first novel set in the Regency period follows her giftings and presents you with a story that is so out of the ordinary for this particular genre that it's positively gripping simply from its newness. Instead of the poor gentlewoman, the commoner who falls for the wealthy landowner, or the wealthy gentlewoman who marries another gentleman or a commoner, we're presented with a wealthy young woman who is born into a naval family---the sort of family that is well respected, but doesn't mix in society. Instead of taking place in the countryside or in London, she is removed from her beloved Jamaican plantation and lives, instead, in Portsmouth. In this historical, all of the descriptions that Dacus seems to love not only fit the novel, but truly enhance it.

In all, while I will certainly remain a fan of the Brides of Bonneterre series and look forward to the release of A Case For Love, the book that I'm most anxious to read is Book 2 of the Ransome Trilogy.

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Lori Fox is a freelance writer who is working on her first novel as well as writing reviews for TitleTrakk.com. In addition to writing, she enjoys reading, making jewelry, and taking as many trips to Walt Disney World as possible with her wonderful husband Kyle. Visit her online at her website.