"Atoning for Ashes" by Kaitlin Covel

 


On the Cornwall coast in Regency England, Josie Chadwick wants nothing more than a peaceful life where her family is happy and in harmony. When bad decisions by her father and sister force Josie to consider a marriage of convenience in order to preserve their social standing, she hopes for the best. Her new husband has a troubled past that haunts him, making the beginning of their marriage very difficult indeed. Secrets abound and danger seems to lurk in every corner, denying Josie the peace she desires.

The level of drama in this book is off the charts. I lost count of the number of secret marriages, disowned offspring, and illegitimate children that were found within these pages. I did feel that some of the turns of plot were hard to follow in a rational manner, such as Josie having never once met the man who lived on a neighboring estate and had for a year been openly courting her sister. Even if she had never seen him around town, she and her sister were close and lived together, so surely she would have met him during their courtship.

One thing I would caution other readers about is the fact that this book contains more violence than I expected. The relationship between Josie and her new husband is quite contentious, and I actually had to stop reading the book for a while after an attempted marital rape. That really bothered me, as I have dear friends and family members who have suffered in abusive marriages, and I'm not sure this is the right kind of conflict to drive the message that the author wanted to bring to the story. There are also other instances of sexual violence in the book, so if that is triggering for you, please be aware this is one you might need to skip.

Kaitlin Covel is a very expressive author who has a lot to offer with her stories. If anything, I would encourage her to develop a subtlety to her writing, as I believe that would only increase the impact her words have on the page. If you missed my recent interview with her, please click here to read it. 

I received an advance reading copy of the book from the author. All opinions in this review are my own.