Finally it is Lord Jasper's turn! Unmask Me If You Can is Shana Galen's fourth book in her Survivors series, and I am so happy for Jasper to finally get his Happily Ever After. The previous three books were amazing, and Jasper was a side character in each that I believe many readers have been waiting for.
Lord Jasper is a man who can find things. His friends in his troupe nicknamed him the Bounty Hunter for that reason. The troupe (they call themselves The Survivors) is a tight net group of twelve men who made it through the war against Napoleon despite extremely dangerous missions that were considered suicidal. Now that the war is over, he makes his living finding things, but mostly people. He is tasked by the Carlisle's to find their daughter who had run away five years before. Her mother is on her deathbed and wishes only to see her daughter again. So Jasper decides to help the family and finds himself in a remote village where he believes the girl lives. On his way up a steep cliff towards the house, he is stabbed and left for dead.
Olivia Carlisle used to be the typical debutante within Society. She was the dutiful daughter to her parents, and she agreed to become betrothed to a duke by their direction. He makes her uncomfortable, but her parents don't seem to think there is reason to do anything. The duke rapes Olivia, and she runs away before the marriage can take place. She has been living in hiding as a widow with her son in a remote village hoping the duke will never find her. It's a much different life than the fancy dresses, parties, and ton, but she does whatever she has to for her son. Then her safe haven and peaceful life gets turned upside down when her son finds an unconscious and hurt man on the path to their home.
It takes a lot of courage for Olivia to take this man in need in to her home and care for him, especially after what had been done to her. However, she pushes herself to do it. I think a lot of her gumption stems from a "Mama Bear" instinct to take care of her son. When Jasper comes back into consciousness, he cannot help but admire this strong and capable woman. Though she knows not all men are like the duke who had hurt her, it is difficult for her to put trust into any man. Jasper knows to be very patient with her, and he is completely understanding. While he has physical scars on his face that he is ashamed of, she also has scars that she is ashamed of. While neither of them have ANY reasons to be ashamed, their experiences bring them together in a unique way.
I loved Jasper, just as I fully expected to, and Olivia was a strong female lead. I always get uncomfortable with books about rape, but Shana Galen did a good job in my opinion of portraying the gravity of it without too many details. It also wasn't played out all at once. Just snippets here and there. I think Shana Galen also did an amazing job of portraying the hesitancy Olivia feels about men and certain experiences because of what she went through. I think this story shows a lot of character growth between Jasper and Olivia. The romantic aspect of the story didn't have too many heart dropping, swoon worthy moments so I had a hard time feeling it as much as some of my favorites. But I do think the way it played out was perfect for this particular situation.
I sincerely hope this series continues! There was a small teaser of her next book at the end of this one, but I believe it was for a different series. While I will usually devour anything by Shana Galen, I hope any breaks from our Survivors aren't too long! We did meet a Survivor I don't believe has been in any previous book, and his small contribution already has me wondering about him. Shana Galen also shows us some more about Colonel Draven's personal life, but only a little to keep us guessing. Hopefully she wouldn't be so cruel as to leave it at that? Liked this book, love this series!
**ARC provided by Author**
0 comments :
Post a Comment