Saving Alessandra

by Christine Maria Jahn

Alessandra Willow Smythson-Drake, a widow at four and twenty, has sailed back to her family estate in England upon the death of her abusive husband. But escape from the torture she endured during her marriage was not to come easily. Both her sleeping and waking hours are controlled by night terrors and emotional turmoil. Physical scars, one of which is too hideous to hide, force her into seclusion.

Simon Thane Bevan, Marquess of Heavensford and childhood friend, re-enters Alessandra's life. What starts as a simple meeting to rekindle a lost friendship quickly ignites his heart into unconditional love. Overcome with anger at the abuse his friend has suffered, he vows to save her from living the life of a recluse.

Believing she deserves nothing but solitude and unhappiness, Alessandra trusts no one except her personal maid, and refuses to accept Simon's confession of love as nothing more than pity.

The marquess, however, is determined to prove otherwise.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Historical, Regency

217 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 22, 2012

About the author

SAVING ALESSANDRA is the debut novel for Christine Maria Jahn. Her love of words began during daily sessions of crossword puzzles with her father. Her passion for the written word grew to include poetry in high school, and further still during her time in college. But her fascination with late eighteenth through early nineteenth century historical fiction was sparked when she first seen the music video "Stand and Deliver" by Adam and the Ants. Shortly thereafter, Ms. Jahn bought her first historical romance, "A Rose in Winter", authored by the late Kathleen E. Woodiwiss. Many years and hundreds of historical and regency novels later, and with the encouragement of her daughters, Christine Maria Jahn dusted off her writing box and has once again set her own pen to paper. She currently resides in Virginia and is working on two sequels to SAVING ALESSANDRA.

Reviews

[seton · Rating 1 out of 5]

Setting: Regency England
Trope: Tortured heroine

I tried this because it was free and had a lot of tropes that I liked, but I could not finish because the writing was below average:

-punctuation was missing
-no sense of time and place or historical atmosphere
-the author did not know the correct forms of address regarding the aristocracy

I also did not care for the actual writing style. Chapters ended abruptly. I found the tone a bit on the melodramatic side, altho I could have overlooked it if I found other aspects engrossing enough. But I didn't.

For a better written novel with similar tropes, I suggest something like Impulse.

[Liloshadow (ReNee) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heart wrenching tale of abuse and the LOVE that saves...

This is a deeply moving story of one young woman named Alessandra and her abuse at the hands of a monster aka her husband. After she is widowed she moves back home to London to live with her elder brother Sebastian. Once in London she hides her self in seclusion even from her brother. Her brothers best friend and childhood friend Simon begins a mission of trying to save Alessandra. He will do anything to earn her trust and ultimately her love.

This story is more about the after affects of abuse and how it changes someone than it is a romance. Don't get me wrong, the love that Simon has for Alessandra is deeply moving and beautiful...but it's more about the healing. The are no love scenes and very few kisses.

The author writes really well, and the story moves along nice and smoothly. I read it in one sitting. I cried in quit a few parts...the abuse she suffered was absolutely horrific. The boy Oliver brought some nice lighter funnier moments. I really hope Sebastian the brother gets a happy ending, I would look forward to reading his story!

If you want a truly moving story, you MUST check this one out!

[Janice Spina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a emotional love story that will break your heart. The protagonist, Alessandra, is forced to marry a man she barely knows at a young age by her father. Though her heart is lost to a childhood friend she must do her best to make her marriage work. Her husband keeps his sadistic and evil ways at bay until Alessandra's father dies then the horror begins for her in the marriage. Her husband does unspeakable things to her leaving her physically, emotionally and psychologically scarred for life.

Alessandra's husband dies unexpectedly leaving her free from any more suffering at his hands. Will she ever be free of the pain, torment and horrific memories of his abuse? Can she be saved by the love of her friend? Will she ever forgive her brother for not helping her?

You will have to read this tragic story of what abuse can do to a person. The dialogue and time of this story was early 1800's which was done very well and added depth and substance to what abused women had to contend with at that time. There was no medication for depression except Laudanum and no surgeries to repair broken bones. It was a very trying time for the abused.

The author did a commendable job of seeing through the eyes of the abused wife but at the same time shared the feelings of those around her and their sufferings. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

[Constance Dinsmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing work of fiction!

Amazing story of overcoming atrocious circumstances. Allessandra is a very strong woman who overcomes a extremely debilitating experiences. Simon is amazing that he still loves her and helps her to move forward and find happiness again. The author gives us an amazing story with many twists and turns that constantly keep you on your toes. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves historical fiction and wants a new story that touches your heart.

[WTF Are You Reading? · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to come following initial publication in Audiobook Monthly.

[Jackie · Rating 1 out of 5]

The language and lack of understanding is just. Wow.

[Sheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alessandra Willow Smythson-Drake was widowed at the young age of twenty-four. But while losing a husband at such a young age would be a hardship for most, for Alessandra it marked the end of years of suffering. A new beginning if she can manage to let go of her past.

The Marquess of Heavonsford, Simon Thane Bevan was a childhood friend of Alessandra and her brother, Sebastian. Upon hearing of Alessandra’s return to England, he tries to kindle the one lost childhood love. However, even he is unprepared for the physical and emotional scars Alessandra is harboring in solitude.

My Opinion

First of all, I’ll be the first to say that I love the Regency time period. I’m a huge fan of Jane Austen and anything set in England during the days of Dukes and Marquess’, so when I was given the opportunity to review this book, I jumped at it!

While I think the story was intriguing and fresh, there were just a few things that didn’t set with me. These are personal preferences so it may be that my take will be different than yours.

First, I had a very hard time relating to Alessandra. She was abused and hurt beyond imagination, but for some reason I couldn’t get the empathy for her. Her hurts and emotions almost felt too stiff and toward the end of the book, I was frustrated that she couldn’t move past them.

Second, Simon (the hero) and Sebastian (Alessandra’s brother) were both unbelievable as men to me. This was most especially noticeable in their dialogue with each other. Being married and having grown up with brothers, I just couldn’t see two grown men in the types of conversations they had. Too touchy, feely, if those are words :)

However, I will also say that I did really like Simon. He was the character who redeemed the book for me. He was patient, kind and a protector.

Overall, the story didn’t work for me. However, if you are a fan of Regency, take this review lightly and try the book for yourself.

Many thanks to the author for my review copy of this book. All of the opinions expressed here are mine and I was not paid to give a positive review.

[Katie(babs) · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNFed almost half way through. The over the top abuse the heroine suffered from her deceased husband is ridiculous and her fears, which I tried to sympathize with grated on my nerves. The hero was bland and the emotional dialogue between the heroine and heroine was too prosey and sickeningly poetic for me to the point I grew annoyed.

A pass.