Fire on the Wind

Fire Duology #1

by Olivia Drake

New York Times and USA Today bestselling historical romance novelist Olivia Drake brings us a tale of adventure, intrigue, and true love… A wave of chaos sweeps over British-ruled India, where headstrong Sarah Faulkner is bound both by her gender and the confines of her uncle’s military compound. Unwilling to sit on the sidelines, the free-spirited beauty breaks free only to discover that her sheltered life hasn’t prepared her for the real world.Fleeing the impeding chaos, Sarah meets mysterious and alluring Damien Coleridge, the disgraced son of an English duke—banished from England to atone for a crime he didn’t commit. Seeking his own sanctuary, Damien is drawn to Sarah, and the walls he’s built up over the years of solitude crumble at her touch…Threatened by both war and their own wild nature, the two must find a way to keep each other, and their passion, safe…"An exhilarating, exotic, and adventurous love story. Again and again, Olivia Drake stretches the boundaries of the genre...Fire on the Wind is her most powerful romance yet." —Romantic Times, exceptional rating"Superlative…definitely a fabulous treasure." —Rendezvous"Five stars!" —Affaire de Coeur

411 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 26, 2019

About the author

Shortly after graduating from Michigan State University with a degree in journalism, Olivia Drake sold her first novel two weeks after sending it to a publisher. She now lives in Texas in a cozy cottage with two feisty cats and a photographer husband. Her two daughters have flown the nest, but still come back whenever they want a home-cooked meal!

Olivia Drake is the author of 35 romance novels. Her most recent series is called 'Unlikely Duchesses' and began with THE DUKE I ONCE KNEW, followed by FOREVER MY DUKE. The third stand-alone book is WHEN A DUKE LOVES A GOVERNESS.

Her other series include 'Heiress in London' (SEDUCING THE HEIRESS, NEVER TRUST A ROGUE, SCANDAL OF THE YEAR) and 'The Cinderella Sisterhood' series (IF THE SLIPPER FITS, STROKE OF MIDNIGHT, ABDUCTED BY A PRINCE, BELLA AND THE BEAST, HIS WICKED WISH, THE SCANDALOUS FLIRT).

Many of you also knew Olivia as Barbara Dawson Smith. She is a New York Times bestseller and winner of numerous honors, including the Golden Heart Award and the coveted Rita Award for excellence in the historical romance genre.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/olivia...

Reviews

[Em · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is so atrocious. The characters are boring and one-note. The love story is unconvincing-Damian is surly and downright cruel to Sarah from beginning to end. He demands she take care of his baby after his wife was murdered, but treats both his child and the nanny poorly. Nonetheless, she swoons over him and jumps into his bed, despite his repeated insistence that he is incapable of loving her and has no desire to have a family with her. Sarah is described as this moral and brave character but her actions don’t reflect that. Frankly, I found her too foolish to be very sympathetic, even acknowledging that the stress of fleeing a war zone might make anyone latch onto the man they are traveling with. At the end of the book, there’s a cheesy mystery featuring cartoonish villains and a disabled relative who is a talking stereotype. We don’t actually see the characters behave as though they are in love. The author should’ve skipped the mystery and worked harder on the relationships portion.

Also, I understand that this genre often romanticizes colonization. Many romance authors rely on dehumanizing stereotypes to write their nonwhite characters. I’ve occasionally been able to turn my critical brain off enough to enjoy the love story aspects of those novels in the past. But I could not help but dwell on it while reading this book. For example, an English character calls Damian out for making Sarah his mistress, asking why he was willing to marry and protect an Indian woman but refuses to marry Sarah (the implication being that an Englishwoman is superior. Which I expected, coming from an upper class Englishman of that time.) Our “hero’s” answer is that Sarah is his “equal” and his first wife was more like “a servant.” What a way to describe the murdered mother of your child! That scene really rubbed me the wrong way, especially since it turns into his big “Maybe Sarah is my dream girl, after all!” speech. The contrast between the way he spoke about them was obscene and made him seem even creepier!

Skip this book!

[Diane Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read. The only thing I wish I had known was this book was previously released under a different author's name (found it by copywriter information page because it was familiar when I read it and probably did back in the 90's.)

[Alda Delicado · Rating 5 out of 5]

A romance novel in a different setting. This time our characters are in India during the sepoy uprising. A colorful plot with a lot of historical details, I greatly enjoyed it an ~d recommend it. I will surely check on other work by this author.

[Norah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t find the characters likable. He is always mean to her from the first time they met and she is always trying to champion her causes even if it puts others in danger. There were moments that just seemed very unrealistic, it was an interesting plot.