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Eden #3
The Eden Passion
When a man loses his honor in the arms of a forbidden woman, love becomes his impossible dream.
John Murrey Eden came home to bury the man and legend of his father -- and to claim a castle and destiny named Eden.
Standing amid the beauty of all that would one day be his to rule, was the woman that should never have been his to love -- the Lady of Eden, the mistress of his father...
From their tragic, forbidden love, a woman fled into the tormented darkness of endless guilt, and a man wandered around the world searching for honor without sorrow, the future without the past, and love without end.
John Murrey Eden came home to bury the man and legend of his father -- and to claim a castle and destiny named Eden.
Standing amid the beauty of all that would one day be his to rule, was the woman that should never have been his to love -- the Lady of Eden, the mistress of his father...
From their tragic, forbidden love, a woman fled into the tormented darkness of endless guilt, and a man wandered around the world searching for honor without sorrow, the future without the past, and love without end.
630 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
20 people are currently reading
332 people want to read
About the author
Marilyn Harris
40 books81 followersHarris was born on June 4, 1931, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the daughter of John P., an oil executive, and Dora (nee Veal) Harris. Harris was educated in her home state, attending Cottey College from 1945 to 1951, then transferring to the University of Oklahoma, from which she received a bachelor of arts degree in 1953 and a master of arts degree in 1955.
Harris's first collection of short stories, King's Ex, was published by Doubleday in 1967. After that Harris proved a prolific author, publishing seventeen books, including novels, short stories, romance/ historical fiction and children's fiction in a twenty-year period from 1970 to 1989. These works, in addition to those listed above, include In the Midst of Earth (1969), The Peppersalt Land (1970), The Runaway's Diary (1971), The Conjurers (1974), Bledding Sorrow (1976), The Portent (1980), The Last Great Love (1981), Warrick (1985), Night Games (1987), and Lost and Found (1991). Harris's work has received a wide readership; in 1983, nine million of her books were in print, and her work has been translated into many languages, including French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, and Japanese. She has also been an author in residence at Oklahoma's Central State University.
She died January 18, 2002.
Harris's first collection of short stories, King's Ex, was published by Doubleday in 1967. After that Harris proved a prolific author, publishing seventeen books, including novels, short stories, romance/ historical fiction and children's fiction in a twenty-year period from 1970 to 1989. These works, in addition to those listed above, include In the Midst of Earth (1969), The Peppersalt Land (1970), The Runaway's Diary (1971), The Conjurers (1974), Bledding Sorrow (1976), The Portent (1980), The Last Great Love (1981), Warrick (1985), Night Games (1987), and Lost and Found (1991). Harris's work has received a wide readership; in 1983, nine million of her books were in print, and her work has been translated into many languages, including French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, and Japanese. She has also been an author in residence at Oklahoma's Central State University.
She died January 18, 2002.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
April 12, 2021
If John Murrey Eden had a theme song, it would be the Johnny Cash rendition of ‘Hurt.’
Go look it up. I’ll wait.
*sips coffee*
*checks weather forecast on phone*
*sips coffee again*
...Now that your Feels have been alternately cradled in loving arms & stomped into an unrecognizable bloody mess, you’ve successfully duplicated the Eden reading experience. 😇
This is #3 of Harris’ long-running family saga, & it goes without saying that they *must* be read in order. It’s been 10 years since I finished PRINCE OF EDEN (I checked GR to be sure) & at first it was a struggle to recall the various threads & themes that were woven into books 1-2, but once I settled back into everything, the book flowed along & was difficult to put aside for sleeping or eating. Harris has that rare ability to write long, complicated sagas that grip your attention + very little filler—which makes the poor quality of her genre horror novels all the more puzzling, but that’s neither here nor there. 😶
I find many reviewers’ standoffish reaction to John Murrey Eden puzzling...until I remember the waves of fangirling for Edward in #2, & then it becomes clear. Readers, like the characters within the story, are suckered into expecting John to be an Edward clone. HE IS NOT. And his frustration with people for expecting that is, IMO, a justifiable one. Edward had many noble qualities, including his charitable bent, but one thing he lacked was the ability to recognize that his “give until it hurts!” mentality was depriving his son of a stable emotional base, which translates into a longing for tangible security. John struggles with his lack of financial/family structure throughout EDEN PASSION, quite literally wandering the earth after his expulsion from Eden—which, sadly, is also due to his father neglecting to reveal the truth of his parentage, thus instigating a terrible incestuous mistake & the wreckage in its wake.
By the close of the book, John has indeed rebuilt a family & cobbled together a foundation for fiscal security...but it’s not an easy journey, & surrounding characters are swept along in his wake, like Elizabeth (one of my faves—such a BAMF survivor), Dhari (poor girl), Jack Willmot (RIP), cousin Richard (a gentle, sensitive soul, which is surprising given his emotionally stunted parents), & many others. There are no saints in the Eden-verse, but Lila comes closest to that honor—I’ve no doubt her fate will be unpleasant in book 4. :P
So. I LIKE John Murrey Eden, & find him all the more relatable for his flaws & feet of clay. Whether I’ll still like him after WOMEN OF EDEN, who knows; Harris has a way of changing your mind & turning characters on their heads without warning. But I bet I’ll still hate Harriet. That selfish moo drives me crazy—I didn’t care for her in book 2, but I really can’t stand her after that meltdown in book 3. Keep calm & grow a spine, already.
Anyhoooo...
This was really good. Beautifully written, beautifully plotted, beautifully characterized, emotionally involving for better & for worse. If book 1 is a lengthy gothic chase & book 2 is a sensational Victorian saga, this is a mix of the two + a healthy helping of Greek tragedy (particularly in the motifs of blindness, inability to speak both literal & metaphorical, search for retribution, quest for home, etc).
5 shiny stars.
Go look it up. I’ll wait.
*sips coffee*
*checks weather forecast on phone*
*sips coffee again*
...Now that your Feels have been alternately cradled in loving arms & stomped into an unrecognizable bloody mess, you’ve successfully duplicated the Eden reading experience. 😇
This is #3 of Harris’ long-running family saga, & it goes without saying that they *must* be read in order. It’s been 10 years since I finished PRINCE OF EDEN (I checked GR to be sure) & at first it was a struggle to recall the various threads & themes that were woven into books 1-2, but once I settled back into everything, the book flowed along & was difficult to put aside for sleeping or eating. Harris has that rare ability to write long, complicated sagas that grip your attention + very little filler—which makes the poor quality of her genre horror novels all the more puzzling, but that’s neither here nor there. 😶
I find many reviewers’ standoffish reaction to John Murrey Eden puzzling...until I remember the waves of fangirling for Edward in #2, & then it becomes clear. Readers, like the characters within the story, are suckered into expecting John to be an Edward clone. HE IS NOT. And his frustration with people for expecting that is, IMO, a justifiable one. Edward had many noble qualities, including his charitable bent, but one thing he lacked was the ability to recognize that his “give until it hurts!” mentality was depriving his son of a stable emotional base, which translates into a longing for tangible security. John struggles with his lack of financial/family structure throughout EDEN PASSION, quite literally wandering the earth after his expulsion from Eden—which, sadly, is also due to his father neglecting to reveal the truth of his parentage, thus instigating a terrible incestuous mistake & the wreckage in its wake.
By the close of the book, John has indeed rebuilt a family & cobbled together a foundation for fiscal security...but it’s not an easy journey, & surrounding characters are swept along in his wake, like Elizabeth (one of my faves—such a BAMF survivor), Dhari (poor girl), Jack Willmot (RIP), cousin Richard (a gentle, sensitive soul, which is surprising given his emotionally stunted parents), & many others. There are no saints in the Eden-verse, but Lila comes closest to that honor—I’ve no doubt her fate will be unpleasant in book 4. :P
So. I LIKE John Murrey Eden, & find him all the more relatable for his flaws & feet of clay. Whether I’ll still like him after WOMEN OF EDEN, who knows; Harris has a way of changing your mind & turning characters on their heads without warning. But I bet I’ll still hate Harriet. That selfish moo drives me crazy—I didn’t care for her in book 2, but I really can’t stand her after that meltdown in book 3. Keep calm & grow a spine, already.
Anyhoooo...
This was really good. Beautifully written, beautifully plotted, beautifully characterized, emotionally involving for better & for worse. If book 1 is a lengthy gothic chase & book 2 is a sensational Victorian saga, this is a mix of the two + a healthy helping of Greek tragedy (particularly in the motifs of blindness, inability to speak both literal & metaphorical, search for retribution, quest for home, etc).
5 shiny stars.
November 7, 2011
John Murrey Eden brings his father's body back to Eden Castle for burial, and he plans on staying put and making the castle his home - and to prove it he marches right off to his father's old room (never been to the castle before, but he knows exactly where in the labyrinth he needs to go). Not everyone at Eden Castle is ready to accept John as Edward's son, and he's quickly shuffled off to work in the lowest form of employment possible, that is until he's rescued and restored to the bosom of most of the Edens by Lady Harriet, John's...ummm....aunt by marriage I guess is the right title.
Now here's the deal. Unless you've already read books one and two, I just can't even go hinting on what's going to happen. Those who have read the first two probably have a damned good inkling what happens next but whatever you think it is, the aftermath when you-know-what comes out will forever change the lives of everyone at Eden Castle. I have the most incredibly awesome quote from this scene I'd love to share, but it just might spoil things too much. You will just have to read it for yourself to find out. John leaves Eden and returns to London to begin a new life, albeit a very poor one at first. His travels take him to the Crimea and then India, and finally back to London where a discovery in his father's old trunk sends him on a new path.
The first half of this book is just as awesome as the last two were, but a good portion of the latter half really dragged off, it felt like much of what happened were just events to set up for the next books in the series John loses a great friend at the Crimea, he gets a mistress in India, brings them all back to London and then the set up to the return to a crumbling Eden Castle and...
Gawd, I just can't tell you but be darned sure you have book #4, The Women of Eden waiting the very second you finish the last page of this one.
Now here's the deal. Unless you've already read books one and two, I just can't even go hinting on what's going to happen. Those who have read the first two probably have a damned good inkling what happens next but whatever you think it is, the aftermath when you-know-what comes out will forever change the lives of everyone at Eden Castle. I have the most incredibly awesome quote from this scene I'd love to share, but it just might spoil things too much. You will just have to read it for yourself to find out. John leaves Eden and returns to London to begin a new life, albeit a very poor one at first. His travels take him to the Crimea and then India, and finally back to London where a discovery in his father's old trunk sends him on a new path.
The first half of this book is just as awesome as the last two were, but a good portion of the latter half really dragged off, it felt like much of what happened were just events to set up for the next books in the series John loses a great friend at the Crimea, he gets a mistress in India, brings them all back to London and then the set up to the return to a crumbling Eden Castle and...
Gawd, I just can't tell you but be darned sure you have book #4, The Women of Eden waiting the very second you finish the last page of this one.
October 19, 2023
Damn, so I was worried the book would end not happily. Luckily, it did but it ended on a cliffhanger... dah dah duh
Book 3, The Eden Passion, starts right where Book 2 left off, with Elizabeth bringing John to Eden Castle along with Edward's body, which is to be buried. Until John's legitimacy is found, the Edens put him to work. The work was terrible & hard, I felt so sad to read about it. There were even maggots in the food that he was given! I shudder to think that this might have actually been someone's job back then if it is historically accurate...
Lady Harriet Eden changes her mind and (to spite James I believe) brings John back to the family chambers. If you remember from Book 2, Harriet is John's mother. However, she does not know this and sends the new family solicitor off (who is also stealing funds from the family--I hated Morley Johnson!--was any solicitor honest?!) on a quest to find out who is John's real mother. In the meantime, John and Harriet become really close, with John falling in love with her, and they finally consummate their relationship. Yes, you heard me correctly: mother and son have sex with each other unknowingly! I only wish they had more time together in happiness before they discovered the truth, which Morely brought to them because he had finally unraveled the mystery of who exactly John's mom was. If only Harriet wasn't so determined to find out John's maternity...
What happens next is pretty horrible & could be upsetting to some readers. My friend Nenia had to take a break from the book for about a week.
John returns to London, uncertain of his future. Eventually, he goes off to the Crimean War as an assistant for Thomas Brassley, a very wealthy builder I believe. This was where the book dragged for me, and I didn't feel like it was necessary to the plot. I think other reviewers agree with me that we could have done without it. Next, he goes to India, a place he's dreamt of going to for a while, with dreams of stealing jewels from the king's palace, because he met a guy named Alex Aldwell in the hospital during the war who did just that. The British in India refer to the Indians by the n-word a lot, which obviously could be offensive to some readers. (John was offended lol.) I thought it was unnecessary to have the n-word included in this book... He leaves India with the granddaughter of the king, Dhari, and her son Aslam. Another gruesome event takes place.
I won't spoil what happens when John returns to England, but I will say that he finally returns to Eden Castle at the end of the novel. Ten years have passed since he left.
Random Thoughts: 1.)
Gotta read book 4 now because of that cliffhanger!
Book 3, The Eden Passion, starts right where Book 2 left off, with Elizabeth bringing John to Eden Castle along with Edward's body, which is to be buried. Until John's legitimacy is found, the Edens put him to work. The work was terrible & hard, I felt so sad to read about it. There were even maggots in the food that he was given! I shudder to think that this might have actually been someone's job back then if it is historically accurate...
Lady Harriet Eden changes her mind and (to spite James I believe) brings John back to the family chambers. If you remember from Book 2, Harriet is John's mother. However, she does not know this and sends the new family solicitor off (who is also stealing funds from the family--I hated Morley Johnson!--was any solicitor honest?!) on a quest to find out who is John's real mother. In the meantime, John and Harriet become really close, with John falling in love with her, and they finally consummate their relationship. Yes, you heard me correctly: mother and son have sex with each other unknowingly! I only wish they had more time together in happiness before they discovered the truth, which Morely brought to them because he had finally unraveled the mystery of who exactly John's mom was. If only Harriet wasn't so determined to find out John's maternity...
What happens next is pretty horrible & could be upsetting to some readers. My friend Nenia had to take a break from the book for about a week.
John returns to London, uncertain of his future. Eventually, he goes off to the Crimean War as an assistant for Thomas Brassley, a very wealthy builder I believe. This was where the book dragged for me, and I didn't feel like it was necessary to the plot. I think other reviewers agree with me that we could have done without it. Next, he goes to India, a place he's dreamt of going to for a while, with dreams of stealing jewels from the king's palace, because he met a guy named Alex Aldwell in the hospital during the war who did just that. The British in India refer to the Indians by the n-word a lot, which obviously could be offensive to some readers. (John was offended lol.) I thought it was unnecessary to have the n-word included in this book... He leaves India with the granddaughter of the king, Dhari, and her son Aslam. Another gruesome event takes place.
I won't spoil what happens when John returns to England, but I will say that he finally returns to Eden Castle at the end of the novel. Ten years have passed since he left.
Random Thoughts: 1.)
Gotta read book 4 now because of that cliffhanger!
September 15, 2012
Sequel of The Prince of Eden.
Page 7:
"Who are you?"...."My name is John Murrey Eden. My father was Edward Eden. I have come home."
This book starts with John Murray Eden bringing his father's body back to be buried in Eden Castle. He is left there by Elisabeth who comes back to London in order to start a new life for her.
However at Even Castle, John is not very well accepted by the remaining members of Eden's family. He is rescued by his "aunt" Harriet to take place in his father's room.
After a turmoil event (I won't describe it here in order to avoid spoilers), John travels back to London without any money.
The Crimea's war and afterwards India during the Sepoy's rebellion were the way he could find a new way of life.
After his return to London his life will suffer another huge turmoil which will not be described here.
To learn what happens, you MUST read this book.
I am looking forward to read its sequel, The Women of Eden.
Page 7:
"Who are you?"...."My name is John Murrey Eden. My father was Edward Eden. I have come home."
This book starts with John Murray Eden bringing his father's body back to be buried in Eden Castle. He is left there by Elisabeth who comes back to London in order to start a new life for her.
However at Even Castle, John is not very well accepted by the remaining members of Eden's family. He is rescued by his "aunt" Harriet to take place in his father's room.
After a turmoil event (I won't describe it here in order to avoid spoilers), John travels back to London without any money.
The Crimea's war and afterwards India during the Sepoy's rebellion were the way he could find a new way of life.
After his return to London his life will suffer another huge turmoil which will not be described here.
To learn what happens, you MUST read this book.
I am looking forward to read its sequel, The Women of Eden.
January 10, 2015
I loved the first two books in this series about the intensely dysfunctional Eden family, This Other Eden and The Prince of Eden. Mad, bad and bonkers, they're generational epics full of treachery, tragedy, lunacy and lust. The first half of The Eden Passion tries very hard to match them, culminating in a scene of downright derangement involving cutlery. Yep, I did say cutlery. Trust me, it's gloriously awful.
The second half veers way off course though. On the run, we head to the Crimean War and the Indian Rebellion, losing the essence of Eden in the process with intimacy and insanity being replaced by a feeling of detachment. I've enjoyed several books specifically set during these conflicts but they're out of place here; they interrupt the addictively destructive family flow and I ended up skim-reading a lot of it.
4 stars for the first half, 2 for the second, making it 3 overall. Really hope the fourth in the series, The women of Eden, gets back on board the crazy train.
The second half veers way off course though. On the run, we head to the Crimean War and the Indian Rebellion, losing the essence of Eden in the process with intimacy and insanity being replaced by a feeling of detachment. I've enjoyed several books specifically set during these conflicts but they're out of place here; they interrupt the addictively destructive family flow and I ended up skim-reading a lot of it.
4 stars for the first half, 2 for the second, making it 3 overall. Really hope the fourth in the series, The women of Eden, gets back on board the crazy train.
September 11, 2020
Marilyn Harris put me through the wringer. Elizabeth’s story broke my heart.
Major Spoilers:
I simply didn’t like this book as much as This Other Eden or The Prince of Eden. I do like John Murray Eden (flaws and all) and will definitely read The Women of Eden. The ending did pick back up. I wasn't a fan of the cliff-hanger, and I've already started The Women of Eden and was disappointed the cliff-hanger from The Eden Passion wasn't immediately addressed.
4 stars for the first half, and 3.5 for the last third of the book. I skimmed pages and pages of John in Crimea and India. It took me over 3 months to read this book. After John left for Crimea the book was easily put down and forgotten about. Overall this was a solid 3 star read. I have hope The Women of Eden will be better.
Major Spoilers:
I simply didn’t like this book as much as This Other Eden or The Prince of Eden. I do like John Murray Eden (flaws and all) and will definitely read The Women of Eden. The ending did pick back up. I wasn't a fan of the cliff-hanger, and I've already started The Women of Eden and was disappointed the cliff-hanger from The Eden Passion wasn't immediately addressed.
4 stars for the first half, and 3.5 for the last third of the book. I skimmed pages and pages of John in Crimea and India. It took me over 3 months to read this book. After John left for Crimea the book was easily put down and forgotten about. Overall this was a solid 3 star read. I have hope The Women of Eden will be better.
November 9, 2011
Dark disturbing tale set in the mid-1850's in England, Russia and India. Lots of dark doings such as war, forbidden love, historical events and characters, all centered around John Murrey Eden, and the women and people that he encounters. Be warned that the content in this one is not at all suitable for the sensitive, and do try to read the previous novels in the series first as there is quite a bit of back story to go over.
Someone really does need to get this series back into print!
For the longer review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/review/Marily...
Someone really does need to get this series back into print!
For the longer review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/review/Marily...
May 15, 2015
I got this book for free and it sounded interesting so I gave it a try. I'm really glad I did. It's really long and it does get boring for a good bit but the interesting parts make it worth it. The main character is really likeable and it was easy to get emotionally attached. It had me crying pretty bad at a few parts. I'm def going to read the rest of the series.
January 27, 2013
Victorian family dysfunction at its highest. This novel is so tragic and dark, but well worth reading.
December 6, 2021
DNF: I am not going to force myself to read an incestuous relationship between a mother and her son 🤮
December 7, 2024
The Eden Passion is the dark saga of John Murrey Eden the bastard son of Edward Eden .., it covers about ten years in his life from his father’s shocking death to his rise to fortune and fame. It’s horrific at times, a unique story … from passion and incest, thru his times during the Crimean War, life in India to his success in business. He’s a deeply flawed man tho he can be good towards others, and he does have those who love him.
Hard to classify this as a HR as there are several romances, all different and tho they are important in his life they are almost all behind closed doors or only briefly mentioned. The focus is really John’s story, and not on these women in his life.
There’s a richness to the storyline.. many sorrows, and plenty of gut wrenching sadness with thankfully, a heartfelt ending. Overall, a challenging read that left me emotionally exhausted but anxious to start reading the next book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Hard to classify this as a HR as there are several romances, all different and tho they are important in his life they are almost all behind closed doors or only briefly mentioned. The focus is really John’s story, and not on these women in his life.
There’s a richness to the storyline.. many sorrows, and plenty of gut wrenching sadness with thankfully, a heartfelt ending. Overall, a challenging read that left me emotionally exhausted but anxious to start reading the next book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
February 13, 2020
This series is slaying me!
Three for three for multiple sob-fests. Amazing characters, peril, drama, and heartbreak all wrapped in well-researched historical settings from England to Crimea to India. Gothic family saga at its finest.
Three for three for multiple sob-fests. Amazing characters, peril, drama, and heartbreak all wrapped in well-researched historical settings from England to Crimea to India. Gothic family saga at its finest.
March 1, 2021
This is the third in a series of seven. I can't remember much about the two previous ones since I read them 13 years ago. It's taken me 13 years to want to read this one because the other two were awful. This one was a huge letdown. Took me exactly 2 weeks to get though it. The timespan is 10 years. The first 302 pages were very good and kept my attention. It went downhill quickly after that when John, who was 15 when this began, went off to fight in the Crimean war at age 17 then was in India for many years. That part of the book lasted 163 pages but it felt like 300. I couldn't have cared less about what was happening and there was just no point to it. Not one word of it was interesting. Then there was another 200 pages after that after John returned home to England, now age 25, and most of that was uninteresting.
Harriet is a main character and was in the previous book. I don't have this written in my notes but I think she was in her late 20's, the age 27 is coming to mind, in the previous book, so she would be 42-ish at the start of this. After a horrific revelation, she does something very disturbing to herself (page 193 of hardcover, chapter "Eden Castle, May 2, 1852) and banishes herself to her bedroom for years. That revelation lead to another horrific act. After her banishment, she's practically forgotten about until the last few pages. There's a scene on the very last page regarding her that almost made me cry. There's so much more that could have been done with her character that wasn't.
James Eden is Harriet's abusive alcoholic husband, father of young Richard and Mary, and uncle to John, brother to his father, Edward. His character is short lived, unfortunately.
There's a bad character in here that I really like, Morley Johnson. He's stealing from the Eden estate, whom he works for. There's also a violent scene in which he rapes and beats a women in the face. He too is forgotten about until the very end of the story. I like that he gets away with his bad deeds because he's got dirt on someone else.
Lila Harrington was a teenager when she had a brief encounter with John and I mean a very short meeting with him outside one day before he went off to war. She writes to John while he's at war but I don't know why. She doesn't really know him and has only met him once and saw him one other time in the street, so why's she writing to him for years? And why does John get in touch with her when he returns and marry her? Bizarre to me. She's another character who was brought on then forgotten about until the end of the story. She's interesting because she has visions and some think she's a witch. What's the point of making a character that way if the author's not going to do anything with it other than simply tell us?
John leaves for war mostly, I think, to escape something bad that's revealed shortly before. He forgets about his young cousins and forgets Elizabeth, who was a friend of his father, she helped raise him and is the only mother figure in his life. I'm puzzled by why the author had him do that. Characters are brought on only to be put on the back burner until the end. If most of the war section had been cut out this would have been a pretty good book.
September 29, 2017
Reading series for second time and it never fails to pull you into the story and keep you wanting to find out what happens next. Excellent writer of historical and tragic events and characters that leave you wanting more.
October 31, 2018
OMG...This is the most screwed up book I have ever read in my life. I seriously kept reading to find out how much more bizarre shit could happen and I was NOT disappointed.
Read With Caution
It has rape, incest, whores, dirty lawyers, and total insanity dripping from the pages.
Read With Caution
It has rape, incest, whores, dirty lawyers, and total insanity dripping from the pages.
May 3, 2016
More Passion for the Eden family of tragedy and mystery . Such a grand time in history . You must read along with history and this family .
January 7, 2017
Could not put it down. I now need to know the chronological order of these Eden books so that I can start from the beginning Can anyone help me with this information?
December 16, 2017
This was an epic, it covered many years of John's life. He has important people to him, wander in and out of his life. Harriet was mistress of Eden and her husband stayed in his room and drank. It started out a little slow but once it got going, wow. It was impossible to put it down. There are so many who made a difference or he affected.
The descriptions were wonderful but also necessary to give you the feeling of space. The characters were amazing. Aggie the cook tried to help him when first came to Eden, Richard who just wanted to play marbles. Mary so tiny and young. So many and it is hard to put them all here. He comes from London to Salisbury, then again to London, he even gets to India and finally home. The plot has many twists and turns, it has a complex storyline but it is well written and moves smoothly. The author wrote a mesmerizing tale and you lived John's life with him thru the good and the bad. I felt that the tale should not have ended, I was kind of left hanging.
I received this ARC and voluntarily reviewed it.
The descriptions were wonderful but also necessary to give you the feeling of space. The characters were amazing. Aggie the cook tried to help him when first came to Eden, Richard who just wanted to play marbles. Mary so tiny and young. So many and it is hard to put them all here. He comes from London to Salisbury, then again to London, he even gets to India and finally home. The plot has many twists and turns, it has a complex storyline but it is well written and moves smoothly. The author wrote a mesmerizing tale and you lived John's life with him thru the good and the bad. I felt that the tale should not have ended, I was kind of left hanging.
I received this ARC and voluntarily reviewed it.
January 6, 2018
This is the second installment of the Eden Series. This book is about Edward Eden's son, John Murray Eden. It was a ten-year journey, but was one roller coaster of a ride! The characters that all came together to make John's life what he made it. I look forward to reading the final book. This series has been one of the best books I have read for some time, it was not predictable, which I enjoyed.
November 19, 2024
This series gets better and more surprising with each book! Marilyn Harris definitely knew how to make some complex and terrible characters.
February 1, 2026
3 ⭐⭐⭐ — DNF
(Personal reminder: why this did NOT work for me)
Third book of the Eden series
⚠️ Not for everyone.
⚠️ Not for many.
⚠️ Definitely not for me.
This book was darker than the second one—and not in a good way. Más bien… horrid.
SPOILERS
If you thought the incest in Book 2 was bad?
Pues prepárate, because Book 3 said “hold my beer.”
John is the bastard son of Edward—who himself is the bastard son of Thomas. And then… it goes completely off the rails.
John has sex with his mother. Yes. That’s correct. 🤢
Neither of them knows at first—but here’s the kicker: she was his father’s lover and looks just like Edward. Even knowing John is Edward’s son, she still sleeps with him.
Then—because this book refuses to stop—she decides she wants to know who his mother is. So she sends someone to find out. And surprise!
She is the mother.
What does she do?
She stabs her own eyes out with a fork.
What does he do?
He kills the messenger.
At that point I was just sitting there like… ¿pero qué es esto? 😐
This was a horrid story. Not a love story. Not romantic. Not even compelling in a dark, twisted way—for me. There’s no real HEA that I can see (and even if there is one, I genuinely have no idea how that would work).
Everyone in this book felt either forgettable or completely unrelatable. I couldn’t connect to a single soul. No pude. I just… can’t.
Honestly, this author—born in the 1930s somewhere down South (lol)—seems to have a recurring fascination with incest. It already showed up in Book 2 with the siblings who raised Thomas’ children, and now this? Yeah, no.
This is not a love story.
And I think I’m done here.
I’ll happily move on to other bodice rippers that are not this goth, dark, or disturbing. Dame pasión, drama, obsession—pero no esto.
Back to books I actually loved:
Lemonade, Stormfire, Loving Julia, and a few more… 💅📚
(Personal reminder: why this did NOT work for me)
Third book of the Eden series
⚠️ Not for everyone.
⚠️ Not for many.
⚠️ Definitely not for me.
This book was darker than the second one—and not in a good way. Más bien… horrid.
SPOILERS
If you thought the incest in Book 2 was bad?
Pues prepárate, because Book 3 said “hold my beer.”
John is the bastard son of Edward—who himself is the bastard son of Thomas. And then… it goes completely off the rails.
John has sex with his mother. Yes. That’s correct. 🤢
Neither of them knows at first—but here’s the kicker: she was his father’s lover and looks just like Edward. Even knowing John is Edward’s son, she still sleeps with him.
Then—because this book refuses to stop—she decides she wants to know who his mother is. So she sends someone to find out. And surprise!
She is the mother.
What does she do?
She stabs her own eyes out with a fork.
What does he do?
He kills the messenger.
At that point I was just sitting there like… ¿pero qué es esto? 😐
This was a horrid story. Not a love story. Not romantic. Not even compelling in a dark, twisted way—for me. There’s no real HEA that I can see (and even if there is one, I genuinely have no idea how that would work).
Everyone in this book felt either forgettable or completely unrelatable. I couldn’t connect to a single soul. No pude. I just… can’t.
Honestly, this author—born in the 1930s somewhere down South (lol)—seems to have a recurring fascination with incest. It already showed up in Book 2 with the siblings who raised Thomas’ children, and now this? Yeah, no.
This is not a love story.
And I think I’m done here.
I’ll happily move on to other bodice rippers that are not this goth, dark, or disturbing. Dame pasión, drama, obsession—pero no esto.
Back to books I actually loved:
Lemonade, Stormfire, Loving Julia, and a few more… 💅📚
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 6, 2018
Tragedy and Triumph
The third book in the Eden series includes a variety of shocking events and attitudes. It is offensive. It includes story lines that are as triumphant as they are offensive. Although most of us have never endured so much, there is a reality to it that is undeniable. On to the next!
The third book in the Eden series includes a variety of shocking events and attitudes. It is offensive. It includes story lines that are as triumphant as they are offensive. Although most of us have never endured so much, there is a reality to it that is undeniable. On to the next!
June 4, 2024
3rd book in this fabulous series. I cried.
December 21, 2017
The entire series (7) is a great look at way things were in these period pieces starting in 1890 and ending with WWW I. Takes place mostly in England and a little in India and America.
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