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Phantom Love
Aurora was frightened when she saw the tall figure astride his big, black steed. But once he dismounted and approached her she was drawn to him like a moth to flame. When he suddenly drew her into his arms and kissed her, fire blazed throughout her body.
Was this fantasy or reality? If it was a dream she wished never to be awakened. For the first time in her life, Aurora felt the rapture and passion of love. But how could she have known that this handsome stranger was Bran Fayette, the elegant, arrogant rogue who had mistook her for her cousin Melanie?
Once Bran tasted Aurora's soft, sweet lips, he sensed something different. This wasn't the Melanie he knew! And with that one kiss he was bound to Aurora forever--and he would search endlessly until he found his PHANTOM LOVE
Was this fantasy or reality? If it was a dream she wished never to be awakened. For the first time in her life, Aurora felt the rapture and passion of love. But how could she have known that this handsome stranger was Bran Fayette, the elegant, arrogant rogue who had mistook her for her cousin Melanie?
Once Bran tasted Aurora's soft, sweet lips, he sensed something different. This wasn't the Melanie he knew! And with that one kiss he was bound to Aurora forever--and he would search endlessly until he found his PHANTOM LOVE
494 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1982
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 2, 2017
This review is of “Phantom Love”, by Sonya T. Pelton.
The book begins in Virginia, circa 1670. It is here that readers are introduced to the heroine of the book, Aurora Gregory, 13 at the time. Aurora lives with her mother, Deana, and her stepfather, Javier Strang, a sea captain. At this time, an incident occurs which will set a tone for the book.
Across the pond, in England, a letter reaches Bran Fayette Ravenleigh, the hero of the book. That missive leads Bran and his grandfather, Sir Eric, to come to the New World to investigate the death of Bran’s uncle, Jason, and bring his killer/killers to justice.
Fast forward 10 years. Aurora is now living with her cousin, Melanie Edwards Wellbeloved, and Melanie’s husband, Elvy, who is significantly older than Melanie and dying. After Elvy dies, Melanie sets her sights on Bran. Aurora, meanwhile, has her own fantasy love she is enamored with.
After being caught together in bed, Bran and Aurora are forced to marry. Their marriage doesn’t begin happily, as Bran is away from Aurora more often than not. Things aren’t helped by Melanie’s presence and the appearance of her former lover, David Wiley.
There is also a buried treasure, which Aurora, Bran, David and others want to find, as well as secrets about the Ravenleigh family. As these secrets are revealed, Aurora endures tremendous danger, and finds that she and Bran do in fact love each other and have their Happily Ever After.
Upside: Aurora is a fairly strong character.
Downside: There is a term used in propaganda called “glittering generalities”, which basically means to use a lot of words, but not really say anything. That pretty much describes Ms. Pelton’s writing in this book, which is 494 pages of really nothing. I didn’t feel any real chemistry between Aurora and Bran, and it didn’t help when Bran raped Aurora and tried to force her to prove her love for him. The characters are shallowly drawn and didn’t inspire in me any desire to get to know them better. Ms. Pelton tries to go in many different directions-colonial romance, paranormal elements-and doesn’t arrive at a destination. There is an attempt at secrets and mystery, but Ms. Pelton reveals the result way too early, leaving the end of the book anticlimactic.
Sex: There is some sexual content here, and it is mildly erotic, but like most of the book, it’s mostly soulless.
Violence: In addition to Bran raping Aurora, there is another scene of gang rape. There are also shootings and killings. The violence is fairly mild.
Bottom Line: “Phantom Love” will soon disappear from my book collection.
The book begins in Virginia, circa 1670. It is here that readers are introduced to the heroine of the book, Aurora Gregory, 13 at the time. Aurora lives with her mother, Deana, and her stepfather, Javier Strang, a sea captain. At this time, an incident occurs which will set a tone for the book.
Across the pond, in England, a letter reaches Bran Fayette Ravenleigh, the hero of the book. That missive leads Bran and his grandfather, Sir Eric, to come to the New World to investigate the death of Bran’s uncle, Jason, and bring his killer/killers to justice.
Fast forward 10 years. Aurora is now living with her cousin, Melanie Edwards Wellbeloved, and Melanie’s husband, Elvy, who is significantly older than Melanie and dying. After Elvy dies, Melanie sets her sights on Bran. Aurora, meanwhile, has her own fantasy love she is enamored with.
After being caught together in bed, Bran and Aurora are forced to marry. Their marriage doesn’t begin happily, as Bran is away from Aurora more often than not. Things aren’t helped by Melanie’s presence and the appearance of her former lover, David Wiley.
There is also a buried treasure, which Aurora, Bran, David and others want to find, as well as secrets about the Ravenleigh family. As these secrets are revealed, Aurora endures tremendous danger, and finds that she and Bran do in fact love each other and have their Happily Ever After.
Upside: Aurora is a fairly strong character.
Downside: There is a term used in propaganda called “glittering generalities”, which basically means to use a lot of words, but not really say anything. That pretty much describes Ms. Pelton’s writing in this book, which is 494 pages of really nothing. I didn’t feel any real chemistry between Aurora and Bran, and it didn’t help when Bran raped Aurora and tried to force her to prove her love for him. The characters are shallowly drawn and didn’t inspire in me any desire to get to know them better. Ms. Pelton tries to go in many different directions-colonial romance, paranormal elements-and doesn’t arrive at a destination. There is an attempt at secrets and mystery, but Ms. Pelton reveals the result way too early, leaving the end of the book anticlimactic.
Sex: There is some sexual content here, and it is mildly erotic, but like most of the book, it’s mostly soulless.
Violence: In addition to Bran raping Aurora, there is another scene of gang rape. There are also shootings and killings. The violence is fairly mild.
Bottom Line: “Phantom Love” will soon disappear from my book collection.
Displaying 1 of 1 review