On Rapture's Wing

by Caroline Bourne

READING CREASES ON SPINE. MINOR WEAR ON EDGES OF COVERS. NO WRITING OR MARKS ON PAGES.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance

496 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 1984

Reviews

[R · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is basically just a (very long) summary if the entire plot. If you actually plan on reading this book, then skip it, but you probably don't want to read this book. This book contains rape (by people not the hero) and character deaths.

The book starts out in the 1740s with the H's father. He's an American painter, and is in England painting a picture of a lady who is getting married soon. They fall in love and have an affair, but separate, the lady to marry her earl(?) and the father to go back to America and his fiancee. Both the lady and the father's wife get pregnant, but the father is killed by an evil relative for his money and the wife dies while giving birth to the hero. I think the father had a friend or brother with him when he was killed, who then protected the wife's child.

Now to the main story. It's 1775/6. The H hires the h as a governess for his daughter. (The H has two children, a daughter and a son.) The evil relative, mentioned above, has died, and so the hero has the father's house now. (The evil relative is pretty much irrelevant, so I remember being somewhat confused over all the build up in the prologue.) The H's son really wants to join the Americans. The H doesn't want him to. The H joins the British, but eventually becomes a spy for the Americans. A troop of British soldiers are quartered in the H's back yard. The h thinks that the leader looks an awful lot like the H, but mostly ignores it. She is, of course, falling in love with the H. One night, a man comes to her room. She thinks it's the H, and she gives him her virginity. It turns out to actually be the British officer, who knows that she actually thinks it's the H, but goes through with the sex anyway. The h is horrified when she finds out. Eventually, before she has sex with the H, she tells him, and he's kind of horrified, but they do eventually have sex.

The H knows he has a half-brother out there somewhere, because he found a letter his father's lover sent telling of it (which the father never received as he was dead), but the brother has no idea. (I don't think he even knows he's illegitimate.) Eventually he is convinced when he sees the letter from his mother on her personal stationary in her handwriting.

At some point, the H's son runs off to join the American army. He's very young, either preteen or early teens, and you never find out what happens to him. The daughter catches some disease and dies.

Somehow, the half-brother gets stranded somewhere, injured, and is rescued by a woman. She's the granddaughter of some Englishman who jumped in the Thames and everyone thought was dead, but wasn't actually. (He had died shortly before the book began.) They have sex and she gets pregnant. After a few months, they're found, and then the brother marries the woman.

Meanwhile, somehow the h thinks the H has dies, so she runs away. She's found by a childhood friend who's a doctor and who has been in love with her for a long time. He knows the H is still alive, but tells the h he's dead, and there are road blockages due to disease quarantines. The friend rapes the h, but he makes her enjoy it, and somehow she gets some kind of dependence on having sex with him. Eventually, she finds out the H is still alive, but by then she's already married to the friend. He dies of whatever disease he was treating, though, and she returns to the H. There, she finds him with a woman and a baby who looks just like him, which are in fact the brother's wife and child.

I'm kind of fuzzy on the details at this point, but by the end, the H and the brother have discovered brotherly love, and the brother helps the H and h escape. (I think the H was being held prisoner by the British because they discovered he was a spy.) The brother is shot in the stomach by the British and dies once they reach the escape ship. (The H apparently has property in Spain and that's where they're going.) The brother wants the h to forgive him for having his way with her, which she does, and says she couldn't forgive him before because she had actually felt desire for him and felt ashamed. After he's dead, they bury him at sea. No mention of what happens to the brother's family that I remember.

So, how's that for a long and convoluted book summary?

[ANGELIA · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has the wrong title, as there wasn't any rapture at all. The title, as well as the category of this book are misleading, as it is more of a history lesson than a work of fiction, and a romantic one at that. The love story, such as it was, and the obstacles in its path, such as they were, fall flat when it comes to emotion, not to mention passion, which each love scene lacks. So does every scene which is supposed to contain emotion, even tender ones between the H, Stuart, and his beloved little daughter
As Miriam, and the tense ones between Stuart and his rebellious son, Devon. (There's one where they argue, Devon insults his father, who then hits him, and it plays out with so little emotion you feel as though it didn't happen.) Even a duel turns out to be boring!

The novel starts out well, with a prologue a lot more entertaining than the rest of the story, which takes place in the days of the American revolution. A few decades before, a young English noblewoman, Beth, who's about to be married to a man she doesn't love, falls for the American artist who paints her portrait (the future father of the H). Their one night of passion (and the most you'll find in this book) results in her pregnancy with the H's half brother, who she passes off as her husband's child. (Yuck! I've always hated that!) The artist, Devon, returns to America, marries his fiancee, dies before the H is born, (his evil brother hired someone to murder him, so he could inherit the family estate), and his wife is kept prisoner, dies in childbirth, while baby H survives, to his uncle's disappointment and wrath.

That's it for the best part of the book. It's as if Ms. Bourne put all her creative energy into this and had not much left for the rest. Some thirty years later, the h, Jenny, becomes governess to the widower H's children, and the next thing you know, Jenny and Stuart are in love! Where the heck did that come from? All Stuart did was glance at her through the window a few times, like a shy schoolboy, and suddenly he decides she's the love of his life. Jenny, in turn, is supposed to be brokenhearted over her former beau's marrying another woman, but next thing you know, it's like he never existed, and she declares Stuart to be her true love! All without the two of them so much as having a lengthy conversation, much less kissing, or even holding hands. There's more passion in his relationship with his half brother, Dorian, as they argue and insult each other. (Dorian is a British officer, one of several quartered in Stuart's Boston home, while Stuart is apparently a Loyalist, but actually a spy for the Rebels.) Stuart discovered their paternal blood link but didn't inform Dorian, and kept vacillating on whether or not he should, which got both redundant and annoying.
You would think that having Dorian feel a strong attraction to Jenny which he mistakes for love, sneaking into her room, pretending to be Stuart, and seducing/raping her, would be a fiery, passionate, emotion filled scene, wouldn't you? Boy, would you be wrong! It came across like plain black coffee when you expected cappuccino. For a young woman who gave her virginity to the wrong man, tricked into believing he was the right one, Jenny took it all too calmly. A typical h in this situation, would have screamed, cried, did her best to slap the villain or kick him where it hurts the most. Instead, she acts like a melancholy martyr, mostly because she responded to Dorian's, touch, and had an orgasm that Stuart should have given her. (And yes, that was boring, too.)

What's almost laughable is Stuart, who supposedly is aching for Jenny with intense longing, proposing that they have an arranged marriage, as Miriam is so fond of her and he's like a proper household. (Gee, what girl can resist that?) Later, he manages to admit his true feelings, and wants a real marriage, but almost changes his mind when Jenny confesses to her night with Dorian. Stuart challenges him to a duel, Dorian accepts, then changes his mind, which Stuart accepts. (Lots of excitement there.....yawn....yawn.) Later, they have another shot at it (no pun intended) and even with a surprising turn of events, it still falls flat. The same when Stuart and Jenny finally become lovers. For two people supposedly so passionately in love, their bed scenes are about as hot as an elderly couple, where the old boy misplaced his erectile meds and the old gal's too tired to care. The whole book continues this way.

A bit of interest sparks when Dorian, who's thought to be dead, is rescued and cared for by Esmerelda, a feisty young woman, living alone on the ruins of her family home, that was a casualty of war, along with her grandfather (whose story was more intriguing than the those of the main players) and herself (she had been raped). They fall in love, go through some harrowing times, she discovers she's pregnant but at first refuses to marry him, afraid it'll be out of duty on both their parts and they'll come to regret it, but then realizes she can't live without him. This secondary love story sure plays out better than the primary one.

Too much ridiculous stuff happens, as well as unnecessary ones, like Miriam dying, Devon (against his father's wishes, as he's only 15) going off to war and then disappearing, Dorian getting killed, leaving Esmerelda a widow with a baby son, Jenny, through mistaken identity, thinking Start had been hanged, and consoling herself with Noah, a young doctor she grew up with, who had always loved her, and marrying him.

This part of the book had all the potential for the melodrama so often found in historical romances, but even this fell flat. Noah, frustrated and angry at her pining for Stuart, forces himself on her and gets her to respond, and after that they go at it like rabbits. (Boring rabbits, for all the passion in those scenes.) Meanwhile, he found out Stuart was alive and didn't tell her. when she does discover the truth, she feels she must stay with her husband (albeit platonically) and then succumbs to her desire for Stuart, then gets into a rage and acts like she wants to kill him (the way she should have acted with Dorian), because now she's an adulteress. Talk about ridiculous!

Yeah, the get their HEA, but by now who gives a damn!

Now, considering all this, why did I continue reading? Because the book took place in my fav historical time, there were actual people from that time portrayed, and it had a lot of detail about battles, military strategy, espionage, and other facts that made for entertaining, as well as informative, reading. I truth, if Ms. Bourne had written a history book about the Revolution, a biography of one of the main players, or a regular historical novel, she would have most likely done an excellent job and earned four stars. But as a romance writer, she has sadly little talent, so she only gets two.

This, by the way, was the first of her books I've read...and also the last.

[Blue Falcon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review is of “On Rapture’s Wing” by Caroline Bourne.

The book begins in England, circa 1740. The actions that take place here will set the stage for the rest of the book.

35 years later, in Concord, Massachusetts, in chapter 3 we meet the heroine of the book, Jennie McBride. Jennie is being sent by her family to Boston for two reasons: one, to work as a physician’s assistant; and two, to try to get her away from the coming American war with England. Shortly thereafter, Jennie becomes a governess to Miriam, daughter of Stuart Eli, the hero of the book. (Stuart also has a son, Devon, but Jennie’s focus is looking after Miriam).

Stuart, American by birth, was once a Captain in the British Army after he bought a commission. He is now a double agent, having British soldiers training on his property but sending secrets about their maneuvers to the American soldiers. Concerned about possibly being jailed and killed for his actions, Stuart proposes a platonic marriage to Jennie. Jennie, who loves Stuart, flatly refuses. Shortly after the “proposal”, Jennie has sexwith Major Dorian Markham, a British soldier who bears a strong resemblance to Stuart; there’s a reason for this. Jennie agrees to marry Stuart, but the fact that she had sex with Dorian-whom Stuart has caused a major-no pun intended-strain on their relationship.

After seeing a hanging, Jennie believes that Stuart is dead, so, grieving and needing protection, Jennie marries Noah Trepps, who previously had feelings for Jennie. She later discovers Stuart is very much alive, and leaves Noah for Stuart. Tragedies soon befall Jennie and Stuart as both Noah and Miriam pass in separate incidents. After Miriam’s death, Stuart writes a long treatise detailing his treasonous activities and sends it to British commanders, basically a suicide-by-military request. For months, the letters languish, Jennie and Stuart reunite and believe they will be happy. And then...the letters are found and Stuart is arrested and charged with treason.

After facing a military trial, Stuart is convicted and sentenced to hang by the British military. Dorian and Jennie’s brother, Garth, with the help of the wife of a British soldier who’s having an affair with an American one, devise a plan to help Stuart escape the hangman. The plan, however, comes with a heavy price, as during the escape, Dorian is shot and mortally wounded, later dying. Stuart and Jennie reunite, flee to New Orleans and their Happily Ever After.

Upside: “On Rapture’s Wing” is a very emotional book. Much of the emotion takes place between Stuart and Dorian, two alpha males who spend much of the book alternately fighting with each other, having grudging respect for the other, and, after a secret is revealed, more. Stuart also has great emotional feelings toward Jennie. Ms. Bourne seamlessly integrates her fictional characters with real historical figures.

Downside: “On Rapture’s Wing” is characterized as a romance novel. In that regard, the book falls woefully short. There is ZERO romance or chemistry between Jennie and Stuart, and less between Dorian and his wife, Esmeralda. When Jennie turns down Stuart’s original proposal of marriage, she claims it’s because she loves him and she won’t marry for less than love. Given the fact that she and Simon spent almost NO time together, it’s hard for me to believe that she and Simon are madly in love with each other. Jennie and Simon spend much of the book apart-they’re only in each other’s physical proximity I would speculate less than 20 % of the book, and in the same physical space face-to-face probably less than that.

Sex: There are love scenes, but most are focused on the feelings of the sexual act rather than descriptions of what is going on.

Violence: The book takes place during the American Revolutionary War; therefore, there is a lot of violence. Assault, battery, lots of face slapping, as well as rape-Simon rapes Jennie-stabbings and shootings. Most of these scenes are not overly violent.There is also a scene of a American soldier having his leg amputated, which is slightly more graphic.

Bottom Line: If “On Rapture’s Wing” was classified as a historical saga, or a Revolutionary War story, it would have been better. Classifying the book as a romance, however, is misrepresenting what the book is, and I can’t give a positive grade for that.