Along a Breton Shore by Arlem Hawks

 

France, 1794

Maxence Étienne, a soldier for the République, believes fiercely in the revolution that is bringing liberty to France. But even though the monarchy has fallen and Maxence is part of a great cause, he is still searching for a place to belong.

Armelle Bernard is a young woman from Breton whose father was sentenced to death for hiding counterrevolutionaries. She decides to confront the priest who betrayed her father, and as the conflict escalates, she herself is ordered to be executed—an order to be carried out by Maxence.

Maxence has seen his share of violence and bloodshed, but he also carries a tragic secret and can’t bring himself to carry out his assignment. In allowing Armelle to escape, he is forced to combat a fellow soldier, who dies in the struggle.

Though Armelle and Maxence are strangers and on opposite sides of the revolution, they find themselves united as fugitives of the new republic. Now they must find a way to trust each other as they search for a path to peace, and to freedom.

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I love historical fiction.  I was SO excited to start this one and then I opened it up to 8 pages of pronunciation and word definitions.  That really intimidated me!  I figured if there were eight pages of words I needed help with, this might be a hard book to read.  So, then I put it off and set it aside, thinking I needed to wait until I was in the right space to really tackle it.  I really shouldn't have waited.  It wasn't that bad and I was being silly.

Armelle is so spunky and smart.  I love her wit, her fire and her hope.  She is so consistent, loyal and everyone she meets loves her too.  Maxence though, he has quite the emotional and personal journey which Armelle helps facilitate with her kind, easy, yet direct personality.  I loved their interactions and conversations.

This book is set during the French Revolution but there isn't much actual war violence described in the story.  There is danger at every turn but mostly it is a love story that takes shape in the midst of a war with two characters on opposite sides.  It's a story of loss, hope and reconciliation.  It was so, so good.

Content:  violence, peril.  Kissing.

- I received a complimentary copy of this book.  All opinions expressed are my own.

About the Author: 

ARLEM HAWKS began making up stories before she could write. Living all over the western United States and traveling around the world gave her a love of cultures and people and the stories they have to tell. She has a bachelor’s degree in communications, with an emphasis in print journalism, and she lives in Utah with her husband and four children.