The Bastard by Brenda Novak

Historical Romance

I requested an ARC of The Bastard by Brenda Novak from Netgalley.  I had seen her contemporary books and wondered how she would fair with Historical Fiction. 

The Bastard is set just after the French Revolution and features Jeannette Boucher a French beauty whose family has arrived in England penniless.   She agrees to marry older man to save her family.  On her wedding night she learns that he is impotent.  He is planning to get an heir by selling to rights to her body to friends.

Jeannette escapes and stows away on a Royal Navy frigate.  Crawford Treynor is a bastard who has worked his way up in the Royal Navy.  He is drawn to Jeannette and helps her stay safe.  They are attracted but neither wants marriage.

This one just did not do it for me.  I almost put it down after the first few pages.  It would briefly draw me in but then it would lose me again.  The Bastard is an ebook and is only $2.99 at Amazon so it would not be that much to give it a try if you are a Novak fan.

Brenda Novak, Inc. published The Bastard by Brenda Novak in 2011