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Book Reviews of Sweet Release (Blakewell / Kenleigh Family, Bk 1)

Sweet Release (Blakewell / Kenleigh Family, Bk 1)
Sweet Release - Blakewell / Kenleigh Family, Bk 1
Author: Pamela Clare
ISBN-13: 9780843951691
ISBN-10: 0843951699
Publication Date: 3/2003
Pages: 384
Rating:
  • Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
 82

3.7 stars, based on 82 ratings
Publisher: Leisure Books
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

14 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

reviewed Sweet Release (Blakewell / Kenleigh Family, Bk 1) on + 55 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
I don't know what it is about Clare's writing, but I just can't book her books down. Aside from this novel, I've read to others from her and loved them both. This story and the characters were just addictive. She can take a cliched plot and add twists to it that just reinvent the story. It also helps that Clare adds in details most authors wouldn't think about it.

She presents a cliched scene and then enhances it with description. Some of my favorite scenes were the ones that had nothing to do with the romance. I love how she shows the characters under "normal" conditions.
reviewed Sweet Release (Blakewell / Kenleigh Family, Bk 1) on + 229 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This was a pretty good read but it didn't live up to the praise I've read about her writing. I do have others of hers to try.
yorkiemom19 avatar reviewed Sweet Release (Blakewell / Kenleigh Family, Bk 1) on + 103 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This book grabbed me and I couldn't put it down. The research was accurate and interesting and the story line was not the usual stuff - definitely not your typical romance novel.

I really felt involved in the book. It was so nice to see the main characters not hop in the sack in the first 10 pages. The author made it so they really cared for one another and they took their time. The sub-plots were intense, yet contributed perfectly to the main story. The romance part was steamy and emotional. As another reviewer said, the book brought a lot of emotions out for the reader. A very well done book!
reviewed Sweet Release (Blakewell / Kenleigh Family, Bk 1) on + 3389 more book reviews
Imagine Alec Kenleigh's shock when after he is brutally attacked in a London street, and wakes to find months have passed, he is now in Virginia, everyone thinks he is a convict; and that his name is Cole Braden!

Tough sweet Cassie Blakewell is under just a little pressure; her father has gone off and left her in charge of running their Virginia plantation. She takes pity on the barely alive man the slave trader had to offer, even though advised not to get involved with a convicted ravisher and defiler of women.
She nurses the poor beaten and sick man back to health, to have him claim to be an abducted rich Englishman, who has no idea how he got where he is; or why.
It doesn't take long for the sparks to begin flying between the two, but Alec is determined to prove who he really is so he can claim this fiery beauty for his own.

This book is AWESOME! It has everything,
Deep dark family secrets, smoldering tension, horrible blinding betrayals, secondary characters that will pull your heartstrings, and a love in the making that will bring tears to your eyes!
Do not miss this story!
reviewed Sweet Release (Blakewell / Kenleigh Family, Bk 1) on + 7 more book reviews
I'm not a romance (or other genre fiction, really) reader, but I gave this a go because the author is related to a friend. It's a pre Civil War historical romance, and I enjoyed it quite a lot.
susyclemens avatar reviewed Sweet Release (Blakewell / Kenleigh Family, Bk 1) on + 158 more book reviews
I read this when it first came out; just re-read it recently, and still can't figure out what is all the buzz about Pamela Clare's books. This is an OK story but there's no great memorable love story here. I felt the same about Ride the Fire. (Creative titles, though.)
reviewed Sweet Release (Blakewell / Kenleigh Family, Bk 1) on + 58 more book reviews
Sweet story full of history. Reminds us that our country was founded on the struggles of so many. This is a great read.
southernrain avatar reviewed Sweet Release (Blakewell / Kenleigh Family, Bk 1) on + 9 more book reviews
I really tried to like this book, but I just couldn't do it!. I have read all of Pamela Clare's other books (I-Team series and McKinnon's Rangers) but this one just dragged. I couldn't feel anything for either the heroine or the hero, and I just felt there was just an overload of historical info. I love historical books--I read the "Outlander" series once a year, and those are heavy historical fiction. This series just didn't do it for me...unfortunately!
reviewed Sweet Release (Blakewell / Kenleigh Family, Bk 1) on + 3 more book reviews
Awesome lovestory, Ms. Clare does it again. Struggle, hardship and tenderness all in one book and ever evolving, just to touch on how great this book is.
reviewed Sweet Release (Blakewell / Kenleigh Family, Bk 1) on + 809 more book reviews
Loved it. A view of life in the early colonies plus a great romance.
reviewed Sweet Release (Blakewell / Kenleigh Family, Bk 1) on + 21 more book reviews
first of three books, good read
reviewed Sweet Release (Blakewell / Kenleigh Family, Bk 1) on + 31 more book reviews
just finished and i can't wait to read the nex book
asausy74 avatar reviewed Sweet Release (Blakewell / Kenleigh Family, Bk 1) on + 80 more book reviews
Awesome story and family trilogy!
robinmy avatar reviewed Sweet Release (Blakewell / Kenleigh Family, Bk 1) on + 2053 more book reviews
Cassie Blackwell needs slaves and indentured servants to work her father's Virginia Plantation. When she gets to the auction, she finds a man who contracted a fever on the ship. Hoping to nurse him to good health, Cassie purchases the indentured papers of Cole Braden, a man convicted of ravishing women. The last thing British Shipbuilder Alec Kenleigh remembers is being attacked on the streets of London. Now, he is in America where everyone is calling him Cole and no one believes his wild story. The sheriff listens to his story and promises to send inquiries to England. In the meantime, Alec is stuck in Virginia, working for Cassie with the rest of the convicts and slaves.

This book was Pamela Clare's debut novel. It's nice to read a historical romance that isn't set in Regency England. There are so many stories to tell in Colonial America. I wish more authors would use this setting.

I liked the story and the characters, especially Alec. He can either decide to stick around and wait for word from England to clear him of the charges, or he can try to escape and make his own way back to his home. When Cassie allows him to talk to the Sheriff, he promises her he will not try to run. That promise gets very hard to keep later in the book.

Cassie was a nice heroine, but she drove me a little crazy when she would suddenly start doubting Alec's story. I did like that she was running the plantation herself, telling people that she had received instructions from her father who was away. Actually, her father is suffering from dementia and has been moved away from the plantation where someone could take care of him. Cassie knows that a woman alone would never be allowed to take over the working plantation. Someone would see that she was married immediately so her husband could take over.

Overall, a solid historical romance. My rating: 3.5 Stars.