Book Review: My Love, My Enemy by Jan Cox Speas

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About the Book:

A passion for adventure…

Beautiful, naïve, and impulsive, Page Bradley inadvertently rescues English spy Lord Hazard in Baltimore during the tumultuous War of 1812. Now she must put herself at the mercy of her country’s enemy.

An aptitude for deception…

Lord Hazard is no stranger to the atrocities of war, but he never imagined the beauty that could come of it until he meets the fiery and irresistible Page. Now he finds himself questioning every loyalty he’s ever felt for King and Country.

Amidst the turmoil of war and the peril of the high seas, these two sworn enemies are destined to discover that denying love may be worse than treason.

About the Author (from Wikipedia):

Jan Cox Speas (1925 – 1971) is a short story writer and novelist born in Raleigh, North Carolina in 1925. She studied creative writing with Hiram Haydn at Woman's College (now the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, or UNCG), from which she graduated in 1945. From 1954 to 1960 she published Bride of the MacHugh, My Lord Monleigh, and My Love, My Enemy. She also published many short stories in magazines, from pulp to slick. She returned to UNC-G and secured her master's degree in Fine Arts in 1964, submitting her fourth novelThe Growing Season as her thesis. Her mentor and advisor was noted poet Randall Jarrell. After graduation, she began teaching English and Creative Writing at Guilford College, also in Greensboro. Speas was well known for her historical romances during the 1950s and 1960s. Following her death from a heart attack in 1971, Avon Publications brought out paperback editions of her romances. By 1978 there were more than a million copies of her books in print. The author was married to John Speas; they lived in Greensboro and had two children, Cynthia and Gregory.

My Opinion:

This is a reprint of a book that was first published in 1961. The tale takes place during the War of 1812 a time period I must admit I don't know much about; American history is not my strong suit.  That being said the explanations of the politics of the time seem to overwhelm the story. Especially if, like me, you are basically clueless about your own country's history. I really need to correct that....

The romance aspect of the book seemed a bit lacking as well. Our heroine Page rescues our hero, Lord Hazard from being hanged as a spy. From there forward they go from one capture to another. First the British have them, then the Americans have them. They end up in Bermuda, France, England. Oy! It was contrived at best, boring at worst. Maybe it read better in 1961. I am sorry I just did not enjoy this book.

My Love, My Enemy is available at Sourcebooks on February 1st.

Disclsoure:  I received a gratis copy of My Love, My Enemy from Sourcebooks. Any opinions expressed are my honest opinions and were not impacted by my receipt of the free book. I received no monetary compensation for this post.