TBR Challenge: Candice Proctor - Night in Eden

Born wild and free in a comfortable house overlooking the storm-battered cliffs of Cornwall, Bryony Wentworth’s life is shattered when she is accused of killing her husband. Transported as a convict to Botany Bay in 1808, Bryony finds herself in a harsh, unfamiliar land, where almost everything she once held dear—home, freedom, and children—has been taken from her. All she has left are her self-respect and inner strength, and a powerful will to survive.
Assigned to a former cavalry captain with a motherless infant son and a sprawling estate on the banks of the Hawkesbury River, Bryony finds herself facing a life that is simultaneously wild, frightening, and filled with temptation. Captain Hayden St John, the powerful landowner to whom Bryony is given, is a hard man haunted by loss and the ghosts of the past. Yet as he finds himself inexorably drawn to this proud, defiant woman, Hayden slowly comes to realize that she might well prove to be his last chance at salvation.
Set against the ruggedly beautiful landscape of colonial Australia and filled with the memorable characters for which Candice Proctor has become famous, this is a poignant, spellbinding tale of suppressed desire and raw passion, of suffering and triumph and the indomitable spirit of the heart.

Comment: It's time for the TBR Challenge post of February, whose theme is "vintage". What immediately came to mind was a story that would have been published years ago. Should 1997 be considered vintage already? For me it certainly feels like it, since I was a 12 then and while my mental age remains stuck as if I'm still 16, when I was 12 I was still playing with dolls and such so a book from this year certainly feels like it's vintage. Plus, I imagined that it would easily feature a writing style often seen back then, as I have sen in books from the same period.

In this story we meet Bryony Wentworth, a woman accused of killing her husband and, in 1808, her fate was being taken to the penal colony in Australia. She had to leave her small daughter behind and endure a pregnancy on board, which resulted in her baby dying. To make everything worse, life for the convicted women in Australia was not fair, and she is taken to Hayden St John's estate, to be a wet nurse for his son. At first, Bryony can't help but hate everything about her situation, a situation that changes because she ends up bonding with this innocent baby and, after a while, even his father. But her past and situation can't be changed that easily, even if Hayden seems to reciprocate her feelings... is there any hope for a happy life for them?

I was quite curious to see how this plot would develop. I mean, I had some expectations on what possible scenes would be included, considering the premise, but I wondered how the author would deal with the obvious triggers such a plot would lead to, even more so when this is a romance. It's funny, but the "vintage" aspect means that while certain things have always been problematic, many still sounded romantic under certain light. Our contemporary perception changes things, of course.

The story actually starts once Bryony arrives at Botany Bay and is taken to the female prison, which is basically a place where they work like slaves, are mistreated and the men can even pick them to become their servants, and not only for home tasks. Bryony is horrified, just like all the others, but she is "lucky" to be taken by Hayden St John, a widowed man with a baby son who needs a wet nurse. Since Bryony lost her own child, she is the perfect choice, and this also will be the starting point for the establishment of their relationship.

Of course, Hayden isn't like other men and while he feels lust for his new servant, he doesn't act on it and is even amazed and sort of seduced by her defiance and resilience in surviving and enduring all the terrible things she has been going through. The idea is that we, the reader, should feel glad he is not like other men, and that the base for their romance is his acknowledgment of her personality and attributes beyond the psychical. I have read other books with this unbalance and difference in power, so I can say that it doesn't feel "as bad" here, but the point remains: she had no choice. I think this is what really makes this vintage to me because even though I see this, I still wanted to see how the relationship would progress.

Things go on a slow burn for them. There are several situations which would would lead to sex if this were to be an erotica or a careless story, but the author took time to set up the sensation things are taking time to happen and that they are getting used to their thoughts and feelings about one another. Clearly, the point is to highlight how "right" they are supposed to be and to a certain extend, this pays off, which along with the increase of sexual tension, makes the romantic idea of this feel stronger. Analysis aside, though, there were cute and sweet moments among all the more negative details.

As the plot advances, Bryony and Hayden need to deal with several things, some of them related to the secondary characters and what happens to them. Some things were really sad to consider, since some were certainly based on very likely real life situations, but then a surprise is introduced closer to the end and I was not really expecting it, although statistically speaking, bearing in mind the "laws of romance", it was not that out of the possibilities, and I feel this kind of  downgraded things for me. I think the need to create conflict really was unnecessary here, but obviously all worked out.

All things considered, this story was interesting to follow, I liked the psychology of the characters' attitude and personality and, if I had read this years ago I probably would love it even more. I think I can put aside my contemporary notions a bit, and simply appreciate the fantasy of what this tale implies, but yes, it's not that easy to just ignore what feels out of place...

Grade: 7/10