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Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite
Bitter Bonds is an historical romantic thriller written by Heather Osborne. Francine Beaumont was outraged when her father told her of his plan to have her marry Henri Du Cormier. She was proud of her family's title, and the idea of marrying a commoner was offensive to her. It didn't matter that he was wealthy and had just purchased St. Esprit, a large plantation. Nor did she change her stance at Lord Arnaud's plea for her to understand their own straitened circumstances. Her younger sister, Adrienne, however, wished the arrangements had been made for her. She would have understood that it was her duty to act with honor, though she did appreciate the fact that she had better hopes for finding a husband she'd love than her older sister, who would inherit the title. Then when Adrienne met her prospective brother-in-law, his eyes seemed to bore straight into her soul, and the two felt an instant and unmistakable attraction -- one that would have to be kept suppressed forever.
Heather Osborne's romantic historical fiction novel, Bitter Bonds, takes place in Louisiana in the early nineteenth century. Both the Beaumonts and Henri Du Cormier own slaves, and Francine's brutal treatment of the house slaves had me wincing at this sad reminder of our nation's history. Osborne deftly builds up the culture and mores of the deep South in this Southern Gothic novel that has something for just about everyone. There's a torrid and forbidden romance just waiting to happen between Adrienne and her brother-in-law, and a curse is hanging over the estate Henri has purchased. Add in some magic imported from Haiti and a fiendish villainess, and you've got the elements of a grand and suspenseful tale that ranks up there with the great Gothic novels of the past. Osborne's plot is lively, sensual, and dark by turns, and her descriptions of the two estates and the culture of the time and place are first rate. I had a grand time reading this book. There are marvelous characters to fall in love with, and an evil antagonist who becomes positively fearsome at times. Bitter Bonds is most highly recommended.
