Honor Bound

by Brenda Novak

Revised edition: Previously published as The Bastard, this edition of Honor Bound includes minor editorial revisions.

Lieutenant Crawford Treynor has fought valiantly for everything he has. The bastard child of a noblewoman, he was handed over as an infant to a poor farmer—and beaten so badly that he ran away at age fourteen. Now a respected officer, he vows to command his own frigate one day. There is no place in his life for a woman, especially one of noble birth. He has no love for the aristocracy…

After narrowly escaping the guillotine in the French Revolution, petite beauty Jeannette Boucher agrees to secure her family’s future by marrying a wealthy English baron. But when she learns what her impotent husband has planned in order to produce an heir, she escapes on their wedding night, stowing away aboard Lieutenant Treynor’s ship. Once she’s discovered, the handsome, duty-bound lieutenant is tempted enough by her beauty and spirit to go against everything he believed he’d ever do—and soon he must decide between returning her to a husband he knows will abuse her, or risking everything to keep her all to himself.

• ISBN10: 1477824839
• ISBN13: 9781477824832
• Publish Date: 29 July 2014
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 5 May 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Montlake Romance
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[jamiereadthis]

There were some good battle scenes— in fact, the battle at sea was the best part of the book— but the villain(s) and the ending blew a big fat raspberry. I haaaaaate books that end with walking down the aisle, as if that’s the only goal. I know what you’re thinking: “Then why are you reading romance, Jamie?” Because there is lots of good romance that doesn’t end on that script, or subverts it in some way. I just need a trigger warning for weddings (or heaven forbid, the nine-months-later epilogue) and then we’re all good.

[rakesandrogues]

Heroine: Jeanette is a feisty French woman who keeps her familial duties first. She’s kindhearted and compassionate and she does things for the good of others. I like that Novak chose to write her character’s dialogue without the accent spelled out. Sometimes, I do find it very distracting when authors write in an accent. I think that a constant reminder of Jeanette’s nationality was enough to make a point.

Hero: I love that Treynor is honorable right down to his actions. There were so many times that he could easily have taken advantage of Jeanette, but he did not. Reading his childhood struggle as an illegitimate child was really interesting and I liked seeing him grow as a character. On a side note, I wish that the book wasn’t named The Bastard. It’s an eye-catching title, but it is so unromantic.

Supporting Cast: I think that the book was lacking most in strong secondary characters. I liked Mr. and Mrs. Hawker but after the beginning, you really don’t read much of them and I felt that their characters fell flat as a resort.

Plot: I’m a complete sucker for pirate/shipsman novels, and THE BASTARD did not disappoint. Stowaways, battle, life on a ship, etc. This one had everything that I typically look for in this kind of novel.

Romance: Novak kept up the tension between the characters all way to the end. It was very satisfying as a reader. Also, for those concerned, this one is definitely more of a cleaner romance than others.
Love Potion Strength:


I’ll definitely keep an eye out for Novak’s historical romances in the future.