When I first started reading The Light in the Darkness, I thought for sure that I’d be giving my first A+ review. I was instantly captivated by the engaging characters, the vivid, descriptive narrative, and the compelling storyline. However, while I remained entertained and intrigued throughout the entire novel, as it wore on, the book started to lose its luster thanks to some unfortunate choices on the writer’s part. And yet, it is still a compelling read.

Edward Greyson is a wealthy plantation owner in 1762 Virginia. He is an embittered man following the loss of his beloved wife, Diana, some eight years ago. Diana was murdered and rumors are swirling that he was responsible. But Edward ignores the rumors and is wasting his life in excessive drinking and sleeping with every woman he can get his hands on, married or not. However, his lame sister Catherine feels that it’s time for Edward to marry again and get on with his life. Edward disagrees and rebuffs Catherine’s attempts to introduce him to the respectable ladies in the area. In order to get her to leave him in peace, Edward decides to marry a woman he doesn’t love, ensconce her in his mansion and continue his dissolute existence. He doesn’t count on his life being changed by Jennifer Wilton.

Jennifer is a tavern wench Edward saves from a sexual assault. When he marries her, he plans to treat her like a servant and put her to work in his home. Jennifer thinks she is being saved from her brutal existence working for her uncaring uncle. But she quickly learns that Edward is only using her and she’s gone from one cold way of living to another. Catherine is horrified by her brother’s cruelty and though she disdains Jenny because she is beneath their station, she determines to turn the filthy young woman into a lady. During the course of this transformation, Jenny discovers herself, Edward deals with the ghosts of his past and they both find the love they’ve been looking for.

There are many things to like about this novel. Jennifer is a spirited, feisty young woman with talents and skills she didn’t even know about until she was given the chance to exhibit them. As she blossoms, she sees that her husband could be a good man if he dealt with his past, and she determines to help him. Edward is a tragically tormented hero who is desperate to love again, but since he doesn’t think he deserves it for a number of reasons (one of which was a surprise to this reader), he pushes away Jennifer’s every effort to help him. Of course, Edward is fighting a losing battle and he and Jennifer’s slow dance towards happiness is moving and powerful. I wanted them to overcome their many obstacles (the mystery of Diana’s murder and presence of Edward’s nasty mistress, Melissa, are just two of the myriad of problems), and to reach their destiny. I cheered each time they took a step closer to each other.

The secondary characters were as rich and full of depth as Edward and Jennifer. I especially loved Catherine, Edward’s lame sister and Carey, Jennifer’s best friend. I enjoyed seeing them grow and mature as well. I liked seeing Jennifer and Catherine become friends and loved that Carey wasn’t the stereotypical ‘other man’ as usually shown in romance novels. And it was a treat that in the end, Catherine and Carey found their own happiness together. However, with two such interesting characters, I wished that they would have had a full secondary romance or even better, their own love story.

Another wonderful aspect of this novel is the the vivid depiction of daily life in that era. Not only was it realistic and wonderfully written, the author also deftly dealt with issues such as the treatment of slaves, the role of class in society and the moral attitudes of the men and women who lived in that time.

However, the problem in this novel stems from the repetitiveness of Edward and Jennifer’s relationship. Time after time, she would draw him out, he would respond, then because he didn’t think he deserved her, he would do something cruel or unkind and send her scurrying away. Then it would happen again. And again. And again. Lather, Rinse, Repeat. After awhile, it got kind of tiring. I kept wanting Jennifer to just walk and leave Edward to suffer like he wanted to. But, she kept going back for more. It is to the writer’s credit that despite this, Jennifer managed to keep her strength and dignity. Still, she took too much verbal abuse for this reader’s comfort. Also, Jennifer does something so dumb towards the end of the novel that it almost negates her earlier depicted intelligence. Lastly, I really took issue with the very end of the book. I can’t say what occurs (or in this case what doesn’t), but I felt very cheated. After everything that happened, I felt the characters (and the reader) deserved better.

Still, I would recommend The Light in the Darkness. The writing is dynamic, the story is involving and the characters and real are multi-dimensional. All these pluses enabled me to overlook the problems in the novel, which are hardly enough to diminish the overall pleasure I took in it.