Customer Reviews

For Love or Country

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Set in Boston, 1769. Quincy Stanton and his uncle, Edward Stanton, owned Stanton Shipping which was very profitable. Quin was the illegitimate son of the Earl of Dearlington in Britain. After a short, and awful, visit with his father Quin returned to find British soldiers all over Boston to suppress the colonists. When Quin found out his half brother, Clarence, was coming to Boston to take over Stanton Shipping, it was the last straw!

Quin and Edward became spies for the Sons of Liberty. Quin played a Loyalist dandy. He had several gadgets on his person, as well as, within his coach to help him ferret out secrets from the wigs.

Virginia Munro and her sister, Caroline, were staying in Boston with their newly widowed aunt, Mary Dover. Mary's husband had been a Loyalist so Mary had access to all the Tory parties. They went to all of them in hope of stumbling across information that could help the Sons of Liberty.

Quin and Virginia found themselves attracted to each other. However, they could not trust one another. After all, their necks would be stretched after a single false move. Things became worse when Clarence entered the picture and lived with Quincy.

***** I have not read a Historical Romance this good in quite a while! I am amazed to learn that this is the author's debut novel! Kerrelyn Sparks is a name to watch! She is destined to become a well known name in book stores! This one will win awards! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch.

Set in Boston, 1769. Quincy Stanton and his uncle, Edward Stanton, owned Stanton Shipping which was very profitable. Quin was the illegitimate son of the Earl of Dearlington in Britain. After a short, and awful, visit with his father Quin returned to find British soldiers all over Boston to suppress the colonists. When Quin found out his half brother, Clarence, was coming to Boston to take over Stanton Shipping, it was the last straw!

Quin and Edward became spies for the Sons of Liberty. Quin played a Loyalist dandy. He had several gadgets on his person, as well as, within his coach to help him ferret out secrets from the wigs.

Virginia Munro and her sister, Caroline, were staying in Boston with their newly widowed aunt, Mary Dover. Mary's husband had been a Loyalist so Mary had access to all the Tory parties. They went to all of them in hope of stumbling across information that could help the Sons of Liberty.

Quin and Virginia found themselves attracted to each other. However, they could not trust one another. After all, their necks would be stretched after a single false move. Things became worse when Clarence entered the picture and lived with Quincy.

***** I have not read a Historical Romance this good in quite a while! I am amazed to learn that this is the author's debut novel! Kerrelyn Sparks is a name to watch! She is destined to become a well known name in book stores! This one will win awards! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

This story is well-written, funny, historical, romantic -- everything! The author treats the reader like he/she is intelligent (refreshing). I am weary of trying different authors, but I'm delighted I tried Kerrelyn Sparks. Her first novel was fun to read, and I hope she gives us more soon!

I really enjoyed 'For Love or Country'. This book had it all. Spies, bad guys, cool gadgets and, of course, in the end the hero gets the girl. If you like James Bond movies and the Revolutionary War period, you'll love this book.

My sister, who never reads romance novels, borrowed this book and inhaled it in the space of two days! She thought it was great. (BTW, my sister is a married mother of 3 small children.) She has very little time to read much of anything.

Hold on! Exciting, edge of your seat romance! It's pre-Revolutionary War Boston, and Quincy Stanton is a spy masquerading as a dandy to fool the Redcoats. Add Ginny, a nosy female spy, and a few James Bond-type gadgets, and you have an innovative novel that will keep you turning the pages long after bedtime.

I rarely laugh out loud at books, but Ms. Spark's quirky sense of humor had me guffawing on more than one occasion. I loved the romance between Quin and Ginny and appreciated the careful attention to historical detail. FOR LOVE OR COUNTRY doesn't read like a debut novel at all. Kerrelyn Sparks is an author you'll want to watch.

While there are a few errors and a less than satisfying ending, Sparks' debut novel is a rousing good time. Virginia and Quin are terrific leads, and the secondary characters are almost as good. The humor can be subtle or laugh-out-loud, and there's plenty of it. There's also an appropriate amount of danger for our spies--professional and amateur. And the chemistry is good, too. My biggest problem with the novel was the ending -- I found it unbelieveable. The British are really going to let a known spy go scot free when they can find him through his shipping company? I got no sense of safety for the lovers' future together, and that bothered me. Otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. 4.8 stars.

What a splendid mix in this historical romance!! The author gave us Americans, British, and those beloved Scots! You can't go wrong with a mix like that. Kerrelyn Sparks uses humor and a keen wit to make you laugh out loud at the predicaments of her characters. I haven't read a novel this good in a while! I only hope she has another one in the works.

Tensions build in pre-Revolutionary Boston as Tory soldiers and loyalist citizens attempt to maintain English control. Quincy Stanton, recently returned from seven months abroad, allows himself to be recruited by his uncle to spy for the Sons of Liberty. He needs to gain concrete proof of the British's plans of suppression. They use Quincy's trip abroad as a cover; he purportedly returns a staunch Loyalist. Then he can hobnob with British officers and other Loyalists. So Quincy assumes the role of a pompous, arrogant, totally useless Lord like his father. After all, the unacknowledged bastard son of an English Lord has learned first hand how obnoxious Lords conduct themselves.

Virginia Munro arrives in Boston from South Carolina with her sister to accept the hospitality of her widowed Aunt Mary while she fulfills a period of mourning. Mary's late husband had been a loyalist and his connections allow her into the inner sanctums of Loyalist homes. She too seeks proof that the British have not arrived to protect but to suppress. When her nieces learn her intentions, they likewise vow to aid the American cause. Such determination sets Virginia on a collision course with Quincy, whose hidden motivations seem to belie his foppish exterior. Indeed, nothing about Quincy quite makes sense, and while her heart believes his loyalties to be other than what he claims, her mind cannot ignore her suspicions. Further, danger threatens all who spy whatever their loyalties.

FOR LOVE OR COUNTRY by Kerrelyn Sparks has it all: gadgets, spies and love. Set during the tumultuous years in Boston preceding the Revolutionary War, Sparks craftily utilizes historical events, occasionally with a twist of facts, to great effect. Quincy's undercover role as fop complete with wigs and heels strikes the perfect comedic balance against his dangerous motivations to protect his country. Virginia's determination to spy despite possible danger to herself proves her willfulness and loyalty in equal measure. Together they make a dynamic couple that keeps the pages turning. Indeed, their outrageous antics, delightful subterfuge, and outright hilarity make Sparks' debut novel sparkle. Remember Kerrelyn Sparks for she promises to be one of historical romances' rising stars. FOR LOVE OR COUNTRY is very highly recommended.

Not outstanding, but a good read. Characters' behavior was predictable. Try getting it from your library. It's not one that I would keep on my bookshelves to read again. I might try another by this author, but it would be a library book, not something I'd rush out and buy.

This book had a great premise, great characters and I love the time-frame but it suffered from first time syndrome. Lots of cliches at the end and a villain who just wouldn't go away.
There was also a silly secret that the heroine had that you
could see the resolution of a mile away. I hope that the author will improve on her next try and I'll be willing to read it if she does.