Romance Book Review: Retreat From Love

Author: Samantha Kane
Series Connection: Brothers In Arms Book 5
ISBN: 9781419919428
Genre: Historical/Menage/ M/M/F

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No matter the time period when men go off to war they can't help but come back scared in some manner. In Samantha Kane's series Brothers In Arms, she creates a world where men from all different walks of life are brought together during a horrific war. During the war they could do nothing but turn to each other for support and love. Now that they have returned home it is time to get on with their lives. They don't want to lose the relationships they have formed while at war, but the relationships they have created their society won't accept. To help them stay together and sane, the men have decided that they need a woman to help complete their union—a special woman who would understand their unique situation.

In Retreat From Love, Samantha tells the story of Freddy and Brett. In this unique case, Freddy, the Duke of Ashland, didn't meet Brett until after the war was over. Brett was a good friend of Freddy's brother Bertie, who was killed in the war. After Bertie's death Freddy finds the man who befriended his brother to thank him for all that he had done for his brother only to find him hurt and in need of a friend himself. Five years later the two men have become inseparable.

Hoping to finally settle down at his home in Ashland Park, Freddy takes Brett home with him. He knows that Brett had secretly fallen in love with Bertie's fiancee, Anne. He hopes that Brett will marry Anne and that the other couple will allow Freddy to settle in with them, for he loves both Anne and Brett and he can't stand the idea of being apart from either of them.

Brett is a man who has lived with his guilt about Bertie's death for five years. It kept him from going to Anne as soon as he was able. Bertie gave his life for the Brett and now he believes that he cannot have a life with Anne or Freddy. He must deal with the past before he can deal with the future.

Anne quickly finds herself in love with both men and knows that she cannot have either one. Freddy is determined to convince her that she is wrong.

I'm a little undecided on how I feel about this book. I loved the previous four books. Samantha writes with such high emotion. She doesn't gloss over what problems these men or the women who choose to be in their lives will face when society finds out what their relationship is all about. She shows that love will find a way. In Retreat From Love, the books was well written as the previous books in the series was with the same strength of writing and emotion, but I was a little disappointed with Freddy and Brett because I imagined them differently from previous stories, but I can't really complain too much. It was a nicely written story for those who enjoy historical stories with very erotic, sultry love scenes.

Book Description:
A man with everything except his heart's desire.
Frederick Thorne, Duke of Ashland, has been in love with Brett Haversham for years. If the only way to have him is to give him what he wants Freddy will share him, in bed and out, with the woman Brett loves. The woman who was Freddy's first love.

A man sacrificing everything for the past.
Brett Haversham is in love with two people he's sworn never to touch. But his desires prove to be stronger than his resolve when they both set out to seduce him—together. The incredible sex they share overwhelms him.

A woman with nothing left to lose.
Anne Goode lost her fiancee Bertie in the war. Now his younger brother Freddy is back, all grown up into the handsome and powerful duke. And he's brought Bertie's best friend Brett with him. Lonely and already ruined, Anne can't resist taking both of them as her lovers. Is the uncontrollable desire between the three enough to heal the wounds of the past and overcome the problems of the present? They must accept love rather than retreat from it.

I liked the acknowledgment that the author wrote in her book. Here it is:
I discovered several wonderful sources while researching this book. Great Houses of England & Wales by Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd and Christopher Simon Sykes (Universe Publishing, 2000) and The Regency Country House by John Martin Robinson (Aurum Press, 2005) were invaluable in helping me to create Ashton Park.

The pictures in these two books are astounding. What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew by Daniel Pool (Touchstone, 1993) is a very informative little book that is a marvelous jumping-off point for Regency research. Irene Collins' Jane Austen and the Clergy (Hambledon and London, 2002) has become a favorite resource as well. Collins uses Austen's life and her books as a focal point to describe country living in detail. Any mistakes or factual errors in Retreat From Love are mine and mine alone, and cannot be attributed to these lovely sources.

I have to tip my hat to two major sources of inspiration for this book. I had always looked forward to writing Freddy and Brett's story. I knew what their story was, but I wasn't sure how to write it and do it justice. Several months ago I was listening to Michael Bublé's song Home, and within the space of one verse this book took shape. Next on my list is Marlon Brando and one particular scene in On the Waterfront. For those of you who have seen it, you will recognize the scene. For those of you who haven't, get thee to your local video store.