Guardian of Paradise - W.E. Lawrence

Guardian of Paradise – W.E. Lawrence

(2.8 / 5)

I enjoyed this historical fiction island story. I am not the biggest Historical fiction fan, but the story appealed to me, probably because of the romance. I’m a bit of a sucker for a good romance. Unfortunately there are a few things that fell short for me, but overall it was an enjoyable read.

Kira lives on a pacific island, isolated from the rest of the word. She has been there since she was a young girl. Her parents were taken by a tidal wave years earlier and she has been living alone with the natives ever since. A merchant Australian ship arrives and Kira is apprehensive. What do they want from the small island and the trusting natives? And can she trust the handsome doctor working on the ship?

The story starts out well. The scene of this beautiful island is set and Kira is introduced, along with her friendships with some of the locals. After the ship arrives and she is attracted to the handsome doctor Trevor, the romance progresses along quite well. There are some lovely moments and a few hot scenes… However there is a lot going on with Kira attempting to discover what the nasty captain and his crew are really doing on the island. And then eventually the story starts to dwindle and become quite long winded. Even the romance and romantic scenes were getting too much by the end of it. They started to become unbelievable and a bit corny. I feel the entire book could have been a bit shorter.

Although I wasn’t the biggest fan of Kira’s character, I enjoyed the strong female lead and the unique predicament she was in being the only non native living on the island. She knew what the merchants and other settlers were like, even if she had only experienced them in Australia as a child. I didn’t mind Trevor, I did enjoy some of the banter between them. I didn’t enjoy reading the slang that a lot of the locals used, and the written Australian accent attempt. I found them both inconsistent at times.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the ending. Religion or belief in a higher power had not really been explored much throughout the book and so when they started talking about what God wanted for them, I was thinking “Where is this coming from?”. It felt out of place, kind of like the author just wanted to throw it in there at the end.

Would I recommend Guardian of Paradise?

Despite my criticisms, I still enjoyed it. There were a few good funny moments and the author did create a beautiful island atmosphere. The romance had some touching moments and the central storyline was entertaining. I would recommend it to historical romance fans. And only for readers aged 18+ as it was very raunchy at times.

Many thanks to Book Publicity Services for a copy of Guardian of Paradise in exchange for my honest review.

PURCHASE:

AMAZON | AMAZON AU | Book Depository

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

W. E. Lawrence graduated in 1978 from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill with a BS in business administration. He has run a successful home health care supplies distributorship for the past twenty-three years.

Passionate about God, writing, reading, family, sports, politics, and America, Lawrence currently lives in Davidson, North Carolina, with his lovely wife and their two wonderful children.

W. E. Lawrence enjoys writing historical romance novels filled with action and adventure. He published his debut novel Guardian of Paradise in October 2014.