An Unexpected Sin
Sins of Salem #2
Sarah Ballance
Historical Romance
Pub date: April 14, 2014 (ARC review)
H/h - Josiah Cromwell/Anne Scudder
Setting: Salem, Massachusetts, 1692.
Read in April, 2014.
[spoiler alert]
This ARC was provided to me by Entangled Scandalous via netgalley which didn’t influence my review and rating in any way.
Sins of Salem #2
Sarah Ballance
Historical Romance
Pub date: April 14, 2014 (ARC review)
H/h - Josiah Cromwell/Anne Scudder
Setting: Salem, Massachusetts, 1692.
Read in April, 2014.
My rating:
[spoiler alert]
Sarah Ballance’s An Unexpected Sin, book 2 of Sins of Salem was a delightful read. I enjoyed it much more than book 1, Her Wicked Sin.
The storytelling was flowing; I was hooked from the first page. Reading
about a young couple, known to each-other since childhood and already
harboring deep emotions, IMO, was a plus point of this story.
An Unexpected Sin,
though set in the dark backdrop of Salem’s witch trial, is not directly
involved in it. There are instances where one or more of the characters
are said to have some kinda connection to this horrid event one way or
the other but the story itself is all about Anne and Josiah’s love for
each-other.
Anne
was a minor character in book 1, who was also a friend to the h,
Lydia, Salem village’s physician. She was falsely accused of witchcraft,
from which she was saved by her lover (later her husband), Henry
Durham. Anne proved to a true friend, warning Lydia
about the farcical accusation about her that were being spread through
the town. Though Lydia left Salem in the dark of the night to avoid any
further consequences, Anne is stuck here with her parents.
Anne
now lives in Salem town and helps with her father’s inn but once upon a
time, Salem village was what she called ‘home’. That was before her
brother Samuel was lost in the nearby river. Anne and her parents’ lives
have never been the same, this is the reason why they moved away from
the memories to start anew. Samuel’s best friend, Josiah, who was like
another member of the family, has always been blamed. It’s said that
Josiah led Samuel to his death, though no one tells Anne of the true
incident, least of all her parents.
Anne
has had a crush on Josiah since she was a young girl, barely in her
teens. Josiah is only 2 years older than her. Because his mother died
when he was just an infant and his father remarried, Josiah called
Anne’s family ‘home’ rather than his own. He was well-loved and always
welcomed, spending more time with her family and Samuel. Anne loved
those days, still fondly remembers them. But after Samuel’s death,
Josiah was sent from Salem by his mortified father, never to be seen
again. Anne thinks she may never see him again.
In the middling years, no man has caught Anne’s attention and she has not been in a hurry to get married, though her mother is gradually becoming more and more vocal about it. That was until one day, a stranger catches her eyes, alongside her flirty best friend Prudence’s. But Anne is ensnared by the way she finds this stranger helping out in the building of a house for a neighbor. It was not just the physical response to his attractive (and sweaty :p) body... Ok it was plain that cause at that time, Anne couldn’t even begin to imagine how her life was going to change in the coming months. When she gathered enough courage and talks to the stranger in pretense of offering him a glass of water, she finds he looks familiar. Then, he introduces himself and Anne’s world is completely altered.
Josiah returned to Salem just for this moment, to see Anne once again and to find out if she’s still single, and would have him. He wondered if he’d see anger and hatred in her eyes because of his part in Samuel’s death. He’s ecstatic to learn that not only Anne recognizes him but also, she’s not even betrothed. The next, Anne and Josiah go private to talk about what happened to him in the past few years. Josiah keeps thinking how fortunate that Anne doesn’t hold him in contempt! Sadly, he had no idea that Anne didn’t know of that little nugget of information, so she never had any reason to belittle Josiah. He had always been the man she wanted to be with, and finding him returned to Salem, claiming that he specifically came to see her, could only make her heart pound with joy. I didn’t even mind that they kiss that very day cause the yearning was just that palpable, coming from the both of them.
It doesn’t take long for the love birds to find a plan to help Josiah. Anne thought he wants to prove himself to her parents before divulging his true identity, and for her hands in marriage. His return can also mean a great deal of distress because he’d remind them of Samuel. Yet, she suggests that Josiah go to his father’s inn and ask to be hired, because a strong helper is always needed. Her poor, elderly father can’t do many chores around the inn anymore.
Against his better judgment, Josiah does just that. Being close to Anne wins out all reason. He decides he’d face it if things come to that... but to his relief, neither of the Scudders seem to recognize him. Josiah finds a place at the inn, starting as a help around that very day. Though he’s a man educated in Cambridge, Josiah doesn’t care for anything but being with Anne at the moment.
Anne is exited to find Josiah heeding her suggestion. They try spending time together, hiding away from Anne’s mother’s ever watchful eyes. It’s apparent that she doesn’t care much for him. But Anne doesn’t care either. She feels reckless and alive to have him nearby; one night even going to his room, where they end up kissing and touching. Anne’s mother starts petitioning to her father about Anne’s marriage. This makes her unhappy, so much so that a couple of times, she ends up quarreling with her mother for her rudeness towards Josiah. Anne doesn’t understand why her mother is like that around him. No matter, Anne is determined to marry Josiah and that’s that.
One
day, a tragedy takes place. One of Anne’s friends, Elizabeth, was
falsely accused of witchcraft and she’s hanged in front of her eyes.
Feeling helpless and bitter, Anne wanders away, not telling her family
of where she’s going. When she doesn’t return, Anne’s frantic parents
consider Josiah’s proposal of help. He finds her and instead of coming
home, they spend the night in an abandoned cottage. Anne does what she
always wanted to do, seeking solace in Josiah’s arms. I wouldn’t have
minded if Josiah, who was about to tell Anne of his guilt about Samuel’s
death, came clean of the whole matter. But he breaks off midway and
they end up having sex. This didn’t feel right to me. I already knew
that when Josiah informs Anne, there’d be trouble between them. Now I
knew that it’d be tenfold because of their new intimacy...
...
Which it is, the very next day. Anne’s mother was more than happy to
twist things in a way that left Anne confused about Josiah’s role in
Samuel’s death. It was way too apparent that the woman was trying to get
rid of him, and I knew it wasn’t just because of Samuel. From the
conversation Josiah earlier had with Anne’s ancient grandmother, who
doesn’t speak that much these days, it became clear that he harbored
another dark secret; Josiah’s mother was hanged after being condemned as
a witch. The whole matter was rather hush-hush. So far, Josiah thought
no one else but his father, he and the people who were involved in the
crime knew of it. But after this, and Anne’s angry confrontation about
her brother’s death, he decides it’s best for everyone that he leaves,
even if it breaks his heart. Either way, he wouldn’t stay when it’s Anne
who doesn’t want him here anymore.
True to his words, Josiah leaves that very day...
Josiah
was a great guy; soft spoken and overall nice. I think when he said he
was true to Anne, he meant about not being with anyone else. Maybe he
should’ve fought a little harder to be heard. But the fact was, he was
wrecked with guilt. And if you were thinking; did he kill Samuel? In
literal sense, no. I never felt he’s capable of killing anyone. What
happened is this- Josiah has always been afraid of water, yet because of
his urging Samuel accompanied him on that fateful day. He couldn’t save
Samuel when he drowned, that’s all. I was rather annoyed at Anne’s
mother, and then Anne for not even giving him the chance to explain
anything. When the truth was revealed at the end, I didn’t like Anne’s
mother at all. Then, Anne... they just had sex the night before, how
could she be so cruel to him?
Anne, though late, realizes her fault and what her outburst and rash
decision has wrought. She finds herself pregnant and no way of
contacting with Josiah. She becomes desperate and leaves town secretly
in search of Lydia, who also used to be a midwife.
The story moves fast from there. I knew Josiah would come looking for his Anne. He just couldn’t have stayed away. Anne was able to reach to Lydia. She starts living there for the duration of her pregnancy, with somewhat sketchy plan about her future... until Josiah comes knocking at the door. Then, it was all about revelations and what happened to Samuel and why Anne’s mother wanted Josiah away from Anne. I loved the ending because I finished the book with a smile on my face.
I
know there’d be a book 3 and it made me think, could the next
installment be of Samuel’s? His body was never found, so he was presumed
dead. I don’t know but I’d like to find out later. 4 stars.
This ARC was provided to me by Entangled Scandalous via netgalley which didn’t influence my review and rating in any way.
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