One Perfect Flower

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Synopsis

Life on the Apache reservation where Raven Eagle grew up has become more and more difficult of late. After being sexually assaulted by a white Indian agent, she's sent, along with her siblings, to a relative of her mother's in England. Separated from her siblings at the seaport, she accidentally ends up on a ship bound for Ireland instead. Although she's a virtual stowaway, Braiton Shannon, the Lord of Limerick, who owns the ship, is kind enough to allow her to work for her passage with a promise to help her contact her family once they arrive. Along the way, though, they encounter the Sea Patrol, and without the proper papers, Braiton knows that Raven would be taken in by them and likely abused at their hands. To protect her, he offers a marriage in name only, which Raven gratefully accepts. Once they're safely in Ireland, Braiton welcomes her into his home and treats her like a princess, and soon she's fallen deeply in love with him. But when he still seems intent on letting her go, she fears that he could never love someone who is "damaged goods."

Braiton Shannon has lived with his family "curse," a dreaded illness from which several ancestors suffered, for all his adult life, which has made him vow to never marry or sire children. He chances to meet Raven on the way to the seaport, when he rescues her from ne'er-do-wells harassing her at a saloon, so when she shows up as an accidental stowaway on his ship, he doesn't hesitate to offer her safe passage to his home country and later the protection of his name. In exchange for the latter, he requests a one year marriage in name only to avoid a scandal, after which he'll give her an annulment and she can rejoin her family in England. Once they're at his estate in Ireland, though, Raven impresses him with her strength and courage and her kind, generous nature, leading to Braiton falling for his new bride. However, with the "curse" hanging over his head like a sword, he cannot allow the woman he loves to simply watch him waste away, so he insists upon honoring their original agreement. As a result, it may take a small miracle for them to find their happy ending.

Review

One Perfect Flower is the second book in Roberta C.M. DeCaprio's Between The Rifle and The Spear historical romance series. Raven grew up on the Apache reservation in Arizona with her family, but life there has become more and more difficult for them. The story opens with Raven having just been raped by the Indian agent, but she chooses not to tell her family out of fear for what might happen if her father and brother retaliate to avenge her. However, her white mother seems to have a sixth sense about such things, and suspecting that may be what occurred, she and Raven's father decide to send all their children to England, where she has extended family. Raven and her siblings travel to Texas, where they board a ship, but when Raven's brother appears to have gone missing just before they're about to set sail, she disembarks, searching for him. When she doesn't find him, she returns, only to accidentally reboard the wrong ship, which is owned by Braiton Shannon, Lord of Limerick, who is very kind and allows her to work for her passage. But when the Sea Patrol turns up on their tail and Raven doesn't have the proper documentation papers, he fears that they'll use any excuse to simply take a beautiful woman like her for their own selfish purposes. The only way Braiton can think to protect her is by marrying her himself, but due to a family "curse," he's sworn never to marry. He makes a deal with Raven that it will be a marriage in name only for just one year, after which he'll give her an annulment and she can return to her family. Despite that, he treats her like a precious jewel, giving her all that she could possibly need and more, and as they get to know one another, they gradually fall in love. But because of his "curse," Braiton is still determined to let Raven go when the time comes.

Raven grew up with loving parents, and felt fulfilled in her life on the reservation, but survival there has become harder with each passing year. After being raped by the Indian agent, she knows that her father and brother would definitely avenge her and would also likely be hanged for it, so she keeps quiet. On the journey to Houston, Raven briefly meets Braiton when he rescues her from rowdy saloon patrons after her curiosity about the place gets the better of her. She's attracted to him and his gentlemanly ways, but never thought to see him again, until she realizes he's the owner of the ship she boarded in error. He shows her more kindness than she could have hoped for, so when he offers marriage to save her from the hands of the Sea Patrol, she agrees, even though she'd always wanted a marriage like her parents have. Once they're in Ireland, Braiton treats Raven like a princess, and goes out of his way to make her feel comfortable in his home, while also showing a great deal of respect for and interest in her culture. The more she gets to know her new husband, the more she begins to fall for him, but despite how nice he's been, he still seems to be intent on letting her go after one year and fears that he could never truly love her in return because of her being "damaged goods."

Raven is a lovely heroine who is kind and generous toward everyone. I like how giving she is toward both the servants and Braiton and how down to earth she is when they're alone. It would be impossible not to love her. However, I did have one big issue with her characterization that has to do with the rape. I don't have any problem with sexual assault being included as a plot point, but in this case, I was disappointed that such a serious issue wasn't really given the gravity it deserved. Raven seems to suffer few ill effects from her ordeal. It doesn't stop her from venturing close to a saloon late at night by herself, which was rather foolhardy. She also isn't particularly fearful of Braiton or any of the male crew members aboard his ship. When they make love for the first time, she's an eager participant, even though he's drunk enough to not remember it afterward. The only semi-important part the assault seems to play in the story is that it makes her think that Braiton can't and won't ever love her because of it, which IMHO, could have been accomplished by other means. So while I very much liked Raven as a character, I wish that the author had either left out the sexual assault altogether, or had beefed up that part of the story to give it more importance.

Braiton has lived with the knowledge of his family "curse" all his life, and because of it, he's sworn never to marry or reproduce. The full extent of what that "curse" is, is kept secret until the very end, but given that he travels with his personal physician and more or less has him on call at all times, the reader is left with the impression early on that it's medical in nature. Otherwise, I won't give any specifics about it in the interest of not being too spoilery. Needless to say, though, it hangs heavily over him. He, too, didn't think he'd see Raven again after their short encounter at the saloon, so when she turns up on his ship, he's surprised. He means to just give her safe passage to Ireland, then send word to her family in England, but when the Sea Patrol approaches, he knows that marriage is the only way to ensure her safety. Still, he let's her know it's to be a marriage in name only for just one year. Once she's become a part of his household, though, she fits right in. Raven also impresses Braiton in a way that society women don't with her strength, courage, and free-spirited nature. Soon he's falling for his beautiful wife and longing to have her in his bed. But the "curse" is like a sword hanging over him, and he doesn't want Raven to have to watch as it takes hold of him. Braiton is a really great guy, a near-perfect gentleman who always treats Raven with kindness and respect. He's also wonderful with the people who work for him and the locals, doing whatever he can to better their lives. A part of me understood why he didn't tell Raven about his fears for his future, but another part of me really wanted him to be more vulnerable with her about that. Otherwise, though, he was a great hero.

I picked up One Perfect Flower without realizing it's part of a series. I have it in e-book, so the series designation on the cover wasn't immediately obvious to me and GoodReads didn't have it listed as part of a series either. Normally I'm a stickler for reading series books in order, but since I didn't find out until I had already started it, I wasn't about to stop. It ended up being fine and I wasn't at all lost. The first book is about Raven's parents, while the next two are about her siblings. Overall, the story was good, although I think that some of the plot points perhaps could have been woven together a little more seamlessly. There's a subplot about someone trying to make Braiton's business falter through underhanded means. It was fairly obvious who the villain was, although I admit I didn't know what their motive was until the reveal. It brought a little excitement to the story, but then it climaxes several chapters from the end, leaving only the internal conflicts that Braiton and Raven are dealing with and the question of whether they'll actually part at the end of their year together. There's also one other smaller plot point that I took issue with. ********************Spoiler alert******************** Raven gets pregnant twice, having only had sex once in each instance. ********************End Spoiler alert******************** While I admit that it is possible, the odds are definitely against it, making it rather improbable and less believable. The only other thing I recall bothering me is that there are a lot of typos, incorrect words, etc. that should have been caught by a good editor or proofreader and that could be rather distracting at times. Otherwise, though, I enjoyed One Perfect Flower. Although perhaps a tad melodramatic at times, it held my attention well throughout and has certainly left me open to backtracking to the first book to see how it all started and possibly continuing with the siblings' stories at some point as well.

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Roberta C.M. DeCaprio

Themes

Amazing Animals
Beta Heroes
Pregnancy Stories