Review: In Honor Bound

Last week we featured DeAnna Julie Dodson in our interview. This week, reviewer extraordinaire Michelle Sutton favors us with a review of DeAnna's first book, In Honor Bound. Can you tell that she liked it? LOL! Michelle is going to review the rest of this series too, and we'll feature By Love Redeemed and To Grace Surrendered in the coming weeks.

In Honor Bound
By DeAnna Julie Dodson
Crossway Books, 1997


From the Publisher

His father will stop at nothing at all to keep the royal bloodline “pure”—even murder. But his sins have nearly destroyed Prince Philip and the future of his reign. Can love reach him before the kingdom is torn from his hands?

My Review

I have never read a medieval story that I’ve enjoyed as much as this one. Ever. Maybe because the passion in this novel is so real and so impressive that it left me breathless more than once! Heck, I was in love with Philip! In Honor Bound was such a great story, in fact, that I read the book in just three days (and if I hadn’t had to work I would’ve finished it sooner.)

There is so much depth to In Honor Bound. The characters are incredibly well done. The conflict was so good that it literally had me turning the pages. The love story was so intense. The marriage, the bedroom tension, the romance, wow! I felt no watering down of passion, no lukewarmness of faith or storyline. This was a powerful novel that invoked so much emotion in me, I just loved every minute of it. And that unconditional love Rosalynde had for Philip was truly admirable and Christ-like.

I felt so badly for Philip in the beginning of this book. I was so swept up into this novel that the pain in my heart for this man couldn’t seem more real. His grief was so well done as was the coldness of heart in order to cope with the pain. Nothing in this story felt contrived at all. These characters were so real to me. I experienced the same pain of betrayal as Philip.

Plus, the male POV was so expertly done! I didn’t think Philip would ever get past the excruciating emotional damage, but through the story and one conflict at a time, you could see God’s hand on Philip’s life. But his pride almost cost him everything. The scene where he finally gives everything to the Lord took my breath away. It was that awesome and realistic. Oh, and the blood and guts were pretty powerful to the storyline, too. There’s no pussyfooting around the issues and sanitizing of the brutality in that era done here. The author used all of the senses and the description was so well done I truly felt like I was pulled into the story itself.

I used to read a lot of these types of books but they were often too descriptive in the sex department. However, this story is so beautifully written and emotionally deep that I have yet to read a more romantic tale that includes the husbandly duties to his wife. Fabulous, passionate, intense fiction. That’s what In Honor Bound was for me. In fact, I enjoyed the fantasy world so much that I plan to read the next two books in the series as well. This series sucked me in as much as Francine Rivers’s Mark of the Lion Series. It’s THAT good.

Michelle Sutton (pen name)
ACFW Volunteer Officer - voloff@acfw.com
writer/book reviewer - check out my latest reviews!
www.michellesutton.net
www.edgyinspirationalauthor.blogspot.com
www.shoutlife.com/michellesutton