Kathleen's Blog Tour Review of Journey of Honor: A Love Story, by Jaclyn M. Hawkes

Paperback: 214 pages
Publisher: Granite Publishing & Distribution (August 3, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1599360594

Below is the synopsis from the book's back cover.
Disowned, she came to America anyway. Attacked and left pregnant by a vicious mob, she still pressed on. Finally, in spite of being accused of theft by the vilest of her attackers, Giselle tries to remain as upbeat and uncomplaining as a prairie wildflower as she travels on to Zion.Thoroughly disillusioned with the ugliness and cruelty of slavery in the South, Trace Grayson leaves his young medical career to go west, hoping to leave bigotry and hatred behind. He begins taking goods by teamster train to sell in the territories. However, this fourth time across, in July of 1848, he’s stuck in St. Joseph, Missouri, waiting for enough wagons to join the train so that they can leave.Knowing that if they don’t start west soon, they’ll be caught by snow in the mountains, Trace is thrilled when the final wagon signs on. Then, when the beautiful, young Dutch girl traveling with the last wagon is falsely accused of stealing and is detained, the whole trip is jeopardized. Thrown together by circumstance, Trace and Giselle team up to begin to figure out just how to make this epic journey across a continent a success.With a deep sense of honor and an equally strong sense of humor, together they learn to deal with everything except the one trial that neither of them can overcome.

Here is my review:

Journey of Honor, written by first time author Jaclyn M. Hawkes, provides a fast, humorous, entertaining read for LDS romance lovers. In backwards fashion this love story has a clear beginning, middle, and end, as boy marries girl, boy falls in love with girl, and finally, boy commits to girl.

Main characters Trace Grayson and Giselle VanKomen trek west after a marriage of convenience. This marriage "in name only" makes for all sorts of sexual tension, but it also begs the following questions: "Why would two people sleep next to each other who plan to annul their marriage?" More importantly, "Is it honorable?"

Despite the lack of edit, plus language too modern for the historical tone of the book, I believe Hawkes writes pleasant characters with appealing names, so much that during the course of the novel I grew to care for the characters, though additional development and description would have encouraged this sentiment sooner.

Hawkes is to be praised for her provocative idea and for bringing it to fruition. The accomplishment and publication of a book are to be celebrated and enjoyed. I'm glad I read Journey of Honor and look forward to further works by Hawkes throughout her career. I hope she continues to write romance.


Some information about the author: 
Jaclyn M. Hawkes grew up in Utah with 6 sisters, 4 brothers and any number of pets. (It was never boring!) She got a bachelor’s degree, had a career and traveled extensively before settling down to her life’s work of being the mother of four magnificent and sometimes challenging children. She loves shellfish, the out of doors, the youth and hearing her children laugh. She and her fine husband, their family, and their sometimes very large pets, now live in a mountain valley in northern Utah, where it smells like heaven and kids still move sprinkler pipe.




*Disclaimer* I was given a copy of the book for the purposes of review. I have not been compensated in any manner for my opinion.