The Island of Doves

By Kelly O’Connor McNees 

ISBN# 9780425264584

Author’s Website:  http://kellyoconnormcnees.com/

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Kim

The reason I gave this 5 stars because it was well written and the complexity of the story with so many lives and people and emotions involved. This may be a work of fiction but there are so many truths in most every line of this story that I could actually feel the pain and the losses these people felt.

This  kinda hit home for me being raised in an abusive environment and I am sure many reading this will say why don’t they just leave. The answers are in this book and it’s so true, I know because I lived it as a child.

This is about Susannah Brownell whose life has been turned upside down because her father promised her hand in marriage to Edward Fraser. Edward and Susannah get married and not even two weeks into the marriage Susannah’s parents die owing lots of debts leaving it up to Edward to pay. Now every chance Edward gets he lets her know that it’s her fault that he had to use his own money to pay them off.

No matter how hard she tries it’s just never good enough for him. She’s not allowed to have friends, she has no family to turn to and she is to follow his every command or bear the brunt of his wrath.

Unknown to Susannah, she has a friend in her housekeeper who is worried enough about her to tell a nun and after the conversation with the nun, Susannah’s escape is set in motion. It’s going to be one rough road to freedom for her but is she going to be able to survive the road to freedom or is Edward going to find her?

Magdelaine after losing her sister to the jealous rage of a man, has decided to try and help women of abuse anyway she can and so far it’s not worked out. Twice the rescues did not work out so when she got news of Susannah and asked if she would help her of course the answer was yes. This is something she has to do to make amends of not being able to protect her sister from her terrible fate but things don’t quite work out the way that Magdelaine planned. How can she free her sister’s spirit if she can’t save just one woman?

This is an emotionally charged book and even if you haven’t been in this type of environment you will still feel the emotions and actually see in your mind the physical toll abuse takes on its victims. And see what they will do once they make up their mind to escape.

If Kelly O’Connor McNees writes this well in all her books then I can see her building up a huge fan base.

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*