Review: Delighting In Your Company By Blair McDowell

What more could a girl ask for?

When Amalie Ansett visits her elderly cousin on the small Caribbean island of St. Clements, the last thing she’s looking for is romance. Just out of a disastrous marriage, she’s ready to swear off men forever. That is until she meets local plantation owner, Jonathan Evans. He's tall, good looking, intelligent and incredibly sexy. What more could a girl ask for?

An unsolved murder…

Then Amalie discovers the man she loves is a ghost. Only she can see and hear him. Perhaps he's real to her because Amalie is the image of her distant ancestor, Jonathan’s bride from an earlier time. Jonathan was murdered two hundred years ago and has no knowledge of who killed him or why.

A perilous trip to the past…

When Jonathan asks her to help him by returning with him to his past, Amalie is torn. If she helps him solve the mystery surrounding his death, she could lose him forever. If she doesn’t, she'll be stuck with a ghost for a lover.

And a love that crosses the boundaries of time...

To save Jonathan, Amalie agrees to travel with him back in time to the Caribbean of the 1800’s, when sugar reigned supreme and the slave trade was making fortunes for wealthy planters and ship owners. Her adventures there include a slave uprising, murder, deceit and an enduring love that crosses the boundaries of time.


My Review:

There are books out there that delight and stimulate you, and then there are books that seem to touch your soul and bring forth emotions you have buried or forgotten.  This was such a book.  The beginning wasn't particularly stunning.  It started with an ending.  Amalie was packing up what was left of her childhood house and dreams..literally.  She had been scammed by her ex-husband and he had took away half of everything..actually much more than half but Amalie didn't care.  It was a horrible price to pay to be rid of him, but in the end the most valuable lessons learned tend to be from the harshest experiences.  Her mother and father had both passed away and her mother's sewing room was the last room in her old residence that needed to be packed up.  As she was organizing her mother's fabrics she came across a box of correspondences.  There was one envelope that caught her attention so she opened to read its contents.  Inside she found evidence that she may have a cousin in the Caribbean.  She tucked the letter away to ponder on it after the work was done.  She had just officially closed the door to her old life and the new Amalie was within reach.  But how to reach out and grab her, was still a mystery to be solved.

Her best friend and business partner suggests that Amalie takes some time off to get re-focused.  Amalie hasn't had a vacation in years and thinks about the letter she received from her new-found cousin.  She decides to call her and see what happens.  One thing leads to another and boom she ends up in the Caribbean.  Only this island was removed from the normal flashy tourist places.  It was like a slice of olden time come to life.  A quiet paradise that just so happened to be haunted by one Jonathan Evans.

They say a soul with unfinished business will wander for eternity, searching for its purpose.  Such was the case for Jonathan.  He approaches Amalie because he is convinced that this is his Amalie reborn.  He was separated from her on their wedding night and has been unable to figure out not only why he can't remember, but why he was still here almost 200 yrs later.  There is a portal on the island that he can go through but once he is back in his own time he loses the memories of his present as a ghost.  He just replays the parts over and over again.  He convinces Amalie to go back with him and help him find out why he is stuck.

This was a book I was literally sucked into and it would not allow me to put in down.  I was so completely engrossed in the plot that I literally lost track of time.  It was breathtaking, heartbreaking, and so well written that the vividness of the details came to life right before my eyes.  This was a heart wrenching love story that brought tears to my eyes many times and reaffirmed my belief that love is truly the most Divine and inspiring gift we can ever hope to receive.  I highly recommend this book.  Mrs. McDowell you have definitely made a new fan out of me.  Hat's off to you for this brilliant creation!!!!!!