On a Stormy Primeval Shore: New Brunswick
Amelia Latimer emigrates from Plymouth, England, to New Brunswick in Canada to join her soldier father in 1784. He has arranged a marriage for her with a fellow officer, but she finds the man repulsive and refuses, despite the fact that she’s 24 and considered “on the shelf.” Amelia meets Gilbert Arsenault, a French Acadian, whose family remained behind after the Great Expulsion; he runs a trading post, and the two feel a spark of attraction. But uneasy relations between colonists of French and British descent means that Amelia’s friends and relatives discourage her from considering Gilbert as a husband.
Meanwhile, Gilbert’s title to the land where the trading post is located comes under dispute, and he must find a way to prove ownership. The colony is under pressure from incoming Loyalists escaping the fledgling United States, who were promised grants of land, which results in conflicts with people already settled in New Brunswick. The contender for Gilbert’s land is determined to get what he sees as his, and decides that kidnapping Amelia and her maid will be a lever to use against Gilbert.
This is part of the Canadian Historical Brides series. I was glad to learn about the early history of New Brunswick, even though a few passages bordered on info dumps. Gilbert and Amelia are likeable characters, and Gilbert’s Acadian mother’s backstory is interesting enough to need its own novel. The bad guys and minor characters are a bit one-dimensional, but there’s enough to like in the history and romance departments for me to recommend the story to Canadian history and/or romance fans.
