A book review to Rescued

November 16, 2012 Book Review ‘Rescued’ by Arlene Lam Title: Rescued Author: Arlene Lam Genre: Historical & Interracial Romance Published: July 27th, 2012 Rating: 4 stars Amelia has a problem: she is set to marry a man twice her age and though she does not love him, she aims to please her domineering aunt and do what is expected of her. This changes when she meets Jordan Bradford, her handsome white employer. A man with everything—Jordan Bradford is interested in Amelia instantly and cannot for the life of him figure out why she lets those around her treat her as they do. He is determined to make her see her self worth but never dreamed that the pretty little maid could cause him such grief. Yet as time passes and they encounter each other more it is near impossible for him to keep his hands off the brown-skinned maid. Book Review Amelia is a young, black girl growing up in an era when there’s still a large difference between black and white, and all men are certainly not treated equal. Growing up with a sister who misses no opportunity to tell her she’s ugly, Amelia is a shy, timid girl with no self-confidence. When her employer, Mr. Bradford (Jordan) returns from a trip at seas and notices the shy maid, he feels an immediate attraction toward her. But being a ladies man, he disregards it at first. However, the longer he spends time with Amelia, the more attracted he feels toward her, until he can no longer resist. Mr. Bradford reminded me of the male roles in gothic romances – strong, intelligent men who hide a deep, dark secret and often have a dark streak to them. He’s also a lady’s man, another reminder of those gothic romances I used to read. I liked him, even when he acted a bit alpha, and his charming, feel-good personality. Amelia was a shy, quiet girl, but she could be quite witty toward Mr. Bradford, which I thought was amusing. I also liked how she was described as a clumsy person, especially when he was around. The side characters were well-described, and I had a certain interpretation of all of them. I liked Vivian, the governess, and George, Mr. Bradford’s little sister. I disliked Amelia’s half-sister, and Morgan, the old man who wanted to marry Amelia. Another bonus is how the issue of the interracial conflict back then are presented. Even if slavery was abolished, it was still frowned upon for a white man or woman to marry a black man or woman. I’m glad those days are over now, but it’s interesting to get a view of how that must’ve been liked for interracial couples.