A Review of America’s Daughter, by Celeste De Blasis

America’s Daughter is the first in a three-book family saga that takes place just as colonial protests were coalescing into a rebellion. It is historical fiction with strong romantic elements (by which I mean it does not technically follow romance genre conventions, despite having a strong romantic through-line). I thoroughly enjoyed this immersive love story set at the beginning of the American Revolution. A lovely way to dive into the 250th birthday of the United States this year!

Setting

Mostly in and around Boston, 1773-1776

Main Characters

Ariadne (Addie) Valencourt is the daughter of a wealthy Boston merchant who is also a staunch Loyalist. Indeed, her father owns a number of businesses throughout Boston, including a printshop and a newspaper that are favored by the British. She is also the sister of three Patriot brothers whose political leanings she shares. Addie has just reached a marriageable age, but is far more concerned with the rising colonial tensions than finding an eligible partner. Besides, she already has her eye on an ineligible one.

Silas Bradwell was taken in as an orphan by Addie’s father at age ten, and now he helps run Mr. Valencourt’s printshop. He is her oldest brother’s best friend, and while the Valencourts all consider him part of the family, he is well-aware that he is there only by the goodwill of Mr. Valencourt, on whom his livelihood depends.

Romance

Silas has certainly noticed that Addie is now a woman, but he is equally aware that her father is not likely to consider him a fit husband for her, especially if the man finds out Silas’s Patriot activities. He is determined to think of her as no more than a sister.

Addie fears that her feelings for Silas are one-sided. But Mr. Valencourt regularly invites British officers to dine at his house, and during one of these dinners, Silas realizes he is not the only man who finds her deeply attractive. And the thought of Addie marrying a British officer is unbearable.

When he finally admits his love, Addie is over the moon. But tensions are rising in Boston, and Silas is in no position to offer marriage. He could at any moment be called on to fight with her brothers against the very soldiers who dine in the Valencourt home almost every night.

Acknowledging their feelings settles nothing for them.

Plot

Silas and Addie’s brothers keep careful tabs on the British soldiers who frequent the Valencourt shops and printing business, while Addie listens in at the regular dinners she must endure with her father’s guests. As part of the Patriot network, they learn of the British plan to march on Lexington and capture the Patriot arsenal.

Once her brothers and Silas go off to fight, they cannot safely return to Boston. Fighting against the crown is treason. Addie has to have faith that if anything had happened to them, someone would have gotten word to her…

Historical Worldbuilding

The worldbuilding is wonderful, and the real history included in the plot is spot-on. For those who prefer their history to only be a backdrop, it might be too much, but for those who love to see the actual events come alive, it is a joy. Addie’s brothers’ experience of Lexington and Concord brings home how terrifying it was for the Patriots to cross the Rubicon and fire those first shots on British troops.

Addie and her sister-in-law can only watch the Battle of Bunker Hill from the top of Copp’s Hill, like other Bostonians. They have no reliable source of information about where the men they love are or if they are even fighting in that battle. Her father is torn between sending his beloved new wife out to their farm in the countryside to get her away from the pestilence of a besieged Boston and the realization that his vocal Loyalist sentiments will put her in danger of Patriot attack, despite her own Patriot leanings. De Blasis brings home how very complex and potentially fatal every choice became.

The Battle of Bunker Hill – Watching the Fight from Copp’s Hill, in Boston.

Tropes

While this is not, strictly speaking, a romance, it includes a number of romance tropes. Silas is Addie’s oldest brother’s best friend, and that trope gets a slight spin, making it feel fresh. And, of course, there is the wrong-side-of-the-tracks/unworthy trope. We know he is worthy, but how will he finally figure that out?

Secondary Characters

This story is the first of a good old-fashioned, three-book, sweeping family saga, so there are secondary characters galore. Addie’s brothers get as much page time as Silas, as does their father. Their stepmother, and Addie’s sister-in-law, are both well-rounded and integral to the story. We also get to know a number of British officers, who are sympathetic and likeable, and that is a fantastic part of the tension.

Point of View

This book was published in 2021, but it was written before the author’s death in 2001. It reflects the historical fiction conventions of that time and moves from one character’s head to another, throughout every chapter and scene, with most characters having many point-of-view passages, not just the two primary characters.

In Sumary

• This is a sweeping and romantic historical family saga (though not technically a genre romance) that brings the beginning of the American Revolution to life as Addie and Silas must fight for a future of their own.
• It takes place mostly in and around Boston, between 1773 and 1776.
• Addie and Silas come of age and fall in love during the tumultuous years leading up to the Revolution, and must find a way to survive it. You cannot help but root for them!
• De Blasis has done her research, and so you get to go along on the gut-wrenching adventure that was the Revolution, and experience it from the perspective of people who had no idea how it would turn out.
• While it is not a genre romance, it absolutely includes the brother’s-best-friend trope along with the wrong-side-of-the-tracks trope.
• The heat level is about a 2. The bedroom door is open for the one (ok, one and a half) intimate scenes, but it is more sensual than steamy. Nor is there overly detailed violence, despite some battle scenes. The emphasis is on the gut-wrenching emotions, not gore.

Keep them Coming!

Please let me know if you can recommend any historical romances set in the Americas! You can email me or post in the comments below with suggestions for other titles to check out!

Love historical romance? My latest novel, Passion’s Duty, is set during the outbreak of the Seven Years’ War (also known as the French & Indian War). That is the war that laid the foundation for the American Revolution. As we embark on the 250th anniversary of the United States, this is the perfect time to read it. Be sure to check it out!

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Image: The Battle of Bunker Hill–Watching from Copp’s Hill, in Boston, by Winslow Homer, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

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