An Enduring Love by Wareeze Woodson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Rebecca Balodis is a happy young woman who is married to Rhys Sudduth, they met in her native Latvia and married in one of their most revered and famous churches, however, only a few months later, Rhys receives word that his father is deathly ill and that he needs to return to England at his earliest convenience. He doesn’t want to leave his wife behind any more than she wants to be left there, however, her mother is also sick and needs her to stay, as a compromise, Rhys has booked both Rebecca and her mother onto a ship to England in a months time, where they will be reunited, as they both say their tearful goodbyes and watch each other as they part, they are torn with conflicting emotions and hope they will see each other soon, although, Rhys does not know that Rebecca is pregnant with his child because she knew if he did, that he would not leave her and would regret not seeing his father one last time.

As the weeks progress, the political turmoil in Latvia comes to a head and it is too dangerous for Rebecca to travel, even after her mother passes away, so over the next four years she survives and raises their child with the help of a serf belonging to a nobleman in the area. While Rebecca is counting down the days until she can return to her love, Rhys receives the news that Rebecca and her mother have died in the conflict, he is devastated and falls into a deep, dark pit of grief, he allows himself a week to wallow in this before he has to start to engage with the outside world again, this is easier said than done and so he has to bury his grief so far down in his heart that he also forgets the love he and Rebecca shared in the process.

As time moves on for Rhys and Rebecca, she is wondering why she never heard from Rhys and whether he still thinks of her, until one day, the nobleman who lives nearby makes his intentions towards her known, even though he is aware that she is married, this terrifies Rebecca and when she is offered help to leave Latvia with her son, she jumps on the chance, no matter what the danger is. As this is occurring Rhys has found a new life with a new woman and he has intentions of his own, however, this is well and truly disrupted when Rebecca turns up on his doorstep just as he is about to announce his engagement and to make matters worse, she has a young child she claims to be his, this hits him hard and fast, but not in the way either of them expect and he is barely polite as he interrogates her about the past four years and explains why her arrival is so awkward.

Rebecca is astounded by the reception she has received at Rhys’s hands and she is both outraged and filled with despair, but she hopes that she can turn the situation around once morning arrives and she has time to talk to Rhys, but will he accept this new and yet old future, or will too much time have passed for them to rekindle what he thought lost? This is a historical romance which will hit you hard and keep you hooked throughout the story as you are on tenterhooks to see whether their supposedly enduring love will be just that.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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