The Heart of a Hussar by Griffin Brady
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Jacek Dąbrowski is a young man who lives in the Commonwealth of Poland and Lithuania in the year 1610, he is one of many brothers and sisters and is no stranger to tragedy, so when it was his turn to become a fighter in the Army of the Commonwealth, he trained from a young age in horsemanship and weapons training and was enrolled into the Hussars, a troop of cavalry men identifiable by the wings on their uniforms.

After one particularly bloody battle at Kluszyn, Muscovy they have victory, but at the price of one of their Lieutenants, however, when they find that some of the enemy combatants have fled, Jacek and a couple of the others follow them to try and wipe them out. When they return to the camp, it is to find out that their Captain is not as pleased to see them or Jacek, especially Jacek and makes the effort of trying to tear his performance down in front of the other soldiers, but Jacek cannot understand why. They also find that they have been given orders saying that they are allowed to return home, however, the supplies are limited and a small contingency are soon split off from the main caravan to go to a local town to try and acquire some extra supplies.

When they get to the town, they find it in the midst of an attack and in flames. The Hussars have arrived too late to help the villagers, however, Jacek finds one young girl and a small boy being attacked by a soldier and rushes in to rescue them. This is where Jacek’s normally calm exterior and strong sense of duty briefly flees his mind and finding that the two don’t have any family left or a place to call home, he decides to take them along on the trip home and instil them there.

During the trip, Jacek gets to know the two children and finds that he takes on the role of protector on, especially towards the young woman, but does not let it interfere with his duties, however, as the time passes, he realises that he has grown very fond of the young lady as she matures into a beautiful young woman, however, he isn’t the only one to have noticed this. As Jacek’s relationship with his commanding Captain deteriorates further and a rivalry develops as ones jealousy affects the others prospects, but will Jacek be able to keep his promises to himself, or will this rivalry stand in his way and what of the young woman who has stolen his heart, will she give hers in return? This is a historical romance full of battles, friendships, rivalries and love, where there are more secrets, twists and turns than genuine feelings and relationships as this story crosses boundaries, both physical and emotional throughout.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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