Alyx, by Lolah Burford

I'm not entirely sure why this book was recommended to me. It's a romance, for one thing. It's also pretty poorly written, for another. Don't get me wrong; I was entertained- I finished it in about a day. I just found it pretty dull and very misogynistic.

The book starts with sex and ends with sex. Granted, the first sex is a rape scene. Alyx, a young woman who is sentenced to be a slave on Jamaica for joyriding a horse in England, is "bred" to another slave, Simon, who was sent away by his evil uncle, who wanted his title as Earl of Halward. Their owner, a man who is never mentioned by any other name than "the master," wants a child bred from these two beautiful people that he can claim as his heir. Unfortunately for him, the two slaves fall in love- despite not seeing each other in the dark, the threat of whippings and castration, and yes, the rape.

Simon, when not being employed as a stud, is a plaything for both his master and his mistress, who use him and abuse him with little thought for his feelings. Not that Simon claims to have many after having been a slave for ten years. There is a tug-o'-war over who commands his obedience and his "love" more that Simon uses to his advantage in an attempt to escape from his captors, taking Alyx and their unborn child with him.

It could have been a good book if it had looked more in depth at the issue of slavery. It did a good job of showing the depraved use that many slave owners put their slaves to, breaking their spirirts down, using them as sexual playthings, and generally mistreating them. However, Burford overlooked a lot of the black slavery in her book to focus on the two main characters of the book, who were white. I understand that it was "just" a historical romance. There was still too much racism and sexism in it for my tastes, though.

Speaking of sexism... throughout the book, Alyx repeatedly does things simply because Simon wants them. She shows little thought for her own wants and needs. Also, after they are finally married, Simon takes it as his right that he can sleep with his wife whenever he wants, irregardless of whether she wants it or not. That, plain and simple, is rape, marriage or no.

All in all, two stars out of five.