Review: Addicted

Review: Addicted by Charlotte Featherstone

He Is Ruled By Twin Cravings:
Oblivion and Passion…

Friends since childhood, Anais Darnby and Lindsay Markham have long harbored a secret passion for one another. When they finally confess their love, their future together seems assured, sealed with their searing embrace.

But when a debauched Lindsay is seduced by scheming socialite, a devastated Anais seeks refuge in another man’s bed while Lindsay retreats to the exotic East. There, he is seduced again—this time by the alluring red smoke and sinister beauty of opium.

Back home, Lindsay’s addiction is fed by the vogue for all things Oriental—especially its sensual pleasures—in fashionable London society. In his lucid moments, Lindsay still lusts after Anais, who can neither allow him near nor forget his smoldering touch. Tortured by two obsessions—opium and Anais—Lindsay must ultimately decide which is the one he truly cannot live without.

With the intention of garnering more reader awareness for her beloved author, Barbara of Happily Forever After petitioned my reader heart and thoughts for 'Addicted' by Charlotte Featherstone. Confident that 'Addicted' would satisfy my romance preferences, Barbara mailed me my very own beautiful copy. Of course, already halfway in love based on Barbara's review I squealed my excitement. After an agonizing postal delay and several worried emails, we both rejoiced when over a week later I received that little peach card saying my book was awaiting me at the post office. Yay!

With the book finally in my hands I prepared myself for two things: One, that the book was going to be about drug addiction and two, that I was in for an emotional roller coaster ride that was sure to twist my soul.

Lindsay Markham is one of the most complex heroes I've read in quite a long time. He's a progressive thinker, believing that even the low born men of society deserve their chance at fortune. Lindsay even helps his valet make a respectable return in his investments administered through Lindsay's own name, showcasing his generosity. Yet despite his intelligence and kind heart, Lindsay is plagued by his own self condemned weaknesses.

Since childhood, Lindsay has longed for his friend, Anais Darnby. As he watched her childish body blossom into womanly splendor, so did his desire and ultimately his love for her. In his mind she's an angel, the epitome of sublime perfection. Quick to stand her ground and protect others, her image inspires his lustful cravings and loving heart. Yet in an attempt to be a gentleman, Lindsay refrains from pursuing Anais sexually and pursues something far more sinful in her stead.

Lindsay's addiction to opium began while away at university. Searching for any means necessary to dilute his lust for Anais, Lindsay turned to opium as a way to dream about her flesh in a way that he couldn't exercise in real life.

Yet now, with aspirations of making Anais his wife and confident that his dabbling with opium can be easily stopped, Lindsay pursues her with single minded determination. Anais is more than an easy target having loved Lindsay for as long as she can remember. With their love proclaimed and marriage a surety, the two make passionate love upon the eve of a dawning future. Unfortunately a case of mistaken identity with a social climber sets off a domino effect of disastrous events whereby dreams are crushed and hearts are broken.

Barbara describes this early relationship between Lindsay and Anais as being "young love" which I think fits their emotions perfectly. It's whimsical and delicate in it's newness and does not yet have the strength to withstand early betrayal.

Ten months pass and Lindsay returns to England to a changed Anais. Suffering from a blood affliction that won't be explained and while her desperation to stay away from Lindsay is understandable, her quick forgiveness is not. Lindsay, expecting anger from Anais, is a bit confounded by her easy forgiveness of his crimes and is further confused by her conflicting declaration that they can never be together. Yet despite this declaration Anais is no more capable than Lindsay to keep her body from desiring his and as the two come together passionately time and again, the guilt Anais feels peaks at its breaking point.

Eventually the secret is out on Anais and the particulars regarding her affliction is revealed. My heart positively shattered at her revelation sparking tears of frustration and I must confess that for those pages my hatred for her knew no bounds. I was so worried that I would be unable to forgive Anais for her betrayal but to my wonder, the author made me see the light. I realized that I along with Lindsay were being selfish with our forgiveness and that none of this horror would have ever happened if he hadn't committed the first of many crimes between the two. And truly, there was no other recourse left to Anais and women of that time. To do any different would've found her shunned from society and even potentially cast out by her very own family.

What really pushed home my understanding and forgiveness of Anais was a statement made to Lindsay by his friend, Wallingford:

"Who is it you love with such passion and fervor?" Wallingford asked. "Anais the paragon or Anais the woman she is now? Who is it your body cries out for, Anais the woman who stands upon a pedestal in her mantle of idyllic womanhood or the woman who has sinned?"
...
"Yes, Wallingford hissed. "She can no longer be the Anais we knew as boys - the girl who was never tempted to be anything but good. She has been tempted - tempted by you, and she is no longer pure and untainted. You have given her the taste of pleasure and sin. You have made her mortal and now you wish to punish her for what you yourself have done to her."

I believe this outlined Lindsay's dilemma perfectly. He needed to let go of the Anais of the past. The previous events shaped them both into new people - people who broke under betrayal and hopefully would embody the strength to move on and finally accept who each other is at their very core.

The suffering Anais endured finally struck my heart as well when she monologues this:

She wanted to be rescued from this pain , from this heartbreak that made her unable to sleep or eat or to think of anything other than the man she loved so desperately and had betrayed so abominably. She wanted to be saved from the hell she had been living in these past weeks, knowing that Lindsay hated her and knowing that she deserved nothing less from him. She wanted to be absolved from this unbearable state of loving and never having, of dreaming and praying that a miracle - however small - might happen and bring Lindsay back into her life.

This passage, amongst many others, brought tears of not only sadness but forgiveness as well. Again, my apologies to Ms. Featherstone for my initial and judgmental hatred of her beautiful heroine.

The ending of 'Addicted' surpassed even more than I could've dared hope for and I closed the book with thoughts of the novel's complete perfection. 'Addicted' is a testament to the beauty of the human soul and our wondrous capabilities to love and be loved. Thank you again to Barbara for awakening my reader heart to this wonderful author and the gifts she has bestowed with her gorgeous novel. Thank you.

A

To read Charlotte Featherstone's reasons and thoughts regarding 'Addicted' visit Barbara's blog, Happily Forever After, for a joint discussion between me, Barbara, and Charlotte Featherstone.

Interested in 'Addicted'? Visit Charlotte Featherstone's website for more details on her historical romances.

Do your preferences run more along the lines of hot contemporaries or paranormals? Check out Charlotte's alter ego, Sophie Renwick.

Coming June 2009

Excerpt









Coming November 2009

Introduction to the Paranormal Series - Annwyn Chronicles