My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Title: Ghost Fire

Author: Wilbur Smith with Tom Harper

Format: Paperback (owned)

Pages: 432

Publication Date: September 3, 2019

Categories: War, Military, Sex, Historical Fiction, Adult Fiction

Disclaimer: I won a copy of this ARC from Bookishfirst.com – all opinions and thoughts are my own.

1754. Inseparable since birth and growing up in India, Theo and Connie Courtney are torn apart by the tragic death of their parents.

Theo, wracked with guilt, strikes a solitary path through life. Haunted by the spirits of lovers and family members, he is determined to atone for his mistakes. He seeks salvation in combat and conflict, joining the British in the war against the French and Indian army.

Believing herself abandoned by her brother, and abused and brutalised by a series of corrupt guardians, Connie vows never to let any man own her. Instead, she uses her beauty to manipulate her way to France, where she is welcomed into high society. But Connie once again finds herself at the mercy of vicious men, whose appetite for war and glory lead her to the frontlines of the French battlefield in North America.

As the siblings find their destinies converging once more, they realise that the vengeance and redemption they both desperately seek could cost them their lives . . .

An epic story of tragedy, loss, betrayal and courage that brings the reader deep into the seething heart of the French Indian War.

Thank you to Bookishfirst for giving me an opportunity to win this book.

I didn’t realize this book was part of an extensive series until after I completed the book. With that said, I surprisingly read this book in a few hours! It is a historical fiction novel spanning many locations across the globe like India, France and America. It follows two characters, siblings Theo and Constance Courtney, who’s father was once part of the East India Trading Company.

The writing is sharp and blunt as the the story navigates from one event to another, tearing our characters, violently apart. The story takes you on a journey through exotic locales. I felt the muggy air of India in my lungs as I was reading it and could only imagine what it was like being caught in a war there in the late 1700’s. I could envision the stealth of the Abenaki Indians as they hunted down their enemies in the woods of North America. But I almost had to skim the parts of the scalping.

The story is gruesome at times, but war is never pretty. Theo’s story arc is quite involved and epic and I definitely cheered him on, hoping he would be okay in the end. I gravitated to his story more because he seemed to have nine lives! He went from being a scrawny red head young man to a stealthy, brave, strategic fighter and leader. My other favorite character in this book is Moses, an Abenaki Indian who befriends Theo.

As for Constance, I had a big issue with her character. She came off selfish even before their lives go horribly wrong. But why was the one main female character in this book made to take such awful abuse from men in this book? At first I didn’t like her because she seemed to not give a care after her parents die. I felt Theo’s anguish, but where was hers? I understand the time period wasn’t kind to women back then, but I felt like every woman that Theo met or any of the men Constance encountered back then sexualized females constantly in this story. Was Constance really just there to take the abuse from men? I did not enjoy that part of the book at all.

This book has lots of action, lots of fighting and military strategy. I especially enjoyed Theo’s time with the Abenaki Indians where he finally gets to meet a woman and truly get to know her. But the writing is so brisk that it doesn’t spend much time with the characters growing relationships. Like the relationship between Theo and Connie felt one sided, all from Theo’s side. At times I felt Connie could care less about her brother. The best relationship in this book is between Theo and Moses, because we see their friendship grow.

I don’t usually read this type of book, I used to years ago, but lately I’ve stuck to romance and young adult. For me the locations and historical aspects of this book were my favorite parts. The female characterization, I did not enjoy as much.

If you are already a fan of the other books in this series, then I’m sure you will enjoy this one. This is the first book of Wilbur Smith’s that I have read, and it read pretty good just by itself.

Get it here: Amazon

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