A review by happily_after_heas
Swept Into the Storm by Louise Mayberry

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

 Louise Mayberry does it again. Swept into the Storm is the perfect blend of history, social commentary, and, of course, romance.

We met Cameron Dunn, Earl of Banton, in Roses in Red Wax (remember Jane and her man, Pervy, I mean, Percy?). It's 1824 and Cam is exploring the Yucatan Peninsula because that's what entitled white dudes did in the 1820s. While at sea with some friends and a local guide, he falls overboard. When he wakes upon an abandoned beach, he is not so pleasantly greeted by Letty Monro, a Maya woman. From the beginning they feel a connection, sometimes it's a bit contentious and other times, it's fireworks. They are both drawn to each other but Letty refuses to act on it. She is determined to keep her deceased father's business afloat and escape to London to become an abolitionist. She doesn't have the time for a man. Cameron is dogged and refuses to give up because he feels the connection with her. 

I adored Cam. He's such a cinnamon roll. He wants to help people; it's just who he is. But Letty...she doesn't want help--from anyone. Not Cam. Not her family. No one. Letty finds Cam's help patronizing and pitying, which maybe sometimes it is. Letty insists on making it on her own to and in London. She rubbed me the wrong way sometimes but I can always look beyond a main character that I don't gel with. She did have a tendency, when things just go slightly wrong, to make assumptions and jump ship (no pun intended). I'm rarely pleased with characters who are quick to dip with no "I'm out." However, fate intercedes repeatedly, bringing these two back together.  

What I like the most about Mayberry's books is how she so naturally weaves history into the story. So much HR on the market is historical only because of the time in which it is set--a ball here, a carriage there. Sure, the fashion and the culture of the patriarchy, the rules of society are there but rarely does the story extend to the actual history and other social issues of the time. Just like today, we do not live in a bubble and move within the world impacted only by what clothes are in style, or what dance is popular. The world at large, the politics, the social injustice, etc. impact who we are, what we do, what else is going on. And Mayberry does not shy away from these topics in her books even when they are uncomfortable or ugly. 

However she doesn't do it from a soapbox or demand the reader feel a particular way. Nor does she bombard you with it and weigh the story down to the point that it takes away from the characters, their relationship, and the romance. Instead, she presents the history as part of each character's story and allows the reader to use their own intelligence to form an opinion. It's just so ORGANIC that I find myself enjoying the history lessons (which is sad considering I was a history major in college). Lovers of the historical part of historical romance will enjoy her writing but lovers of the romance side will also thoroughly enjoy it too. It's rare to see both so well included and balanced. Usually you lose one in the other but not with Louise Mayberry. She's got the perfect recipe. 10/10 would recommend.