When he comes to rescue her, will his love be enough to heal her soul ...

Oh my!
The first part was so heartbreaking, and it angered me so much. How people could have been allowed to treat others this way. So many monsters were rooming this place at this time, even if I know there are still plenty now.

Desmond has had not an easy life, yet he was free of his moves, if not of his career. He made friends and while he witnessed horrors, he was still able to think for himself and choose his path.
What Anna faced for twelve years is just unthinkable, the ugliness of the place and the vileness of the supposed caretakers left me with the feelings of thousand of cockroaches crawling my skin. How she survived for so long, shows in itself her resilience and strength.
No one can come out from such abuses unscathed, yet she emerges from the limbos where she retreated and he has every right to hold her head high.
Anna and Dez tale is one of hurt and pain as their fates were put in the hands of vicious beings. But their love is so pure that nor time, nor distance erased it, it was the fuel in Anna’s mind, her love kept her from spiraling down.
And while the evils behind their predicaments and lost years will never be punished, the fact they are given a second chance is itself a kind of revenge, a nose-thumbing to the adversity they faced.
Yet this book is more than a romance, it is also a plea to the treatment of women over time, how they were often seen as less than nothing and easily discarded with no one to really fight to their wellbeing.
Mrs Alexa Aston paints a moving love story and an advocacy to the women’s rights, with Anna as a voice to all the abused and belittled and Dez as her hands as he helps her to stand up again.
5 stars

I was granted an advance copy by the publisher Dragonblade Publishing, here is my true and unbiased opinion.

What a heartwrenching story. Anna and Dez are sweethearts, both having evil fathers. After a botched attempt to elope, they are separated. Anna is sent to an asylum, Dez to the military. This story is about patience, love, determination and control. I couldn't put it down! You will cry, but also rejoice!

When Anna Browning is caught trying to elope she can't imagine the punishment she will get. Her father is not one to be disobeyed.

After his twelve years in the army at war Desmond Bretton comes home to a very different home. His strict father who sent him away is dead along with his elder brother, so that makes him the new Earl of Torrington.

A neighbour who also recently came in to his title brings news that will turn his world upside down and gives him hope.

This is a very emotional story, more so when you realize that these things really happened. The power men had over the women was truely terrible.

Our poor heroine literally goes through Hell. Can she possibly recover fully??

Our hero is not about to let anyone suffer if he can stop it.

The characters are strong and incredibly brave. You will need the tissues and be prepared to read about the things that happened to the poor women in the asylum.

This is part of a series where each book can be read separately.

Very emotional story.

Fabulous book. I loved Anna and Dez.
It made me laugh, cry and scream.
I love a book that makes feel all sorts of emotions.
Look forward to seeing what happens to Dorlinda and Jessa

I give this book 10 stars out of 5! I started reading this book and could not put it down until it was finished. It was so engaging and uplifting. The hero and heroine are the same ages and fall in love in their teens. The heroine gets told she will have to marry a cruel man 60 years older than her. She goes to the hero and he decides they need to elope. But, a maid had turned them in to her father. His father and older brother throw him onto a ship, headed for the war in France. The heroine's father locks her away in a sadistic madhouse and tells everyone that she is dead. Once the fathers have died, about 9 years later, the hero comes back to the estates and the heir to the heroine's father,her cousin, comes to visit with some strange bills requesting payment for a yearly charge. They realize what had happened when the heroine's sister speaks up and the story is so well written. It is very dark at times and deals with hellacious tortures and PTSD on behalf of both parties. But sometimes, everything lines up in the world and it all comes together. This was such an eye-opening book as to the deficiencies of mental health facilities and the role of women in that time period. It was smooth and consistent in it's read, no spelling or grammatical errors, The characters were very likeable and grew with the story. I give this story a 5 star rating and heartily recommend reading

This was a very difficult book to read with such graphic details of what Anna suffers in the insane asylum. I almost quit reading a couple of times because of this. I also found her "recovering" in just 2 days after more than a decade in that hell hole totally unrealistic. I did like the hero and his unrelenting pursuit trying to free as many women from the asylum.

My heart broke for Anna and for Dez for how they were split up. And my heart just broke as he took care of her. It was a great story and I would read from this author again.