For Love or Honor (The Jonquil Brothers Book 5)

Marjie and Stanley felt an instant connection upon meeting during a Christmas gathering at the home of fellow friends when Stanley was sent home from the war front due to a wounded shoulder. There is a mutual connection and an understanding between the two, but he is soon called back to resume his duties in the war.Marjie has been faithfully writing him letters since their parting, hoping for some sort of sign that he returns her feelings and for proof that he is still alive and well. After six harrowing months, Stanley is sent home again to recover his health. All the while knowing that he will be required to return to his men once he has recovered enough to do so.Marjie is relieved to see that he is well, but he is hiding the true extent of his injuries from those at home. And as overjoyed as she is to see him, she is also hurt and confused as to why he never wrote to her while he was away. He's been distant and sullen since his return and Marjie is unsure of how best to help him. And he is desperate to be near her again, but also desperate to keep his distance. Can their relationship, or even Stanley himself, survive another seperation?*****I think For Love or Honor has been the most powerful book in the series for me. I was emotionally invested in Layton and Philip's stories as well, but this one had the biggest emotional impact on me.I felt such a connection for both of our main characters, Stanley and Marjie. Living in a new home, poor Marjie was rebuffed by everyone around her when all she saught to do was to help and care for those closest to her. She feels lost and everytime she was crushed or closed out I felt for her. And Stanley had such a tough decision ahead of him but felt honor-bound to ignore his own health and wants.I don't want to say anything else and spoil anything, but this was a truly touching and endearing story between two great characters.One of Sarah M. Eden's best books yet, I felt that this book was the best plot-wise and in terms of character development and I highly recommend it. I teared up the most with this book, as compared to her others. I was so invested in the story, I couldn't put it down.I love learning more about each member of this very interesting family with each book and I look forward to the next. I love that these books are just as much about the family as a whole as they are about the couple the book is focused upon.

The hero is given the opportunity to discover what the meaning of true integrity truly is despite his clinging to the letter of the law and not the most essential spirit of it. And forgetting that God’s laws supercede man’s laws.

Honor will always be a reason to do what one must, but what if others who we care for are harmed by following what we assume is the path of honor? To whom do we owe our loyalties?I have always been against war, and the author is insightful of the horrors- physically as well as emotionally and spiritually,In reading of the other Jonquil brothers, he was often gone...and in the Fine Gentlemen story of Jason, we learned a lot more about his character through Mariposa. I had not thought much of Sorrel's clingy sister, but Marjie is opened up as a character in the way Stanley and his fellow soldiers describe her impact on his will to live. It was so tense near the end I was afraid to read at work lest I turn into a watering pot.

I liked this even more than I liked Friends and Foes (my favorite Jonquil book), partially because I enjoyed Stanley's story and journey, but also because I felt like this was the first time we got to see the Jonquil brothers be real brothers, interacting in the kind of ways that made it clear how they'd been as children and the pranks they'd gotten up to and how those shared experiences had matured as they grew older. There's been hints here and there in previous books, but it was all so clear here, and so enjoyable. I loved the House of Lords bit in the gatehouse, the way they teased Holy Harry and he actually came off his high perch a bit, the morning rides Phillip and Layton took--just so many little things that painted a full, complete picture of the family and the current relationships and strengths. There were a lot of difficult things in this book--Stanley's injuries and jadedness, Sorrel's continuing health struggles--but they were all beautifully balanced out by moments of lightness and humor that felt both authentic and appropriately placed. I've got two issues, though. First, how could Eden reintroduce Carter (from Glimmer of Hope!) and then leave us hanging? And second, how could Eden make things so difficult for Sorrel and then leave us hanging? I'd been keen for Holy Harry's story for those two dangling threads alone, but then his admission in the gatehouse and subsequent teasing, where he became a real live human, has made me keen for his story for his own sake, too. I'm crossing my fingers we'll get it soon(ish--I know how long books take to be written, edited, and prettied up--but still! Hopefully not too long.)

First off, I love the Jonquil brothers series. Each story is unique and different and each Jonquil brother is endearing and loveable in his own way. When it comes to this story specifically, the heaviness of the storyline sometimes made it difficult it get through. Not because the writing was bad, but because it was SO realistic to the complete trauma that is faced by both soldiers and the loved ones they leave behind. I found myself with tears in my eyes several times, because while these characters are fictional, the horrors of war and the emotional and physical scars it leaves behind are too real. I will say that while I tend to prefer a bit more of a lighthearted overtone to a romance than what this book had, the very deep and moving love story between Stanley and Marjie was just as satisfying as a fun, rom-com type read because of how powerful and raw it was. Basically, Sarah Eden is a genius who should never stop writing, because she brings out something new in every story she writes and I always look forward to her books.

This is another beautiful story of the Jonquil brothers. They are very well written, with satisfying endings. Each story is woven with input from the other brothers. Really recommend this whole series.

Excellent as always. This author is superb.