From the moment they met, Marjie’s heart has belonged to handsome Captain Stanley Jonquil, younger brother of the Earl of Lampton. But six long months ago, when Stanley’s sense of honor required that he do as he had sworn and return to the Continent to fight in defense of King and country, neither Stanley nor Marjie could have dreamed what the cost of his service would be. It has been ages since … since Stanley last wrote, and Marjie and the Jonquil family are plagued by his unknown fate—until the day he unexpectedly reappears. Marjie’s joy, however, is quickly shadowed by confusion—the aloof, battle-worn soldier before her is not the man he once was. In the wake of Stanley’s blatant disinterest in renewing their acquaintance, Marjie’s devastation turns to determination as she vows to help him find peace. But his scars run far deeper than anyone realizes. Despite his feelings for her, Stanley believes Marjie deserves a man whose hands are not stained with the violence of battlefields and whose mind and heart are not haunted by the horrors he has seen. Honor requires Stanley to return once more to the life he has grown to despise, one he knows will destroy him in the end, even as his heart beckons him to stay with Marjie, the only woman he could ever love, and the promise, at last, of redemption.
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I liked the hero and heroine and their story. It’s a classic example of heartwrenching Sarah M. Eden writing, and I tore through it in one sitting. Lots of great, sweet moments. Lots of tears and heartache. Lots of great emotions just goin’ all over the place. Enjoyable characters. Just great.
Honestly, it’s a solid story, but I struggled a little with the ending. What kept this from being a solid 5-stars, “Oh my goodness, I love it!” kind of book is how the hero handles the hurdle keeping him from his HEA. Not so much the pain he is feeling but the obligation he feels to stay with the army. He has to choose between his love for his family and his heroine and his duty to the army, even though the war was over and it was killing him inside to fight. The army still has need of his help, so he’s going to give it no matter what. However, he’s handed several reasons why returning to the army isn’t necessarily his duty, including a rather poignant discussion with his older brother about where his true duty lies. Since it happens right at the end and his duty to his family and his duty to the army aren’t compatible, I expected the hero to come to realize that he can stay at home and fulfill his duty another way. Nope. He leaves his girl and his family and goes back to the army and is saved from destroying himself (metaphorically) by a bit of intervention from his commanding officer. So, in the end, he doesn’t decide to stay home. He’s sent home. He chooses the army over his family and the heroine. The pair aren’t star-crossed lovers but more like he chooses not to be with her, and that bothered me.
However, that said, Sarah M. Eden is still a fantastic writer, and I love her books. With the exception of that hiccup at the end, this is a great book and really sweet. Though, I will warn you that it’s a tear-jerker. I cried so much while reading this!
OHH! I love the Lancaseter Family and Jonquil family series! They are so amazing! For Love or Honor is the 5th book in Sarah M Eden’s Jonquil Family series. I haven’t read the first books yet, however I still loved For Love and Honor! The characters were so sweet and I was enthralled by the storyline.
Stanley was a soldier and that was how he faced life. I loved his growth throughout the book, he was such an honorable character. I liked how much he cared for his family, he wanted them to be proud of him. But he was also tired, serving in the war was hard and he was ready to rest. I wanted Stanley to be happy and to be with Marjie, they were so sweet together. Stanley had to learn how to lean on his family and trust them with the pains of the war. But when the army calls him back will he leave Marjie or will he find a way to stay?
Marjie was such a sweet character, she just wanted to help those around her. She cared deeply for her sister, but she was often pushed aside and called pushy. She wanted to find her place in life, she just desired to feel wanted and loved. Stanley held her heart and she wanted to find the boy who had captured her heart before he left for the war. Marjie had to learn to trust herself and fight for those she loves.
Stanley and Marjie were learning to fight for their happiness and how to turn to others for help. They had both gone through so much, but they had overcome it all. However, they needed each other. The side characters were awesome as always! I loved seeing Stanley’s family especially his niece, they really helped make the book.
For Love or Honor was super sweet and touching! I am loving this series, the characters are lovely and I feel like I know them. I would definitely recommend this book and I can’t wait to read the other books in the series
For Love or Honor by Sarah M. Eden is the fifth book in her series about the Jonquil brothers. Eden writes clean historical Regency romantic fiction. This book encompasses all that a book of this genre should have: interesting, believable and relatable characters, an engrossing story, a section of history well researched and represented, as well as emotion expressed through dialogue and description that touches the reader. This book is lovely.
Hm. It’s fine. But not amazing. Marjie came across as a little needy and whiney to me (we’ll just chalk that up to her upbringing and traumatic experiences), and so very sensitive. I kept thinking, “how often can she really cry?”
Stanley was…fine. He’s not my favorite brother. I suppose there isn’t anything really wrong with him, not that I can put my finger on, but I got so frustrated with him—especially at the end of the book. I feel like everything wrapped up in a nice little bow, but not because Stanley chose it. Everything just *happened* to work out. Ugh. Also, the whole time I read I kept thinking,”he has PTSD!” Whether that was the author’s intention, I do not know, but a lot of things seemed to fit to me. And I thought of how hard that must have been back then, with little to no understanding of mental illnesses.
Phillip is quite possibly still my favorite, but I love Mater and Corbin as well. Fun series, it just doesn’t seem to end as strong as it started. (Also, does anyone else want another book to answer some questions with Phillip and Sorrel and Holy Harry?)
As always, this author has crafted an impeccably researched story that adds so much depth to the experiences of its characters. This was not a lighthearted read. It was dark and painful at times, describing the horrors of war, but also full of deep and abiding love. Love between siblings, love between spouses, love between a parent and child, romantic love, and even the unmatched loyalty between comrades-in-arms…it’s all illustrated with great tenderness. This was a truly heartfelt tale.
This is the 6th story of the Jonquil brothers and it was dang good. You can tell that a lot of time and research went into this book. It was deeper and more meaningful then the others have been. It made me ache for this fictional family and so much was left up in the air with some of the other happenings with the brothers. This is more then just the story of Marjie and Stanley this one brought in more of Sorrel and Philip. This is becoming more of a family saga instead of just individual light fluffy romances and I am loving the change. This had some serious themes but I would give it to my teen to read. Very clean with some good tension.