"Broken Wing" by Judith James

I just finished "Broken Wing" by Judith James and enjoyed the story of Lady Sarah Munroe a widow and Gabriel St. Croix a shell of a young man living in torment from the abuse and complete lack of human kindness his torturous childhood entailed. Sarah's younger brother James was lost to her for many years then discovered living in a brothel. Sarah and her older brother Ross go to retrieve their lost sibling and find Gabriel has become the young boys protector. Gabriel had been taken into the brothel as a child and used by men and women alike until he became a much sought after prostitute. When Sarah's young sibling James came to the brothel Gabriel felt protective of the young boy and put himself in harms way to keep the boy safe. Because of this, Gabriel and James formed a bond- James sees Gabriel as his big brother and will not leave the brothel without him. So Sarah and Ross invite Gabriel to come home with them for a year to help James adjust and promise to pay Gabriel nicely after the year is up. Gabe goes- its the escape from the brothel he's dared to dream of. Poor Gabe is a mess. He has no idea how to feel much of anything because as a whore, he's learned the only way to survive such a business is to turn off all your feelings and emotions and live on a sort of auto pilot doing what you're told, not asking questions and making it through one day at a time. To feel something, Gabe cuts himself. It's his release and the only thing he permits himself to feel. This guy has so many issues and is innocent in so many ways- which the author Judith James portrays to perfection. He knows nothing of kindness or gentleness. He lives with no hope and is scared to death to allow himself to dream. He's harassed by nightmares, hates himself so much he's drowning in self loathing and sees himself as completely unworthy and below being human. He sees himself as a thing, because that is what he's always been to people. A thing to be used for pleasure then discarded. But Sarah sees more in Gabe and her love and patience and kindness slowly begin to breakdown Gabe's defenses. She gives him the first hope he's ever felt. She is a life jacket to a drowning man at sea. The story of their friendship, trust and love unfolds slowly as Gabe begins to heal and sort through his wounds. As Gabe begins to trust Sarah he exposes each of his wounds to her and as she is shocked by them, she is patient and helps him to heal each and every one of them, until only the scars are left and Gabe is able to love, trust and hope for the first time in his life. But things don't stay smooth for long, the young lovers are separated by a fateful trip at sea. Gabe finds himself once again at the mercy of unkind and vile hands. He falls into despair and believes he has betrayed Sarah's love with the things he is forced to do. He feels so unworthy of her and such self loathing once again that even when he is free he does not return to Sarah at once. But these two are fated to be together and once more Sarah must help Gabe heal his wounds and believe in himself and their love.

Wonderful characters and I enjoyed this historical romance because it is so different from others. First its told nearly completely from the males view and the male being the character whose been sexually abused and in need of rescue is not typical in historical romance. That was a refreshing change for me. Personally speaking, I don't typically like the "fate separates the lovers and years later they find each other against the odds" type of novels- just doesn't appeal to me at all. But the characters and torment of Gabe was bittersweet and the story begged to be told and Judith James did a fine job. And the fact that when I began reading this and the image of Gabe began to form in my mind, all I could see was Johnny Depp as Gabe! *g* So I had that lovely image in my mind while reading this romance. I give it 3.5 stars out of 5.