Narrated by Karen Chilton
Be Not Afraid is a novella length historical romance set during the American War of Independence. Elijah Sutton is a slave fighting for the Continental Army in the place of the man to whom he is enslaved. He’s made a deal with the man; Elijah will fight in his place and will, at the end of the war, receive his freedom, some horses and a small parcel of land. Despite his slavery, Elijah feels passionately about America and wishes to stay there and live free.
He meets Kate, also a slave, who is assisting the English Loyalist Army. The English have promised freedom for her in return. Kate does not feel particularly attached to America and more than anything, wants to be free.
Elijah and Kate meet shortly after Kate stabs an English officer who attempts to rape her. Kate is no stranger to sexual abuse but has decided: no more (hence the stabbing). Elijah wishes to go back to his Continental regiment from which he has become separated, but delays to check on Kate’s welfare. Unfortunately, this delay means that English soldiers come upon them both and Elijah is taken as a prisoner.
The novella is quite short – only two hours and 15 minutes but it packs a much larger punch than its length would suggest. The worldbuilding is compact and authentic, the characterisations strong and the romance believable. There are necessarily some heavy things going on. Slavery, war, sexual assault, death, sickness, grief are all canvassed in the story but somehow it is nevertheless uplifting.
I should note that in addition to non-graphic mentions of previous sexual assault, there is also the death of a child mentioned and this could be a problem for some readers (in addition to all of the things mentioned above).
There is an epilogue which takes place some years after the war ends so the HEA is completely satisfying.
The narration is solid. Ms. Chilton’s voice has a rich timbre which is pleasant to listen to. There wasn’t a lot of vocal distinction between the main characters however. This didn’t impact my listening experience all that much; I didn’t have any trouble working out who was talking, the way each character speaks and the dialogue tags helped me sufficiently there. The English accent used for the British soldiers wasn’t the best I’ve ever heard but it was also by far not the worst. There were some small vocal errors but nothing significant to get in the way of the story.
In a very short space of time, Ms. Cole tells a moving romance set deep in historical context and gives the listener a full HEA. That’s pretty magical I must say.
Kaetrin
Buy Be Not Afraid by Alyssa Cole on Amazon
