This is Christine Webber’s latest book and the third one of hers that I’ve reviewed. You can read my reviews of her earlier novels Who’d Have Thought It and It’s Who We Are here on the blog too. Just click on the book title to do so. I also interviewed Christine back in January this year and you can read that post here.

I very much enjoyed this author’s first two books, so it’s safe to say I thought knew what to expect with her new one. And yes, I did enjoy it. And yes, the writing and the storytelling were first class.

But the story content was quite different from its predecessors.

First of all, unlike Christine Webber’s first two books, In Honour Bound is not quite contemporary fiction. It’s set in the 1980s and this is when it was written and first published. This latest edition is a rewritten and revised version of the original.

The story is set in London and it tells of the intense and passionate love between TV reporter Helen and Egyptian, but London-based, heart-surgeon Sam. There are highs, lows, and several shocks along the way. And it’s an emotional and poignant read from start to finish.

I enjoyed being taken back to a time when I too – like the main character Helen –was in my thirties. I enjoyed the insights into how the live TV set up works and into what Helen’s working days involved.

But most of all, I loved being immersed in Helen and Sam’s story which is so beautifully told.

All in all a great read.

From the Back Cover:

Set in 1980’s London, Helen Bartlett, a popular TV news presenter and Sam Aziz, a glamorous middle-eastern cardiac surgeon, meet on a live programme. They dislike each other on sight, and the interview is a disaster. But that is not the end of their story because later that evening, they find themselves at the same dinner party. 
Over the weeks, hostility morphs into passion, and soon they fall desperately in love. 
Both are looking for the right partner with whom to settle down and produce a family. They seem made for each other; they delight in the joy that they have found, and plan to marry. But then, the differences in their cultural backgrounds start to manifest themselves. And a debt of honour that Sam cannot ignore returns to haunt him. 
Struggling with their torment, while she is so much in the public eye and he is performing life-saving surgery on a daily basis, places them under intolerable strain. 
Must they relinquish the most magical relationship either of them has ever known? Can they find a way out of their dilemmas? Or do they have to accept that no matter how modern we are, we cannot fly in the face of the traditions that served, and shaped us, for centuries?

In Honour Bound is available to buy here.