Scan barcode
emmalb1984's review against another edition
5.0
A different take on Regency romance, and a wonderful story with a history lesson thrown in for good measure.
Bravo Bronwyn Scott! This story is so different from the average Regency story; the story might feature a Prince, a villainous Duke and a slightly shady Ambassador, but there are no formal balls, no mentions of the ‘season’, and no polite outings in the park. Instead, there is a tale of an exiled Russian Prince, political intrigue and talk of revolution, and, oh, how I enjoyed it. This book stands out from the start with a historical note at the beginning of the book explaining just how much the story is rooted in genuine historical events, and also has a wonderful opening line which sets the tone so well for the events that follow.
Prince Nikolay was forced to leave Kuban to save himself from certain death, and now makes his living as a riding instructor to London’s elite. Bored with the day to day regimes of London society, by night he frequents the Russian immigrant community in Soho, he rescues horses from the ‘kill pens’ in auctions, all the while longing for a past life he cannot return to. Ambassador’s daughter Klara might have been born in Russia, but she has been raised as an Englishwoman, and her powerful father intends her to be married to an English Lord. However, one riding lesson with Nikolay, and the sparks are flying between them to the point of placing both in danger.
Ambassador Grigoriev plans to use Klara as an unwitting pawn in his plan to get Nikolay involved in his plans for Revolution in Kuban, using him as collateral damage for anything that goes wrong as a result, and then marry Klara off to the odious Lord Amesbury, who sneaks and schemes to get Nikolay out of the picture and away from his intended bride as he sees her getting too close to the Prince.
Wonderfully atmospheric, Nikolay and Klara form a bond during riding lessons, trips to the Russian community in Soho and a daring horse rescue mission to Smithfield Market, whilst also harbouring an air of mistrust, wondering just how far the other is willing to go in Ambassador Grigoriev and Lord Amesbury’s plot to start a revolution.
Privileged they may be, but the best scenes are the ones where we see plain Klara and Nikolay in everyday situations before they are forced to revert to being the Prince and the Ambassador’s daughter, and the two lead characters are so well written that you enjoy reading their big adventure and hoping that Lord Amesbury (and what a wonderful villain he is!) does not succeed in his goal to claim Klara as his bride.
Something different, and so enjoyable, I look forward to the next story in this series.
Thanks to M&B/NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Bravo Bronwyn Scott! This story is so different from the average Regency story; the story might feature a Prince, a villainous Duke and a slightly shady Ambassador, but there are no formal balls, no mentions of the ‘season’, and no polite outings in the park. Instead, there is a tale of an exiled Russian Prince, political intrigue and talk of revolution, and, oh, how I enjoyed it. This book stands out from the start with a historical note at the beginning of the book explaining just how much the story is rooted in genuine historical events, and also has a wonderful opening line which sets the tone so well for the events that follow.
Prince Nikolay was forced to leave Kuban to save himself from certain death, and now makes his living as a riding instructor to London’s elite. Bored with the day to day regimes of London society, by night he frequents the Russian immigrant community in Soho, he rescues horses from the ‘kill pens’ in auctions, all the while longing for a past life he cannot return to. Ambassador’s daughter Klara might have been born in Russia, but she has been raised as an Englishwoman, and her powerful father intends her to be married to an English Lord. However, one riding lesson with Nikolay, and the sparks are flying between them to the point of placing both in danger.
Ambassador Grigoriev plans to use Klara as an unwitting pawn in his plan to get Nikolay involved in his plans for Revolution in Kuban, using him as collateral damage for anything that goes wrong as a result, and then marry Klara off to the odious Lord Amesbury, who sneaks and schemes to get Nikolay out of the picture and away from his intended bride as he sees her getting too close to the Prince.
Wonderfully atmospheric, Nikolay and Klara form a bond during riding lessons, trips to the Russian community in Soho and a daring horse rescue mission to Smithfield Market, whilst also harbouring an air of mistrust, wondering just how far the other is willing to go in Ambassador Grigoriev and Lord Amesbury’s plot to start a revolution.
Privileged they may be, but the best scenes are the ones where we see plain Klara and Nikolay in everyday situations before they are forced to revert to being the Prince and the Ambassador’s daughter, and the two lead characters are so well written that you enjoy reading their big adventure and hoping that Lord Amesbury (and what a wonderful villain he is!) does not succeed in his goal to claim Klara as his bride.
Something different, and so enjoyable, I look forward to the next story in this series.
Thanks to M&B/NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
More...