Member Reviews
Miss Hazel Curwen is one of Princess Caroline's Ladies who finds herself in a terrifying position in the royal chambers. Trying to save her reputation she sets off for the only help she can think of, only to run into trouble.
Sir Joseph Sayle is a diplomat who uses his natural charm all over the world in service to England. Sometimes he has been known to be in bedrooms that are not his own. At heart he is a gentleman willing to help a lady in distress.
A fun historical romance with fabulous characters and a nasty villain with revenge in mind. A real romp through the countryside.
This is the first book in a series and I will definitely be reading the rest.
Great fun.
I recieved a free copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book was enjoyable. Hazel's reputation will be ruined if it gets put that she was unchaperoned at an orgy. She along with 3 other young ladies in waiting assumed they were to travel with the Princess of Wales but she was already gone when they arrived at her estate. Hazel decides to travel to her old governess's home in order to pretend she was there all along. Sir Joseph helps her by bring her to his mother's estate picking up a gaggle of children along the way. I liked hazel and Joe's realtionship. Their wasn't very much to the story but it was a fun way to spend a few hours. I would be open to reading something else by this author.
Will her ruin become her salvation...
Nothing better than be at the beginning of a series, no feelings of having missed something, no regret to have not read the book before, no visiting characters as everyone is newly introduced.
I have read quite a lot of regency stories, and few to none where with the Princess of Wales as a “side character”, as even if she is not physically present, she is part of the plot. Every regency set story mentions Prinny but near to none his estranged wife. Plus, while I have read some romances with ladies-in-waiting, I quite thought it was a custom of the past, well something before the XIXth century. But of course, there are royals, so there is a court with its lot of courtiers.
Hazel and Joe courtship was quite sweet, while Hazel after her first encounter with him labeled him as a rake, and tried to avoid his presence. When in time of need, he is the only one to step in and help her.
And very soon, she realizes everything she thought about him was only preconceived ideas. He is his reputation but also a kind and caring man, not one to hesitate to give a hand when necessary.
Joe knows his relationship with Hazel was strained by their first meeting, she dislikes everything he represents.
But the more time they spend time together, the more she lets her enmity shows. Revealing the fair and thoughtful woman she is.
This is a journey of discovery for them, where they bury the past and their false assumptions to open their heart to something they did not expect.
Both are very likable characters and while I did not agree with Hazel last move, I also understand why, because it was a considerate choice.
Mrs Lancaster gifts us with a lovely tale of seing past society’s lenses.
I hope we will see again Selim.
4.5 stars
I was granted an advance copy by the publisher Dragonblade Publishing, here is my true and unbiased opinion.
Miss Hazel Curwen finds herself facing ruin after she and three other ladies-in-waiting to the Princess of Wales, after left alone overnight at a wild party at the princess’ residence. Fleeing from the scene, seems the only means of saving their reputation. Soon after, Hazel finds herself accepting help from Sir Joseph Sayle, a man who she believes took advantage of the princess. Despite her initial perception of Joseph, Hazel soon finds herself, enjoying his company as they travel to their destination. It soon becomes apparent he may not be the rake that she thought him to be.
Both Hazel and Joseph are interesting characters and their time together gradually revealed their true personalities. Joseph is definitely more than he initially seems, coming across as a man of honour, who is both passionate and caring. Hazel’s journey is quite a difficult one, as she tries to uncover who has been involved in her fall from grace. Despite this, the romance between the couple was definitely forefront in this story, making for a great read.
I received an ARC from Net Galley in exchange for my honest review.
I give the author props for an original beginning. The heroine meets the hero when he walks about of the princess's bedroom, buttoning his pants after he had been 'cavorting' with the princess. I was intrigued, but sceptical that these two would find common ground and find love in this story. I expected a mish-mash of ideas, one more outlandish than the next. But this author was unexpectedly clever and concise. The heroine has made an enemy because she didn't want to 'cavort' with a slimy Lord. So he sets up an elaborate trap to ruin the reputation of 4 of the princess's hand maidens. When the 4 ladies realized that they had been ruined by attending an orgy when they had been invited by the princess to attend her, they went 4 seperate ways. Our heroine met the hero along the way and had some very interesting and realistic adventures where they see found common ground. They saved children, discovered espionage, and assisted a political ali. This author uses a deft turn of phrase and ingenious ideas to tell her story. There was a fair-should-be-fare situation with spelling, but other than that the book was correct with spelling and grammar. The story is very well written with all the plots taken care of and no danglers. This is a stand alone story that made sense. I highly recommend reading. I give it 5 stars.
I had to DNF this one at 25%. I might pick it up later on, but I really struggled to get into it. The characters felt very bland for me and I wasn't able to get connect with them at all. I was also really confused about what was happening as well. I didn't know who was who. We were just chucked into it and it didn't do anything for me.
This is my fair and honest review, voluntarily given and in my own words, for this ARC. Not a steamy tale by any means. To me, the tale was a bit disjointed. Too many tales within it that really should have been seperate stories.