How do you prove that love is not a myth?That is the challenge facing adventurous English aristocrat Arabella Douglas when she falls in love with Count Ferdinand “Nando” Berg, a cynical, bitter man who has been betrayed too often to believe in love. But Arabella is willing to bet her heart and her happiness that she can change his mind.When Nando meets the audacious, outspoken Arabella, he knows … outspoken Arabella, he knows she is everything he wants but never hoped to find. He yearns to believe that her candor and innocent passion are authentic, but can a distrustful, hard-hearted man learn to love again?
As the two circle each other in a seductive dance full of sizzling sensuality and enthralling emotion, Arabella makes every effort to convince Nando that the future is something to believe in. Soon, though, their blossoming relationship is jeopardized as they are plunged into the midst of political intrigue at the Congress of Vienna. Treachery and deception threaten not only the couple’s new-found love, but their very lives, as they struggle to discern what is real and what is an illusion.
*****
Sapphire Magic is the first book in the Fearless Women Historical Romance Series by best-selling author Nina Beaumont.
Gutsy heroines and dashing heroes. Love, passion, and sensuality. Intrigue, rebellion, and revolution. A thrilling journey through 19th century Europe, packed with vivid, true-to-life historical detail.
Read all of the books in the Fearless Women Historical Romance Series. Each can be enjoyed as a standalone romantic adventure.
Sapphire Magic
Promises to Keep
Tapestry of Fate
Tapestry of Dreams
Surrender the Heart
more
When your heart has been trampled several times, your ego and pride have been hurt over and over again. Well, then you watch out if a woman acts innocent. Then you don’t believe her when she comes across as honest.
Welcome to Vienna in the year 1814 where this story takes place. Where a young woman falls in love with a cynical, hard-hearted man and is not put off by his words because his eyes say otherwise. Where the scheming and jealousy of others in the elite try to drive a wedge between Arabella and Count Ferdinand Berg
Well written story full of excitement, intrigue and a flourishing love that is not given just like that
This is the first book in the Fearless Women Historical Romance series. I read one of the later books first and really enjoyed it, and decided to go back and read the series from the start. Filled with romance and intrigue, the storyline was strong and captured my interest from the beginning and held it all the way through. Arabella and Nando were well-developed characters and they had quite the bumpy road to follow before getting their happy ending and I enjoyed following them on their journey. Definitely a great series to follow and I’m excited to read Book 2!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This was an entertaining story. Arabella was a strong woman who was determined to have what she wanted. Nando fought the attraction but he was wonderful to Arabella more often than not. The world around them was different than most historicals, and I enjoyed the entire atmosphere and story. I recommend this story.
I received a copy of this story through Candid Book Services, and this is my unsolicited review.
Romantic equivalent of a military campaign
Nina Beaumont’s Sapphire Magic is billed as a historical romance, but it reads more like the narrative of a military campaign. The Congress of Vienna and the post-Napoleonic end of the nineteenth century is the venue of this stunning series of battles between a beautiful, headstrong, independent young Englishwoman named Arabella, and Austrian Count Fernando Berg – Nando. Nando is an older, cynical, war-weary soldier, and a wounded spirit. He’s sick to death of the posturing and deception of courtiers and spies alike, especially the females who simper and betray the unwary, like a certain lady once did to him. Their meeting ignites an attraction that Nando can’t acknowledge for fear that he will give in to Arabella’s love. She sees through his terminally broken-hearted loner facade, and challenges him at every turn to gather his courage, trust her, and love her forever. They both play the long game, but if Nando wins there will be two broken hearts, so Arabella battles him incident after encounter, not able to claim full victory, yet pushing Nando ever closer to ultimate surrender. This is a long, drawn out, exhausting campaign, with ever-higher stakes. The lives and happiness of more than Arabella and Nando hang on the outcome. Readers who want a quick romantic tussle will rue the patience it takes to read this book. Readers who appreciate high-stakes games, duels to the death, and heroines with courage and indomitable will, will savor every turn of the tide until the final surrender. Me? I loved the emotional see-saw and the vibrating energy of every page! This is a voluntary ARC review.
Sapphire Magic is the first book in the Fearless Women Historical Romance Series by an Author I have not read before, and I know I want to read the rest of this series. English aristocrat Arabella Douglas and Count Ferdinand “Nando” Berg will have so much to over come before they get there happy ending. Trust is the major problem they have. The storyline held my interest throughout and the story flowed smoothly from page to page. I received a ARC of this book and I am voluntarily reviewing it.
This was a lovely one to escape and go back a bit and with someone I had not read previously. You get a fine one to read when stubborn meets beauty I would say in the form of Nando and Arabello giving you a read you enjoy following. The path they go will also be filled with pitfalls and intrigue pushing our buttons also. This is a fine web of back in the day with many of the problems still being present today where the emotions are concerned. This also happened to be only the beginning in a series that promises more good to read to follow thanks mainly by the characters and the writing.
Arabella Douglas felt that Count Nando was the man for her but, his distrust had raised strong barriers that she could not go through. Surrounded by intrigue, corruption and violence Arabella and Nando were struggling with strong emotions that unleashed their passion. With enemies threatening not only their safety but their lives they had to decide what they really wanted. A decided, without restrictions and deeply in love heroine, a very suspicious and distrustful hero who had no peace with himself and a perverted villain, kept me interested in this story full of dangers for the protagonists.
This was an okay read for me mainly because I was expecting this to be a historical “romance”. The ending was heartwarming. I really did like Arabella, she was compassionate & up-front. With the lack of romance to me, the plot was just a constant cat & mouse game with very little relationship growth. The many dangerous & spiteful threats against both of them added gloom & doom combined with pride and sucked the time for couple happiness out of the story. Although this is fairly long, a short romantic epilogue would’ve been nice. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation from the author.