From the beloved author of The Warlord and The Dark Knight, an emotional, deeply passionate medieval romance Married and widowed at a tender age, Princess Isabel Plantagenet understands her duty: to wed a new husband chosen by her father for the purpose of consolidating his power. Faulke Segrave, a rogue suspected of high treason whose past wives died under mysterious circumstances, is hardly … mysterious circumstances, is hardly suitor material, but his piercing blue eyes spark a fire in Isabel that makes her feel oddly safe and deeply curious. Quite a pair they will make, for she has dark secrets of her own that can never see the light of day.
Faulke does not relish this arrangement any more than his bride does, but he can’t deny his attraction to this poised, beautiful woman whose level gaze and strong command make him ache to have her. Her seduction becomes his conquest, even as deception and murderous scheming draw closer, threatening Faulke’s life, his heritage, and his cherished wife.
Praise for the novels of Elizabeth Elliott
“A historical romance with all the toppings.”—Under the Covers, on The Dark Knight
“A wondrous love story guaranteed to please fans of Julie Garwood, Elizabeth Lowell and Amanda Quick.”—Romantic Times, on The Warlord
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3.5 stars -rounded up
Let me start by saying, this book is written in the first person – I am not a fan of first person narrative.
Princess Isabel Plantagenet is the widow of the Crown Prince Hartman of Rheinbaden and daughter of King Edward I of England. Sent to Rheinbaden at the age of 6, Isabel is back in England for the first time in years and is faced with a very dirty, very angry Faulke Segrave. Faulke had arranged a betrothal to Avalene, but has learned that the King betrothed her to his assassin and is demanding Faulke marry Isabel or be tried for treason.
Isabel endured much in her first marriage and has no desire to be subjected to that kind of pain again, which she is sure will happen when Faulke learns the truth about her. Faulke has a reputation of womanizing and three wives who died under questionable circumstances, but looking at him, Isabel cannot fathom the first and completely believes him capable of murder! But she has no choice, she is but a pawn for her father and will do her duty.
Isabel is saddened when the captain of her English guard is found dead, poisoned and further investigation reveals his daughter and her family are also dead. Her father sends her a new captain and has Dante figure out who murdered him. When Faulke returns, Isabel is stunned at the change – he is gorgeous and he knows his effect on women- but she is determined to resist the pull, her father has promised that if marriage to him is unbearable, he will support her decision to live apart from him. Faulke is completely different today, today he is handsome, charming and more than willing to marry her. When he learns of the murder, he insists on moving in with Isabel and helping with the investigation. Her father agrees and when Faulke wants to push up their wedding, much to her dismay.
They marry and Faulke learns one of her secrets. He is patient and kind to her and helps her move past her fear. They grow closer and she begins to have hope for a happy marriage, but when a contingent from Rheinbaden is set to arrive and demand her presence, she feels bound to tell Faulke the truth and reveals her darkest secret. He is furious and she is heartbroken.
When he calms, he admits he knew or suspected her secret all along (?!?) and is angry that she deceived him, but he still cares for her and defends her honor. It seems like they will get their HEA, but Faulke’s enemies are not done with him yet and they will learn that his enemy is closely tied to her – but will the figure out why she has become the target of his enemies wrath or will Isabel pay the ultimate price?
The book is well written, but since it is first person, I never learned anything from Faulke’s POV, he was such an interesting character that I felt deprived not getting to know and understand him better. The mystery was decent, the love scenes were mild and the secondary characters were abundant and likable, the story and characters were an interesting mix of fact and fiction with a healthy dose of creative license. This book is part of a series, but it can absolutely be read as a stand alone title with no problem.
*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an uncorrected eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher.*
I’ve had this book on my to-be-read stack all summer, and even took it on a trip to Scotland to read on the plane, though never got around to it until recently. I threw it in my bag on the way out the door for a weekend getaway, and once I tucked into it, I lamented having to put it aside to do other things. This book was superbly crafted. I enjoyed everything, from the intrigues, to the burgeoning love between Princess Isabel Plantagenet and Faulke Segrave. I’m a sucker for books that espouse a higher-ranking woman falling in love with a lower-ranking man based on his character and merits, and a hero who values and appreciates the heroine’s intellect–all of which this book had!
It was written in 1st person POV. I generally don’t like 1st person POV. I’ve only made it past the first few pages of most that I’ve picked up before I set them aside. While I don’t think this book has changed my perspective on POV preference, I do think I thoroughly enjoy Elliott’s writing style and clever use of language. I found myself chuckling aloud at a few humorous parts, and cheering for the heroine’s vindications. I also loved the hero, a gallant and honorable man who has been the victim of slander and suspicion due to machinations of others. He proves to be the stalwart support Princess Isabel needs to face her past and future, and overcome years of isolation and mistreatment in her first husband’s court. The only part of this book that saddened me was to never be immersed in Faulke’s POV. I’m in a woman’s POV everyday of my life, and it’s a treat to escape into the hero’s head, too, to know what he’s thinking, and feel his attraction, anger, fears, etc, because to me it removes them from their pedestal of “Hero” and humanizes them, thus allowing me to cheer their transformations as much as the heroine’s. That minor detail aside, Faulke’s growing love was understood through the uncertainties the heroine felt and her growing trust. I enjoyed seeing this hardened woman’s hope blossom and her defenses crumble.
This book was well-researched, originally written, and the creative license mixed with the historical details made for a highly enjoyable read. It became clear from the start that I was reading part of a series, but it stood alone very well. I’ll be collecting Elliott’s other titles en masse to see what I’ve been missing. I am an Elizabeth Elliott fan!