By Laurie Alice Eakes
Published by Revell
ISBN#987-0-8007-3466-4
346 Pages
Back Cover:
When young widow Lady Lydia Gale helps a French prisoner obtain parole, she never dreamed he would turn up in her parlor. But just as the London Season is getting under way, there he is, along with a few other questionable personages. While she should be focused on helping her headstrong younger sister prepare for her entré into London society, Lady Gale finds herself preoccupied with the mysterious Frenchman. Is he a spy or a suitor? Can she trust him? Or is she putting her family in danger?
Readers will enjoy being drawn into this world of elegance and intrigue, balls and masquerades. Author Laurie Alice Eakes whisks readers through the drawing rooms of London amid the sound of rustling gowns on this exciting quest to let the past stay in the past and let love guide the future.
REVIEW:
Laurie Eakes whisks the reader into 1812 – London Society – into the Regency Era. It’s a world filled with drawing rooms, masquerade balls and a time when women were presented into society in hopes of a marriage proposal.
This author knows her stuff and brings historical richness to the story I adored. It was fun to read about the social rules for women to keep their reputation pure. It was also interesting how most of these rules didn’t apply to widows and how most of these rules could be used to trap a man or women into an unwanted marriage proposal in order to keep a woman’s reputation in tact.
Widow, Lady Lydia Gale, age twenty-six was trying to find where she fit into society. She wasn’t married long when her husband was killed in the war. Lydia made her sisters her focus. She wanted them to have a better marriage opportunity than she had so she worked hard to make sure things were set up elegantly in order to be presented into society properly.
In the middle of her preparations, Lady Lydia went on a secret mission to repay a kindness shown her husband before his death. In order to do that Lady Lydia had to go places most ladies would never been seen. The first line in the novel says, “Entrée into the prison proved easy for Lady Lydia Gale.” I was hooked from the start..
Lydia was meeting Christian de Meuse, a French man, who helped her husband an Englishman, at the end of his life. This just wasn’t done. On behalf of her husband she wanted to do what she could to show she appreciated his help.
Things get crazy after she visits the prison and soon discovers Christian de Meuse could be a spy. Would she be in trouble for helping him if he turns out to be a spy? He has told her things, could she trust him?
Lady Lydia is brave, and devoted to her family. She’s willing to sacrifice what she can because she wants the best for them. She’s also self-sufficient and strong willed. She soon finds herself in predicaments that are dangerous for her and her family. She made and emotional decision that puts her life at risk, her reputation and causes her to struggle in her faith and relationship in God.
This was an intriguing story filled with mystery and reminded me a little of a T.V. series, Murder She Wrote, with Angela Landsberry, back in that time period. The novel is sweet, fun, romance Regency style, and full of twists, surprises and scandal. I’m thankful for the review copy of this book.
I enjoyed the Regency setting and the minor characters in this tale. They were delightful and enjoyed the natural spiritual thread. Stories like this make me appreciate our current time with our cars, cell phones and conveniences. It was harder to track down clues to solve the mystery back then, but people were different back then too. They paid attention to their surrounding and what people did. They weren’t obsessed with video games, and iphones. This is a fun read and I recommend this book to the historical minded and those who like a good mystery!
Reviewed by:Nora St.Laurent