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“The Short and Fascinating Tale of Angelina Whitcombe” – Book Review

The Short and Fascinating Tale of Angelina Whitcombe

Sabrina Darby

ISBN-13: 978-0062230720

Historical Romance

Publication Date: August 2012

224 Pages

About the Book:

From Amazon:

Wanted:

A beautiful young woman—preferably one with no connections, who won’t ask too many questions—to spend two weeks in the North of England with an obstinate, aloof, and utterly handsome man.

Must love dogs, fixing up crumbling castles, and gorgeous and complicated war heroes who may or may not be hiding hearts of gold under their gruff exteriors.

Must not, under any circumstances, fall in love . . .

Simpering misses need not apply.

My Review:

If Jane Austen was less “repressed”, this could have been her book.

When Angelina Whitcombe stumbles upon the crumbling castle in a clearing, she is unsure what she will find inside. John Martin, the occupant of the castle is both gorgeous and infuriating. Will he trust her with his secrets? Why is she really there?

At its heart this is the story of two broken people trying to heal each other. Although at times convoluted, there is an intense, romantic storyline that sucked me in. The steamy undertones were a little more than what I usually read, but not so much as to overwhelm the story. Still I would not recommend this book to anyone under 18. Here’s an excerpt:

Then she was open to him in the most primal of ways, his body joining with hers, hard and smooth. She expanded for him everywhere, from the center where their bodies meshed to the tips of their fingers – to her mind, which soared with colors and undulating images, half-grasped words and phrases.

I give this book four artist’s sketchbooks!!!!

I was given a complimentary copy of this book for the purposes of review. All opinions are 100% my own.

Category: Uncategorized

Tags: Angelina Whitcombe, historical romance, regency, romance, Sabrina Darby, Short and Fascinating Tale of Angelina Whitcombe

The Wild Princess Book Review

The Wild Princess: a Novel of Queen Victoria’s Daughters

Mary Hart Perry

ISBN-13: 978-0062123466

Genre: Historical Fiction

Release Date: July 31, 2012

432 pages

About the Book:

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had nine children; four were girls. In this first book of the sensual historical romance series, Princess Louise, known as the “wild child” of the royal family, marries amidst scandal and threats against the Crown from Irish radicals. But when Louise discovers love, it isn’t with the man the queen arranged for her daughter to wed.

My Review:

Victorian times are normally considered particularly prudish, a setback in the more relaxed morals of the Age of Enlightenment. But in The Wild Princess, Mary Hart Perry shows us the romantic, passionate side of the Victorian Era, in Princess Louise, Victoria’s fourth child. Louise is headstrong and independent, both traits that were not popular in female royalty at the time. Victoria tries to tame her “wild” daughter by marrying her to the Marques of Lorne, the first time since 1515 that a royal had married a British subject. Historically there has been much speculation about Louise’s marriage to Lorne and why the couple never had children. This book explores those reasons and also how Louise might have handled a potentially “loveless” marriage.

The description in this book is so vivid and expansive I felt like I could actually see the beautiful clothes and exquisite furnishings of the time period. Perry’s historical facts are all spot-on and she uses some of the innuendo and suppositions from historians of the present and writers of the time to flesh out the main characters and make them more identifiable.

But The Wild Princess is historical fiction, and with that license, the author is able to embellish on the story with her own characters, who although not present in actual history, serve to further the story by making the real characters more approachable.

I am in love with this book. I think I will save my second read for a nice long soak in a bubble bath with a box of chocolates by my side and my third read for a day when I’m not feeling well and I need something comfortable yet exciting to keep me company. Mary Hart Perry is already writing the second book in the series, Seducing the Princess, about Princess Beatrice, Queen Victoria’s youngest child. I can’t wait.

My rating: 5 cameo pins!!!

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I received an Advance Release Copy of this book for the purpose of this review. However, all opinions are 100% my own.

This review brought to you by Innovative Online Book Tours.