Customer Reviews

Almost a Princess

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Historical romance author Elizabeth Thornton never fails to shine as she fills her novels with passionate romance amidst a compelling mystery. This latest regency romance reacquaints readers with the Devere family, specifically the Earl of Castleton, Case Devere. Having served England in the Spanish campaign, Case is presently aiding the Special Branch in investigating a murder similar to those committed by Gideon Piers, a renegade army officer who supposedly died years ago.

The search for links to Piers leads Case to the Ladies Library in London where he questions Miss Jane Mayberry about her friendship with Letty Gray, Piers' sister. Unwittingly, the earl is drawn to the bookish Miss Mayberry, whose independent nature both confuses and attracts him. Pulling the reader into the storyline, this author follows the unorthodox courtship of Case and Jane, as suspense mounts and secrets are revealed.

When crimes are committed against those close to the earl, it becomes clear to him that Jane could become the next victim. Will his skill, honed on the battlegrounds of Spain, save Jane and himself before it is too late? An admirable heroine and suspense around every corner make this novel one of the best from an author whose books should be purchased based on her name alone.

I really do appreciate her work, but Thornton has a habit of having her protagonists declare their love mid-way through the novel, leaving the reader with the ultimate romance question answered but still having to wade through a quagmire of roadblocks thrown into the lovers' path.

This makes the last half of her novels difficult for me to read. I find myself skipping large chunks of copy dealing with the hero and heroine to get back to the unresolved portion of the story - the mystery (or, in this case, the hunt for the villain).
I would prefer for all of these issues to be resolved in close proximity to keep both plot lines equally interesting.

However Thornton does weave an interesting tale for her villain as well as the hero and heroine (although the hero's past is left largely untouched). She also manages to inject the story with a good deal of social commentary on the issues surrounding the era (and domestic violence, which sadly continues to this day).

I guess I had gotten spoiled as the first two novels of Thornton's Princess series were so very good- in plot, in character and character development, in resolution and in humor (especially Princess Charming). I devoured both just a few days (a few days because I forced myself to slow down like one would do with a good dessert).
This one I struggled with as it has taken me over 2 weeks for I kept tossing it to the side. There were a number of gaps and holes, and she's fallen to that old cliched plot of the aristocratic (the eldest son of a Duke), arrogant ("but he's so wonderful!" all the debutantes and mistresses squeal), rich (20,000 pounds? No problem), war hero (in Spain they did the dirty jobs average people don't like to think about) and all around perfect male (who is also connected with British intelligence) who rescues the scandalous, fairly impoverished, daughter of a rector (no title or important bloodlines) damsel in distress. (But it's okay that he's marrying down. His father did...as that's noted several times in novel.)
Now it's true, her female protagonist Jane is strong and smart (still a rarity in romance novels), and she has a lot of realistic baggage (but our hero will fix that), but the way everything is resolved is very improbable and entirely too easy. I won't go into that as I don't want to give away the entire ending.
And yes, compared to the huge number of aristocratic, arrogant, wealthy, perfect heroes who find a strong woman who doesn't "really" want him (well, she secretly does, and he knows this, so he teaches her the error of her misguided ways) that are floating around in romance today, Casper Devere is low key (especially compared to that horrific re-release Tender the Storm that should have never been republished), but, again, I was expecting the quality found the first two of the series.

From the preview from the next novel concerning Waldo, it looks to be the same old thing. Maybe, as it's not scheduled until next year, Thornton will revisit the first 2 Princess novels and try to recapture the spark found in those that is missing in Almost a Princess.

(Warning: spoilers) Case Devere, earl of Castleton, falls for Jane Mayberry, a bluestocking female who lives in a secretive manner in a small cottage. His attraction to her brings her to the notice of a villain, who attacks her home. Case steps in to protect Jane, falls for her, and takes her home to meet his family. This all happens in the first half of the book which drags along slowly. A lot of men discuss such things as the war on the peninsula and the Special Branch and the Home Office and so on, but it's hard to get a feeling that Case and Jane are spending very much time getting to know each other. I'm not sure why they are attracted to each other, but about half way through the book they each announce they are in love with the other one, and then Jane's terrible secret is revealed.

At this point, things get tawdry. They decide their best course of action to encourage Jane's husband to divorce her by flaunting their illicit love affair. It was a quick decision. Could they not have tried negotiating with the fellow first? Well apparently Ms. Thornton chose this tactic for dramatic effect, but it left me cold. Going on a shopping spree to show off your flagrant adultery? Oh, that's classy.

This book has not one but three villains, who are equally narcisstic and obsessive when it comes to hurting Jane. There is the Spanish war traitor who wants to hurt her because of Case, the drunken lout Lord Reeve who holds a grudge because Jane interfered with his marriage plans, and Jane's Scottish husband, Robert, who wants to hurt her just because he enjoys it. These guys engage in various acts of arson, animal abuse, stalking, punching, beating up servants, and various other bad-man activities, just to prove how bad they are. And Jane, constantly imperiled, is continually being saved by Case, or his servants, or her dog or something. All this melodrama is pretty shallow. I would prefer a single villain with some depth to him over all these cookie-cutter bad guys.

I have read several other books by Elizabeth Thornton which I enjoyed, but this one left me cold. I could not find anything satisfying in it. In general, I approve of early promoters of women's rights, but Jane's brand of feminism had such a modern flavor it seemed unlikely for the time period. The whole plot seemed forced. Sorry, I wish I could say something nicer about this book, but I can't think of anything. It's going directly into the recycling pile.

Caspar Devere, Lord Castleton, son and heir of the Duke of Romsey, is seeking out one Jane Mayberry. Jane knows someone who may have information about La Roca, Caspar (aka Case)'s nemesis during the war. Case is a member of the Special Branch, a secret investigative/spy related branch of the British government. Upon meeting Jane, Case is instantly intrigued despite her being everything that he doesn't ordinarily look for in a woman. First, she's smart. She doesn't immediately fall at his feet.

Once Case focuses on something, he is ruthless in his pursuit, both of the murderer, La Roca, and of Jane. Jane resists as long as possible but even she cannot hold out against the magnetism of Case. But Jane's past is full of secrets that may keep the couple apart forever.

The really good part of this story is Jane and Case. Jane is a level headed, pragmatic woman who knows exactly what kind of man Case is and what kind of relationship they could have - nothing proper. She recognizes that he intrigues her but also knows that he would inevitably hurt her. Case, for his part, is interested in Jane's cleverness and capability. He feels a bit useless, at times, faced with Jane's self sufficiency. This is a romance between two equals, maybe not in station, but in intelligence and force of will. When these two come together, their loving is believable and all the more sensual for its realness.

The investigation part of the story was interesting but the villian was very over the top and the ending of the story was, well, a bit farfetched. But those are details that are easy for me to overlook when the romance is strong. It was just as good as the first time. B+

The story is as follows: Case Devere, earl, gorgeous and special branch investigator comes across Jane Mayberry, quiet, unassuming beauty with a hidden past.

The hidden past was worked into the storyline very well, which I have come to expect from Ms. Thornton, however the heroine let me down quite a few times during the escapades.
There were also one or two plot twists here and there, that pushed the limits of credulity.

The romance was there but a little forced, I felt.

I do love the way Ms. Thornton writes and her command of the english language as well as her ability to re-create persons of the 19th centruy in England is fabulous. This was for me, not her best effort and I would recommend a number of her other books before this one, such as Shady Lady.

I do like this author, but here are my gripes about this book.
The title didn't fit the story at all.
The story was original and interesting, but there was too much of it and not enough of Case and Jane, especially in the beginning.
The pebble was quite unimaginative and dull. Couldn't the author have used a black rose or something?
Much ado is made about Jane's ability to handle a gun, which she carries with her mostly all the time. But good grief, no wonder men (in those days and probably today) laughed at a woman with a gun. The author led us to believe Jane was practically expert, yet the opposite seemed true. For instance, Jane is accosted in the street, she mentions to herself that her gun is in her reticule, but within seconds the reticule is on the ground and she's off and running.
Another time she's in the company of a few men who give her the creeps. One man asks her to hand over her reticule with the gun inside before she enters a room to speak to their boss. Jane does so without hesitating, then of course, regrets doing so. On another occasion, when she finally does shoot the thing, she misses her target. And her timing was off. Someone else had also fired a shot. Fittingly, Jane is then tackled to the floor.
This might seem trivial, but I don't like it when a heroine is supposed to be good at something normally reserved for men, then it isn't followed through.
It throws the whole story off balance.

I don't ususally like books set in this time period, but I picked it up because of all of the good reviews and I wanted something different. I definitely got what I wanted! I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The heroine was smart and not an empty headed idiot that most heroines are and Case! He was what made the book a keeper. I'm already on my third book by this author and can't wait for her newest book coming in April. Highly recommended!

My first novel by this author was an interesting story of the now familiar spy/war hero/earl changed by his war experiences and the one woman who inexplicably worms her way into his heart and mind.

I liked Case's character. As one other reviewer pointed out, he enjoys his life, his position, his friends but below the surface you know that he recognizes that there is more to life. He doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve in the least and the affect of his war experience is subtle and kept to himself. He is involved in a murder investigation that links back to his activities during the war in Spain and knows that a final cat and mouse game to the death is now afoot between himself and his nemesis, Gideon Piers.

He needs to speak to Piers' sister but to find her he must go through a Miss Jane Mayberry, a bluestocking crusader for women's rights who seems inordinately worried about protecting not only the privacy of her friend, but also herself. She exudes distrust and dislike for men and he wonders why. And in a 24 hour period, he sees her as bluestocking, then as lovely debutante at the opera with friends, and then she disappears! His interest is definitely piqued and when they meet again, they become entangled in a romance that reveals her past and the endgame for Case and our villain.

For me, the romance was almost secondary, subdued but I did not really mind too much. The rest of the story was very well developed and even the bad guy had some interesting motivations and characteristics. Sure, he uses the heroine to taunt our hero, but not in the usual hero-saves-her-life-in-the-last-ten-pages fashion. Almost the opposite. Sure things are tidied-up conveniently at the end, but not in an altogether unbelievable way.

I liked this story and some of the secondary characters were great as well - her dog Lance was lovable, Harper was gruffly sweet, Ruggles was a surprise and then there's the charismatic and enigmatic Waldo who looks to be the hero of her next novel. Likable characters and an enjoyable read.

In Elizabeth Thornton's much-anticipated release after her acclaimed Princess Charming, Almost a Princess strives to be on par with a delectable smorgasbord of romance and intrigue even though the sensuality is more subdued here.

Case Devere, the earl of Castleton is engaged by the Special Branch to hunt down notorious brigand and arch-enemy Piers after he failed to destroy him in a relentless pursuit after he stole the gold from British Convoy. Now in London 1816 - a man is killed and bears a pebble - a signature killing style exclusive to Piers. He tracks down Letty, Pier's sister through Jane Mayberry - a resilient independent bluestocking who staunchly defend woman's right - and amazes Case with her strength. As passion develops between them, Jane faces danger from Piers in sabotages and a vitrolic ex-husband.

Readers who are familiar with Thornton's work will see her repeating the same winning formula deftly weaving palpitating suspense and murder with a knock-out twist towards the climax. The romance between Case and Jane steers wisely clear of prurience and bolsters on admiration to nurture an achingly tender love where Case becomes the protector. With an ensemble of defined sub-characters including the hauntingly disillusioned villain, Thornton's latest is almost an instant winner even if without any surprising breakthrough.