Customer Reviews

The Betrayal of the Blood Lily

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3 star:		(7)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

When Penelope Deveraux's hasty marriage to Lord Frederick Staines becomes the talk of the town, she finds herself in new territory. Whisked away to Hyderabad, Penelope finds her husband's attention lies elsewhere. In this world, Penelope finds herself at odds and emotionally isolated until Captain Alex Reid appears on the scene, charming her. In the court of the Nizam of Hyderabad, appearances mask true intent. Captain Reid seems to be the one person Penelope can trust, especially as rumors of a dangerous spy called the Marigold surface as members of Penelope's social circle become threatened. Captain Reid thinks he has better things to do with his time than watch the aristocracy until he meets Penelope, a woman who doesn't exactly follow social conventions and who can outdo him on several fronts. Captain Reid can't help but notice the inexplicable connection between the Marigold's deadly acts and their connection to Penelope. By allying himself to her, perhaps he can uncover the clues to unravel a plot that threatens the British Empire itself.

Sixth in the Pink Carnation series, Lauren Willig's THE BETRAYAL OF THE BLOOD LILY is a fantastic, exciting addition to the series. Lauren Willig takes all the elements fans have grown to love to a new setting in Hyderabad, India. As the French presence in India inspires a desire for consolidation of British control, the history of Maratha War forms a backdrop for the action of the story. Set within the context of a present day (2004) graduate student's search for clues about spies during the Napoleonic Wars, THE BETRAYAL OF THE BLOOD LILY brings together the beauty for readers of the magic of historical romance: the discovery of history and passion in the lives and hearts of men and women living in a distant age. Like the novel's researcher, the reader feels the moment of discovery. The embedded story within a story gives a richness to the unfolding of the narrator's relationship to Colin and Penelope's relationship to her husband and Captain Reid. Each separate story fascinates on its own but together each story gives richer depth to the other. If you are new to the series, THE BETRAYAL OF THE BLOOD LILY can be read as a stand alone but take this warning: this book leaves a reader craving more of the wonderful mix of romance, rich historical detail, and all the intrigue and mystery of spies lurking actively beneath the surface. Whether you start the series here with the sixth book or the first, this is a series not to be missed.

Lauren Willig's THE BETRAYAL OF THE BLOOD LILY is the perfect choice for romance readers who crave more history in their romance --- and for historical fiction readers who want more romance and intrigue in their historical fiction. Penelope is a wonderful heroine. While circumstances leave her alone, she is not a woman to sit meekly in the corner. Daring in the face of rigid social regulations, she is active athletically and intellectually. While true to the period, she is also a woman a modern reader can admire. Captain Alex Reid's complex background makes him a wonderful hero. Separate from the aristocracy, he is a man who earns his way in the world rather than being given it as part of his social position. Through Alex's family, one sees the racial tensions and discrimination underlying the British India society of the time. In one sense, both Penelope and Alex are outsiders, caught between two worlds. In THE BETRAYAL OF THE BLOOD LILY, Lauren Willig creates wonderfully rich characters giving a satisfying depth to the romance. In a word, THE BETRAYAL OF THE BLOOD LILY is a keeper. THE BETRAYAL OF THE BLOOD LILY is excellent in the first reading but it also a book rich enough to encourage re-reading or excellent book club discussions. Superb in each and every way!

COURTESY OF BOOK ILLUMINATIONS

A nineteenth-century exotic locale, a handsome officer and a feisty heroine make for archetypical romantic fare, but Lauren Willig's new novel THE BETRAYAL OF THE BLOOD LILY is anything BUT a conventional bodice ripper embellished with historical detail. In her sixth novel in her "PINK CARNATION" series, Willig exhibits once again that she is an accomplished raconteur as she weaves an intricate and lively tale involving spies, espionage and romance during the Napoleonic Wars between Britain and France. Whereas the previous novels have taken place in England and France involving a set of interrelated characters, Willig has taken a bold leap in introducing a new ensemble cast and intriguingly transported the narrative to exotic India.

Our heroine Penelope Deveraux, who we met briefly in the previous novel THE TEMPTATION OF THE NIGHT JASMINE, is as bold as brass. Her unpropitious behavior had always set more than a few fans fluttering and tongue's wagging in London society, but she never thought a little kanoodling would force her into a hasty marriage with the dissipated Lord Frederick Staines. To avert scandal, the couple is quickly packed off to India where Freddy has accepted the position as Governor General Wellesley's Special Envoy to the Court of Hyderabad. Married life is more than a bit disappointing as Freddy's diversions tend toward gambling away her dowry and dalliances with the local bibi, the Indian equivalent of a mistress. One would think that Lady Penelope would be at odds in this strange new world far and away from the tempered drawing rooms of England, but she can ride and shoot and talk politics with the best of the big boys. This is more than a bit disconcerting to Captain Alex Reid who is escorting Lord Staines and his adventurous young wife to Hyderabad. She is a willful, flipant and an opinionated aristocrat. He is a disciplined, by-the-book, level headed solider and more than alarmed by her unconventional behavior. Their sharp banter is reminiscent of Scarlet O'Hara and Rhett Butler on a bad day. Unfortunately, he frankly does give a damn. Pen is a married woman and her overt flirtation and unguarded behavior is sorely testing his honor. The political situation in India is just as tumultuous as the British and French jockey for control after the end of the Maratha War. In the court of the Nizam of Hyderabad, power and deceit go hand-in-hand fueling rumors of a French flower spy the Marigold. Gold and guns are missing which could turn the axis of power back into French hands. Somehow Penelope is connected to the Marigold and Captain Reid reluctantly accepts her help to uncover a dangerous spy, save British interest in India and thwart Bonaparte. Oh, and along the way, a few buttons get popped.

As with all of the previous novels in this series, the parallel plot with contemporary scholar Eloise Kelly prompts the historical story as she conducts her own research into the enigmatic British flower spies during the Napoleonic wars. Her investigation into the Selwick family papers has uncovered more than just primary source material for her doctoral thesis. After a tentative beginning Eloise and Colin, the Selwick family scion and possible modern spy, are a steady item. Since Eloise's love life is on track she decides to match make for Colin's younger sister Serena. Like Jane Austen's famous misapplying heroine Emma Woodhouse, she is clueless about what attracts people to one another and why her choices are so wrong. Eloise's social insecurities and endearingly flawed personality is what makes her both vulnerable and attractive to us, and Colin. Like the brash over confident Lady Penelope Staines, she does not realize yet that her weaknesses are her greatest strengths. Throughout the novel, Willig proves again and again that she is a nonpareil in the delicate art of characterization supplying an array of personalities whose foibles and strengths rival those penned in classic literature. Queen of the poignant adjective, Willig's witty dialogue sparkles resplendently with humor and delight. I couldn't have been more content being back in her world.

A superior addition to the "PINK CARNATION" series, readers of THE BETRAYAL OF THE BLOOD LILY will be as crestfallen as I when they finish the last page and realize that they must wait a whole year for the next book.

Laurel Ann, Austenprose

Lauren Willig's best work yet. Her attention to historical detail is truly stunning, and her weaving of time periods lives up to her already high expectations. I already can't wait for her next one.

In this sixth installment in the spy serie, The Pink Carnation, we find ourselves in the midst of a pretty unhappily married couple with Penelope and Frederick. This good deal of tension between them makes for a pretty interesting lead into a growing friendship and relationship between Penelope and Alex Reid. It seemed to me that Willig set Reid up to be the "good guy" foil to Frederick's bad behavior from the start. Frederick just didn't seem very interested in the happiness and safe-keeping of his wife at all, while Alex did. Frederick had a wandering eye, while Alex seemingly did not. All that Frederick lacked, Alex seemed to have in spades. How could a reader not fall for a strong, protective male like Alex, regardless of the strong personality exhibited by Penelope?

Set in India, this seemed to ease some of the stifling propriety that was held over the other couples in previous installments. Also, I thought there was more time spent on the story set in the past, than in the present day story between our modern-day researcher Eloise and her new beau Colin. For once, I was okay with that. Usually, I have been annoyed at the long switches away from the present-day researcher revealing all of this past history to us, but I liked Penelope's spunk and the way Alex played off of her behavior. We still had spy action going on in this story, but it didn't seem as involved as previous stories. In reality, it just added another layer to the complicated love triangle going on in the novel.

This particular installment was one of my more favorite ones in the series. Although I've read the other books, I didn't feel that I had to read them to really get this story. It would be nice, but not completely necessary. The storytelling is engaging and the tension nicely played out. Overall, a fun diversion to the England-set stories of previous installments, and one that I enjoyed reading.

Nope, sorry other reviewers, Penelope goes to India is so flawed that it was hard to read through. If you want to see what India was like for English, look for The White Murghal - a history of the earlier years of the East India Company. It covers the 100 years prior to Penelope's jaunt, but helps set the stage. English women didn't rush off into the bush on horseback, with no equipment, servants, or map (for criminy sakes!) She should have been bitten by a snake or dead of heatstroke within a day of her run. Staines was never a good character, but he didn't need to become a heinous jerk just so we were ok with his being killed off to free the heroine for new romance. The plot is tedious - a idyllic and silly trip to the wilderness to chase - what, exactly? - then back to town where by rights Penelope should have been shunned and shipped back to England in disgrace. Her new love's career would never take off with her reputation. The others in this series stretch our willingness to suspend reality, but this one is completely wrong.

I loved this 6th edition in the Pink Carnation series by Lauren Willig. What I like about Lauren Willig's brand of historical fiction is that it is light and fun without being fluffy or losing a firm grounding in actual historical fact. This installment takes us away from the traditional societies of London and Paris to join Lady Frederick Staines (Penelope) in exile in India. All of Lauren Willig's historical heroines are charmingly fabulous in their own ways but I think that Penelope successfully dethroned Henrietta as my favorite of all of them. No modern woman with any spirit could fail to like Penelope and feel for her "fish out of water" personality. She just wasn't made to be appreciated in her own time. This book maintained the common thread of characters sussing out undercover operatives -- this one by the facially unimpressive name of the Marigold -- but having the plot woven through and interwined with the intrigue of India during that time period had a welcome freshness. Willig also throws in a plot twist in that Penelope starts the book already married -- a forced marriage to nip a scandal in the bud -- and so she isn't in the ideal position to meet the man of her dreams and fall in love. All in all, this book (and its heroine) was refreshingly original and a wonderful opportunity for escapism.

I was so excited to learn that Lauren Willig had written a new book - I am a great fan of hers and have read every book in this series. I am sure that she did a lot of research before writing this book - too much. It is really difficult to keep track of all of the characters and locations that she writes about. It was just not up to par with the other Pink Carnation books. Too much to keep track of and to little to just read and enjoy.

I have enjoyed the whole pink carnation series and was eagerly awaiting this one, but I just couldn't read through the whole thing. I couldn't connect with Penelope because she was so willing to cheat on her husband. Yes, he's a jerk, but she's the one who tried to get him to marry her. I liked Captain Reid, but his part in the infidelity just tainted his character for me. I found myself disappointed in both of them. One of the reasons I liked the series is that most of the main characters have some sense of honor, especially with their intended. (Mary Alsworthy and Lord Vaughn even had their own strange sense of honor, despite their admitted conceit.)

Lauren Willig is a great, humorous writer and her history is well researched. I love the chemistry between Eloise and Colin throughout all the novels. I know it's difficult to come up with new characters and plots, but I hope this twist on relationships won't be a new pattern in the series.

In London, Penelope Deveraux avoids a ruinous scandal with a hasty marriage to Lord Frederick Staines as they were caught canoodling. Also abetting their ability to elude social humiliation is his assignment as special envoy to the court of Nizam of Hyderabad in India.

Penelope struggles somewhat to adjust even as she bravely participates in court activities, but soon uncovers a plot to throw out the imperialists who are turning India into a crown of the British Empire although the French have forces and agents there to counter that. In fact the Nizam uses both sides against one another to keep control. She finds a brave companion in Captain Alex Reid who teams up with her to expose the traitors behind the plot. As they fall in love while competing with one another in sporting contests that she continually wins, the elusive Marigold continues seditious activities to remove the British from India.

Moving the Pink Carnation series to India adds freshness even as the basic theme remains the same of a modern day researcher uncovering information of a nineteenth century Englishwoman going undercover to try to thwart a Napoleonic plot. The story line is fast-paced from the moment Penelope muses over being married to Freddie especially after meeting Alex. Fans of the saga will enjoy her adventures as an amateur female agent causing mayhem that shakes up the dysfunctional triangle of power sharing by the English, the French and the native Nizam.

Harriet Klausner

I did get pulled into this novel and it's characters, but felt the ending lacked a bit to keep me interested. I was thinking it would be at least a 4-star rating until I got to the end and thing seemed to be rushed to a close. Also, having not read the others in this series I cannot comment on whether all the references to side characters or events in the past made sense. But I found them a bit distracting from the main story line. Lastly, I'm not sure why the author felt the need to mix current day with historical story lines. Flipping back and forth in time was a bit rough until I realized that whenever the text switched to first person I was back in modern day. I don't think the story needed the modern day sub-plot at all. Pick this one up from your library if you are a fan of the series and don't want to miss out.