TEST
Initially this new-to-me author had my brain firing on all cylinders. The setting (though made up) is not England, the heroine is a thief with little background, and the hero is tortured for logical reasons. That’s all good – very good. What’s less successful is the amount of time spent rehashing these elements, which made for increasingly slow reading and a resultant impatience on my part. 
Baron William Enton is in no condition to enjoy the wedding of the year in Sedonia. Though the groom is a friend, William can’t muster up any happiness for him and would rather drink himself into oblivion. Two years ago Will’s wife Elli and their infant son were killed by highway brigands. Will has always been conscious that he wasn’t the husband Elli deserved. And the death of his family is one more event that proves the point. His efforts to escape into alcohol on this particular evening are derailed when a fellow guest lets drop a hint about Elli’s murder. Will realizes it might not have been a random robbery and he stumbles out into the night to pursue the lead. Too drunk to think straight, he ends up in the most dangerous part of town and in the hands of a gang of thieves run by the ruthless Master Poke.
Befuddled by his new situation and by the wound he acquired in getting there, Will grasps at the only comfort he can get from the woman Poke calls Princess. Though Princess seems just as committed to getting rid of Will as he is to staying in the Den, Poke is the one controlling events. When Will claims to be a con man and a thief, Poke decides to let him stay and work for his supper. He orders Princess to care for Will and to work with him once he’s healed.
Though I tend to read for the heroine, Ms. Greiman drew me in with Will. His self-torture and self-destructive behavior is realistically done. Sure he feels some guilt about not being there for his wife and son when they were killed, but his torment comes from his regrets about their lives before they were killed. Much of that has to do with his upbringing and that is well-written backstory as well.
Will’s progression from dysfunctional, alcoholic, tormented man to hero material is skillfully done. Too bad this developmental arc is not echoed in Shandria (Princess). She is beautiful and troubled and wants out from under Poke, but that’s really all the reader knows. And what was initially interesting about her mysteriousness faded for this reader because there was little follow-through. She remains an emotional enigma throughout which makes the pairing uneven.
I truly appreciated the unusually dark setting and characters. Though Poke occasionally comes across as a bit of a cardboard, mustache-twirling villain, he did engender some suspenseful moments with his creepy and dangerous demeanor. And the plight Will and Princess (and the rest of the gang for that matter) face rings pretty true. Poke is powerful and has eyes in a lot of places, including within Sedonia’s castle. So escape is not an easy option for anyone – a point that is made over and over and over again. Will is attracted to Shandria, she returns his attraction, they share some lingering glances…and…nothing. They are afraid of what Poke will do but having the same conversation about the danger ten different times is not interesting plotting. I don’t know how many times I wished they’d try something, anything, even if they failed. Instead they worry about the situation.
I have a couple minor quibbles to mention. One, though I was happy this was not Regency England, I was a bit confused as to where it Sedonia was supposed to be; other fictionalized countries have come across as more real in the past. Two, the setting is made all the more confusing by the appearance – without explanation – of characters who are obviously featured in previous books in this series.
Execution may not have matched the ideas that went into Seducing a Princess, but I appreciated much of what Ms. Greiman attempted and look forward to her next book.
Grade: B-
Book Type: European Historical Romance
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 02/01/05
Publication Date: 2005/01
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Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.