Friday, April 12, 2013

Innovative Online Book Tours Book Review: Seducing The Princess






BLURB:
Seducing the Princess by Mary Hart Perry

            Mary Hart Perry’s acclaimed series of romantic Victorian thrillers continues with Seducing the Princess, inspired by the life of Queen Victoria’s youngest daughter Beatrice. Painfully shy and lonely, convinced she is unattractive and unloved, the dutiful Princess Beatrice finally accepts that she will never marry and vows to devote herself to the queen in Victoria's waning years. In fact, her mother has secretly discouraged suitors for Beatrice’s hand. Just when Beatrice has all but given up on love and happiness, she meets Henry Battenberg, a dashing nobleman from the Continent who matches wits with the aging Victoria and risks his life and liberty to woo Bea.
            But Henry isn't the only man interested in being welcomed into Beatrice's bed. The timid princess has become the target of a cruel plot hatched by her nephew, the madman destined to become the last Emperor of Germany. Wilhelm II sends a ruthless agent, a charming Scot, to seduce the naive princess and spy on the queen. How can the sheltered princess hope to fend off a man capable of murder, and perhaps worse, to get what he wants? But Beatrice is not without her own allies--her older sister Louise and Louise's American soldier-of-fortune and lover, Stephen Byrne. Will Beatrice discover which of the two men pursuing her she can trust, before it's too late? Drama, romance and peril chase the royal family from Buckingham Palace to a storm besieged castle on the Isle of Wight.

Review: I read The Wild Princess last year and loved it.  I felt pretty much the same for Seducing The Princess. It is easy to love Queen Victoria's dysfunctional family. It is also easy to dislike the Queen, not because she's such a terrible women, but because she really feels that her way is the only way, and she wants to protect her children.

Beatrice aka Baby is her youngest and she's the daughter that seems to be most like to stay unwed at her mother's side.

You couldn't help but feel sorry for her, as all of her other siblings have grown to have lives of their own and relationships be they good or bad. And when she does find love her mother forbids her from seeing him.

Geeze!

Poor Beatrice!

What I love about these books are how well researched they are. When I read any historical novel, I find myself googling things and in the case of these books, I find a lot of accuracy when it comes to the lives of Victoria and her royal children. I'm surprised there isn't more historical fiction about Victoria and her children are really intriguing people and Mary Hart Perry really brings them to life for her readers. I loved Louise in the first book, and I still loved her in this one. She's spunky and full of life which seems like a total contrast to Beatrice.

It was nice to see how the author imagined Beatrice falling in love with Henry and when you realize what this princess must have dealt with to be able to finally walk down the aisle, you're so happy for her, even if she must stay in England with her mother.

I love how she weaved the fictional part of the story in, and how well it fit with the times. Go on, google her Grandchild Wilheim.

The added villainy of Victoria's grandchild and the plot he hatches really make this a great read. I can't wait to read Crown Princess Vicky's story

Rating: 5 flowers


BIO:
  Kathryn Johnson lives in the Washington, DC area with her husband and two feline writing partners, Tempest and Miranda. The author of over 40 novels, she's written under her own name and a variety of pen names, including Mary Hart Perry, Kathryn Jensen, KM Kimball and Nicole Davidson. She also teaches fiction-writing workshops for the renowned Writer's Center in Bethesda, Maryland. And, in 2008, she founded Write by You (www.WriteByYou.com), to coach other writers interested in reaching publication. She has been nominated for the prestigious Agatha Christy Award, and won the Heart of Excellence and Bookseller's Best Awards (sponsored by the Romance Writers of America) in 2011.
            Her works in progress include a series of Victorian thrillers inspired by the lives of Queen Victoria's five daughters. The first novel, The Wild Princess, focuses on Princess Louise, who desperately wanted an education as a professional artist, at a time when women were not admitted into art schools. Her personal life becomes complicated when she uncovers a secret about her husband and must help protect her mother from an assassination attempt. The second book of the series,Seducing the Princess, launches April 2, 2013, and features Victoria’s youngest daughter Beatrice. Painfully shy and lonely, the dutiful Princess has promised never to marry and to devote herself to the queen in Victoria's waning years. Just when she has all but given up on love and happiness, she meets Henry Battenberg, a dashing nobleman from the Continent who risks his life and liberty to woo Bea and save both his beloved and the queen from a cruel plot. A third novel, to be published later in 2013, will star Crown Princess Vicky.



ONLINE LINKS:
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                Please "like" Mary Hart Perry (Here's the bit.ly short link):  on.fb.me/Kj7hzU
                Also find me on FB:  http://facebook.com/Kathryn.K.Johnson.3
                Twitter:   @Mary_Hart_Perry      and    @KathrynKJohnson
                Goodreads:  Come find me as Mary Hart Perry  
                Linkedin:  http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kathryn-johnson/21/8b3/350
                Website:  www.WriteByYou.com
                Contact me: Kathryn@writebyyou.com or Mary@MaryHartPerry.com
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1 comments:

Unknown said...

Andrea, thanks for your glowing words of praise and enthusiasm. As long as I have readers, and reviewers, who love my stories, I'll keep writing them. A mix of romance, history, suspense and vivid settings--that's what I like in the books I read. That's why I put all of those elements into my stories. So that even readers who may not like the more formal kinds of historical fiction will have a lot to enjoy in this series. Now...back to writing Book #3! Hugs, Mary Hart Perry (aka Kathryn)

 
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