My Thoughts:A gripping historical romance about young love betrayed, second chances, trust and forgiveness... All neatly wrapped in a story that takes place in 1815.
Olivia was the vicar's daughter, and she managed to catch the eye of Jack Wyndham, the Earl of Gracechurch. Against his family's wishes, the couple is married, and seem to be living blissful lives together... Until accusations of gambling and unfaithfulness tear them apart and create a huge scandal.
Now five years later, Olivia is working for Lady Kate, a duchess, when she stumbles upon the body of her ex-husband amid the wounded and dead on the battlefield, except he is wearing a French uniform. Hoping to save him, she switches his uniform for an English one and takes him back to Lady Kates to see if he will survive to explain what he was doing on the battlefield.
Jack survives, but suffers from amnesia and can't explain his appearance or how he came to be in possession of a letter from Napoleon to General Grouchy. With the question of being a traitor hanging over him, Olivia and her new friends don't know who they can trust.
Filled with adventure, intrigue and romance, this book is quite a page-turner. I loved it, especially as it provided a more serious, almost dark edge to the historical romance as opposed to the normal light-hearted stories I am so used to. Even better? It looks like this book will be followed by the story of Grace and Neville... This looks like a promising new series for historical romance fans.
by Eileen Dreyer
Publisher: Forever (July 1, 2010) ~ 432 pages
Fiction / Romance / Historical Romance
Edition Reviewed: ARC - Review copy received courtesy of the publisher, many thanks to both the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review!
Perfect for : Personal Use
About the Book:
Olivia Grace has secrets that could destroy her. One of the greatest of these is the Earl of Gracechurch, who married and divorced her five years earlier. Abandoned and disgraced, Grace has survived those years at the edge of respectability. Then she stumbles over Jack on the battlefield of Waterloo, and he becomes an even more dangerous secret. For not only is he unconscious, he is clad in an enemy uniform.
But worse, when Jack finally wakes in Olivia's care, he can't remember how he came to be on a battlefield in Belgium. In fact, he can remember nothing of the last five years. He thinks he and Olivia are still blissfully together. To keep him from being hanged for a traitor, Olivia must pretend she and Jack are still married.
To unearth the real traitors, Olivia and Jack must unravel the truth hidden within his faulty memory. To save themselves and the friends who have given them sanctuary, they must stand against their enemies, even as they both keep their secrets.
In the end, can they risk everything to help Jack recover his lost memories, even though the truth may destroy them both?
Excerpt:
About the Author: (from the publisher's site)
USA Today best-selling author Eileen Dreyer has won five RITA Awards from Romance Writers of America, which secures her fourth place in the Romance Writers of America prestigious Hall of Fame.
Eileen is an addicted traveler, having sung in some of the best Irish pubs in the world, and admits she sees research as a handy way to salve her insatiable curiosity. She's also trained in forensic nursing and death investigation, although she doesn't see herself actively working in the field, unless this writing thing doesn't pan out.
Eileen also writes as Kathleen Korbel and has over three million books in print worldwide.
Born and raised in Missouri, she lives in St. Louis County with husband Rick and her two children. She has animals but refuses to subject them to the glare of the limelight.
