The Perfect Princess

Rating:
Summary: Another Excellent Story
Review: I have read 5 of Elizabeth Thornton's books back to back within the last couple of weeks of "discovering" her. I really like her books. I didn't like Richard Maitland in Princess Charming, but I definitely fell for him in this book. I think this one is one of my favorites! Elizabeth Thornton is a very talented author. I like her combination of mystery, romance and humor. Her heros are sexy, tough and gentle. Her heroines are not irritating airheads. I would highly recommend this author! I just wish she would bring Harper his love mate!

Rating:
Summary: This is when the ratings need more stars to give
Review: I have so far been immensely pleased with anything this author has written. Even if you have never read any of her other works, this book can stand alone. With "The Perfect Princess" Richard Maitland, who was prominently featured in her two previous novels, has his own story.

Richard Maitland, war hero, spy extraordinaire, chief of special branches, and highly honorable has made some powerful enemies in his career. He does not suffer fools gladly and is usually portrayed as a `dour Scot' with few real friends - but those that he does name as friends are `sterling' in character as well. Richard has been attacked, made to look like a murderer, tried, convicted and two days away from being executed.

Lady Rosamond Devere, daughter of a powerful duke, and thought to be a perfect matrimonial choice for a prince is visiting a `friend' who `for a lark' wants to bring Richard Maitland - his `last meal' at Newgate prison. Unfortunately, the timing could not have been worse as Richard, with the help of his trusty bodyguard, Harper, is attempting a prison break at the time of their visit. Seizing the moment, and Lady Rosamond as a hostage, Richard and Harper make their escape.

This story from the very first pages has exciting suspense, a wonderful romantic duel of personalities - a dour Scot vs. the overly protected and pampered daughter of a duke - and superb dialogs. After several attempts at escaping Richard, Lady Rosamond, with nothing more to go on than his word, and possibly a sexual attraction, does eventually come to believe in Richard's innocence - and she and her powerful family do get behind and help Richard to find the real killers. Of course on top of this, these two very dynamic people get to create some very highly sensual and sizzling moments together - not without some hurtles to overcome with such a difference in their disparate backgrounds.

From the very beginning you will have non-stop excitement, a real page-turner and exceptionally good secondary characters. Wonderful writing - I'll read anything with this lady's name on it and keep it forever!

Rating:
Summary: Smoldering!
Review: If you adore smoldering, hopeless love, this is a book for you. Escaped from Newgate, Richard Maitland falls deep and hard for his hostage, Lady Rosamund Devere. Born a commoner from an undistinguished Scottish family, as well as believed to be a murderer, Richard is too proud to ever let a hint of his feeling ever show to Rosamund. And Rosamund, who's fallen in love herself, believes he sees her merely as his pass to freedom. How the two finally come to realize they are soulmates is heartstopping passion at its best.

The suspense story is fantastic as well. Thornton's villain (the man who framed Richard) was chilling, and the mystery of who he really was very well-done. I was completely blindsided by his accomplice, as well.

One of my favorite books of 2001!!!

Rating:
Summary: A different kind of story
Review: In a genre that has become rife with hackneyed and monotonous storylines, Elizabeth Thornton bestows upon us the gift of an extraordinarily unique love story. Though the storyline follows an overused formula, that of the abductor who falls in love with his victim and vice versa, it is one of the few books in which such a situation is able to enhance the romance of the story instead of appearing ridiculously contrived and entirely manufactured for the benefit of allowing the hero and heroine an unlimited amount of time alone together (purely for the sake of trashy love scenes). Instead, the abduction becomes an integral part of the novel because a truly desperate and futile love between the hero and heroine surfaces during this chase through England, a love borne not just from a superficial physical attraction but from grudging respect, reciprocated sacrifice, and a profound trust developed in harrowing moments of life or death.

Of course this still sounds like every other kidnapping story, (or at least what every other kidnapping story is meant to sound like) but what makes this story so uniquely compelling is Thornton's ability to convincingly relay to us the shadow of desperation that enshrouds both the hero and the heroine. The hopelessness of their circumstances is compounded by the wide social chasm that separates them. In a literary genre where social restrictions are spouted but never adhered to, creating worlds in which it is common for serving girls to runoff with lords of the manor, Thornton somehow establishes a believable barrier that is incapable of being so easily brushed aside. Here, consequences are real, life threatening and not easily settled by the whim of one man, however forceful or powerful he may be. Thornton is successful in this because she is able to express the limitations and flaws of both her hero and heroine without casting doubt upon their strength of character. Indeed, the book's overall allure is due largely to these two powerful characters. Neither is young nor naïve, irresponsible, flighty nor governed by emotion. Rather they are two reserved, almost cold people, mature and experienced in the ways of the world with deep values and viewpoints of their own, concealed by traditional social conventions. By sheer strength of character, these two lovers carry the reader through the same gamut of emotions they are forced to undergo during their ordeal, and drive the reader to believe in their circumstances, to believe in their love, and to believe in them.

Therein lies the book's brilliance. Though admittedly, there are imperfections in the storyline, what makes this novel stand separate from the rest is Thornton's is ability to create two such real characters that you are drawn into their desperation, their heartbreak and finally their joy as they surmount all the very real odds against them and ultimately find love.

Rating:
Summary: Elizabeth Thornton is WONDERFUL
Review: Like everyone else has written, I can't stop reading her books! I just happened to pick up the Princess series because I can't resist princess plots. I was slightly disappointed that they aren't real princesses, but I quickly got over that as I began to read. I am now on the fourth book by Miss Thornton in so many days! I'm glad I had a long weekend to read! After so many other bad authors with tiring heroines and dreary heros with weak plots, it was a joy to find an author who knows how to write good characters with plot. If you're looking for steamy, X-rated sex scenes with no actual plot, then this is not your author. If you want historical romance that has you cheering the characters and feverishly trying to discover the villian, then Read ON!!!!

Rating:
Summary: A TOUCH OF HUMOR
Review: Ms. Thornton delivers yet again, in a flawless combination of romance, suspense, and mystery in this page-turning regency.

Lady Rosamund Devere, daughter of a duke, is seriously bored with her courtship by Prince Michael of Kolnbourg. Turning down his proposal, she sees no end to her life as a duke's daughter, always-deferential treatment thereby increasing her feeling of isolation. On a whim, Rosamund accompanies her friend, Callie, to Newgate to visit Richard Maitland, a former chief of the Special Branch sentenced to hang for committing a brutal murder. Believing in his innocence, Callie decides to provide Maitland with moral support on the eve of his hanging. As events go awry, Rosamund is caught in the crossfire and becomes Maitland's hostage as he engineers his escape.

Thrown together in a wild chase across the English countryside, Richard and Rosamund are drawn to each other despite their difficult circumstances. Ever the loner, Richard discovers respect and trust for the woman who nurses him back to health as she begins to believe in his innocence. Though their relationship could be strained by class differences, Ms. Thornton has cleverly engineered a common ground upon which their attraction can thrive.

Complete with all the elements of superb regency, Ms. Thornton's latest includes the tortured hero and the sheltered, but resilient heroine. With the inclusion of the subtle and deliciously evolving mystery as Maitland strives to clear his name, this read quickly evolves into a historical that is definitely a cut above the rest. And the love scenes, while powerful, are not very explicit, thereby satisfying those regency readers who wish to stay true to that sub-genre.

Rating:
Summary: Contrived and inconsistent
Review: Sorry, but I cannot support the general "how great this is" sentiment. Elizabeth Thornton is a talented author, but this particular book is inconsistent and very contrived. All goes well up to our hero's escape from jail, which is interestingly executed and deserves 4 stars. However, from there ... the "who did it" aspect is non-existent (we find out from alternate point-of-view chapters quite early on); her body guards letting her go into a jail without escort is absurd; the author states clearly in the opening that lady is extremely polite and likable, but she doesn't act that way after entering the jail (she immediately transforms into bold adventure woman); the hero keeping her captive for so long feels contrived; everyone you can shake a stick at decides that he is innocent and must be helped; she falls in love with him without him once making her feel desired or desirable; and so on. What this book really needs is a technical reviewer to go through & tighten up all of the loose ends & inconsistencies. The first few chapters promised an lady concerned that she is too nice, too accomodating, too sheltered, and yet unable to change her basic personality. Had that personality been maintained, this would have been a better book.

Rating:
Summary: This is when the ratings need more stars to give
Review: This was my favorite Elizabeth Thornton book so far! She is a fantastic author. I had almost given up on romances because so many of them have little storyline and only sex, the heroines are empty headed, childish and irritating and the heros just not interesting enough. But when I picked up Elizabeth Thornton's books, I was hooked from the beginning. The Perfect Princess is the 6th book I have read so far (one right after the other) and it is definitely the one I like the best. I have enjoyed all of them, but this one was the most enjoyable. Richard Maitland was a fantastic, sexy, tough, non-perfect hero and Rosamund was one of the best heroines I have found in a long, long time. The interaction between the two characters was very enjoyable - from their fights to their lovemaking. I don't know how this one can be topped. Maybe if the author wrote a book focusing on lovable Harper. I don't really like reading books from this time period, but Ms. Thornton has done a wonderful job of combining mystery, romance, and humor that she has now been put on my favorite author list. This one - in my opinion - is a definite winner and worth the reading time.