Rating: 
Summary: This book was absolutely wonderful!
Review: I loved the way Sarah and the Duke of Wessex kept on sort of warring with each other! They were great. I also loved the thought of there being an alternate universe like in that book.
Rating: 
Summary: A unsatisfying mish-mash
Review: I quite enjoyed about the first half of this book, but as it started poking its way toward a conclusion, my enjoyment slowly declined utnil at the end I somehoe didn't seem to care. A big part of the problem seems to be that the authors have tried to combine too many different things: alternate history, fantasy/magic, dashing adventure a la Scarlet Pimpernel, etc. In the event, it was all a bit too much and nothing seemed to work out well.One thing that I thought suffered particuarly badly was the elements of magic in Shadow of Albion. There's a bit at the start to draw the heroine from our world to the alternate world, and then it's pretty much ignored for about 2/3 of the book when it's needed to explain a mysterious disappearance. Personally, I couldn't see the need for any of this. The book could have been a more straight-forward alternate history without it seems too many alterations and would thus have been more focused and the ending more coherent. Perhaps the magic has to be introduced so it can be used in the sequel(s); yeppers, the title-page says this is volume 1 of Yet Another Series.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointment
Review: I really loved the author's scifi novels under her other name. I looked forward to this one because I love old fashioned romantic novels, but what I found was a messy beginning full of unnecessary flashbacks. Once those end, the story gets going, but it's not "Jane Austen meets the Scarlet Pimpernell." There is no Jane Austen and no hint of Wordsworth, or Byron, just a lot of Georgette Heyer slang and characters. Including the heroine and a lower class girl getting on a first name basis in a public shop. Elizabeth Bennet never showed that kind of vulgarity. Why not make up a world instead?
Rating:
Summary: Great start, slow finish.
Review: I'm afraid I must agree with the reviewers below. The plot was promising, but ultimately unsatisfying. The alternate history scenario is fun for students of history and The Scarlet Pimpernel (look for Citizen Orczy, named for the Pimpernel's author), but there is so much explanation of the politics that the characters become a little lost. Their feelings are described, never shown by their dialogue or actions, so the reader feels very removed from them. The magic is a mere plot device, ignored unless there's no other way for something impossible to happen. There was also a rather strange shift in point of view; all of a sudden, we are being told the tale as seen through the eyes of a young woman not introduced until half-way through the book. Read Norton's Scent of Magic for better court intrigue and magic.
Rating: 
Summary: Attention All Regency Fans!
Review: If you're a Regency romance fan, this book is for you. It's a great introduction to the alternate history/fantasy genre that combines the familiar aspects of Regency society with the imaginative what-if's of a world where the American Revolutionary War never happened. It tells the story of Sarah Cunningham, an American from Baltimore, who in 1805 is on her way to England. Unbeknownst to her, in an alternate dimension, her exact physical counterpart, Sarah the Marchioness of Roxbury, is about to die, leaving an important promise unfulfilled. Servants who are practioners of the magical arts manage to switch the Sarahs' personalities at the moment of the Marchioness' death. An added twist is that Roxbury has for years been betrothed (though not in love with) the Duke of Wessex, who is secretly a spy for the King. This all takes place in an England where the Stuarts still retain the throne, and King George never existed. It is also a world where the American colonies are still proud parts of the English empire, the Louisiana Purchase never happened, the faerie's existence is acknowledged, and John Adams is an English ambassador. It's an excellent blend of the familiar and the unknown, of missing heirs, magic, treason, history, romance, treachery, and adventure. For Regency fans, this gives you a taste of a new genre, that has a whole new world of reading possibilities. For alternate history fans, the depiction of Regency society explains why that genre is so beloved by its fans. This is a book that is the best of both worlds.
Rating:
Summary: Attention All Regency Fans!
Review: If you're a Regency romance fan, this book is for you. It's a great introduction to the alternate history/fantasy genre that combines the familiar aspects of Regency society with the imaginative what-if's of a world where the American Revolutionary War never happened. It tells the story of Sarah Cunningham, an American from Baltimore, who in 1805 is on her way to England. Unbeknownst to her, in an alternate dimension, her exact physical counterpart, Sarah the Marchioness of Roxbury, is about to die, leaving an important promise unfulfilled. Servants who are practioners of the magical arts manage to switch the Sarahs' personalities at the moment of the Marchioness' death. An added twist is that Roxbury has for years been betrothed (though not in love with) the Duke of Wessex, who is secretly a spy for the King. This all takes place in an England where the Stuarts still retain the throne, and King George never existed. It is also a world where the American colonies are still proud parts of the English empire, the Louisiana Purchase never happened, the faerie's existence is acknowledged, and John Adams is an English ambassador. It's an excellent blend of the familiar and the unknown, of missing heirs, magic, treason, history, romance, treachery, and adventure. For Regency fans, this gives you a taste of a new genre, that has a whole new world of reading possibilities. For alternate history fans, the depiction of Regency society explains why that genre is so beloved by its fans. This is a book that is the best of both worlds.
Rating:
Summary: Poorly realised, although ambitious, alternate history
Review: In a time when the word "Regency" is almost exclusively associated with "Jane Austen" and her drawing room romances, "The Shadow of Albion" an alternate history Regency *adventure* is a most ambitious work to undertake. However, undertake it the accomplished Andre Norton and Rosemary Edgehill (a.k.a. eluki bes shahar) do. The set-up is exciting. Rather than drawing rooms we have the White Tower (a secret intelligence agency), rather than Mr. Darcy, we have the Duke of Wessex, and his Lizzy is none other than the cross-dimensional Sarah Cunningham/Marchioness of Roxbury. Lady Jersey, Napoleon and even the Swedish nobility are scheduled to make an appearance in this international escapade. So why then the two stars? The answer lies primarily in characterisation. Our heros, the displaced Marchioness of Roxbury and the incorrigable Duke of Wessex dislike each other and - as we are told more than once too often - are very much engaged, and half way through, very much married. No spark of interest passes between them, although given their personalities we might have had a rather nice Pride and Prejudice romance with a twist of mystery thrown in - but the authors keep our heros in a state of intense personal indifference (not even hate), which makes the reader indifferent to their fate, whether separate or apart. The secondary characters are a tad more interesting, but, lamentably, secondary. The ending twist where Wessex suddenly will-not-lose-his-lady-love-despite-what-dangers-may-come is therefore wretchedly weak, especially next to the charming romance of the turncoat's neice and the missing Dauphin. The plot, as shown through the language, also left much to be desired. The authoresses attempted to combine too many things at once, and ended up with a mismash of frayed threads. Because, for some inexplicable reason, someone thought it better to bring in a heroine from another world and then give her amnesia, there are interminable and reiterated passages where Sarah attempts to convince herself that she is the Marchioness. (One can only read, "I am Roxbury" so many times!) The same is true for the betrothal - at least five or six people say, "You/I/We are betrothed," to which is almost always replied, "For nine years." OK - I get it already. The alternate history element also tripped up the movement of the plot and the language used to express it. Nearly once a chapter the authoresses stopped to explain a bit of history. While this is perhaps considerate, it also slows down the narrative, usually has little bearing on the plot, and is tediously written. Those who read alternate histories do so at their own risk of not understanding every nuance. That's half the game. Other plot threads are picked up and never used again, such as the necklace Wessex gives Roxbury. On the other hand, some plot threads are excruciatingly apparent, such as who the Dauphin is, when they are meant to be a surprise. However, with all that said, I still recommend the book to those who like to read alternate histories, and/or adventurous Regencies. A note of warning to those with religious sensibilities - the warring factions of the time are more than brought in to play, with the added element of the "old religion" which is never fully explained nor realised. As for myself, if I decide to read on in the continuing adventures of the poorly sketched Wessexes, I shall certainly first borrow the book from the library.
Rating:
Summary: Refreshing as the spring rain
Review: Other reviewers have griped that this book is basically fluff. Well, yes, it's light, but that's part of what I liked about it. I've read a lot of serious (and sometimes depressing) books lately, and this one was a much-needed cool breeze of just plain fun. The Marchioness of Roxbury, a vain and vapid woman, is on her deathbed, having failed to fulfill a promise made to the Fair Folk. She lives in an alternate England where magic exists, though it's subtle. The only way she can keep her word is by switching places with Sarah Cunningham, her double from our world, an independent woman who was raised in the wilderness and knows her way around a musket. Sarah's memories are jumbled by magic, and now she has to figure out who she is. She and her new husband, Wessex, get caught up in a deadly game of espionage, kidnapping, and murder. When Sarah becomes friends with the Crown Prince's new sweetheart, the game gets even deeper. Danger, betrayal, and unexpected allies are around every corner. While the love story between Sarah and Wessex is never developed really well, the adventure is fun and movie-like, and the end leaves me wanting more. Gotta go read the sequel now.
Rating:
Summary: Refreshing as the spring rain
Review: Other reviewers have griped that this book is basically fluff. Well, yes, it's light, but that's part of what I liked about it. I've read a lot of serious (and sometimes depressing) books lately, and this one was a much-needed cool breeze of just plain fun. The Marchioness of Roxbury, a vain and vapid woman, is on her deathbed, having failed to fulfill a promise made to the Fair Folk. She lives in an alternate England where magic exists, though it's subtle. The only way she can keep her word is by switching places with Sarah Cunningham, her double from our world, an independent woman who was raised in the wilderness and knows her way around a musket. Sarah's memories are jumbled by magic, and now she has to figure out who she is. She and her new husband, Wessex, get caught up in a deadly game of espionage, kidnapping, and murder. When Sarah becomes friends with the Crown Prince's new sweetheart, the game gets even deeper. Danger, betrayal, and unexpected allies are around every corner. While the love story between Sarah and Wessex is never developed really well, the adventure is fun and movie-like, and the end leaves me wanting more. Gotta go read the sequel now.
Rating:
Summary: I had fun with this one!
Review: Shadow of Albion is a genre-bending tour-de-force, blending Romance, Fantasy, Alternate History, Regency, Mystery and just the right amount of "Man from U.N.C.L.E" derring-do. My only complaint is that it ended too quickly!
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