Run Away to Russia…
Isabelle
Betrothed to a duke well above her station, the young lady Isabelle Fontaine had only one duty to fulfill: marry the man! It should have been an easy task, for Henri, Duke de Gramont, was also strong, handsome, and professed to be in love with her. What more could the provincial daughter of a lowly baron hope for in a husband?
But that was before everything went wrong…
Sebastian
After participating in one duel too many, Prince Sebastian Konstantinovich Lvov was sent to Paris to cool his heels and perhaps learn a thing or two about civilized culture. He never would have imagined that he’d return to Russia with a bride. To begin with, he was already engaged.
That hardly seems to matter when it comes to Isabelle. At first he couldn’t stop himself from tormenting the girl, but when her very life is endangered, he does what any self-respecting nobleman would: propose, and challenge her ex-fiancé to a duel. It seemed a reasonable response at the time.
Now if only he could explain that to his family––or the vengeful Grand Princess he was supposed to marry.
-
Sexual Content - 2/5
2/5
-
Violence - 2/5
2/5
-
Language - 2/5
2/5
-
Drugs and Alcohol - 1/5
1/5
Summary
Engaged to be wed to a duke, Isabelle is certain her future is set. A troublesome Russian prince,a cousin of her betrothed, lands her, albeit unintentionally, in hot water and then everything changes.
As this is the first Russian Regency novel I've ever seen, I was immediately intrigued. And that really is the story's strongest point. The details about Russian culture are fascinating, and though I don't know much about Russia, I got the feeling that the author does. That definitely comes across in the writing.
As to the characters themselves, I didn't like them at first. The whole "I like you so that's why tease you and are mean to you" trope irritates me, and so Prince Sebastian comes across as a bully when we first meet him. Isabelle herself seems a little modern for the era and her own attitude towards the prince seemed uncalled for. The other characters are introduced to us so fast it was difficult to keep track of them.
Given that I read an ARC, there were some misspellings and punctuation errors that were enough to jar me out of the story. Hopefully these were addressed before the book's release. There were multiple instances of modern words (i.e OK, which is an Americanism with its origin coming about in 1840). Isabelle is also referred to as Lady Fontaine on occasion, when she ought to have been The Honorable Isabelle Fontaine. I'm also not fond of novels that are left with nothing really resolved.
There is something about this book, though, that had my interest, and I think it does come down to where it is set.
I received a free copy from the author for reviewing purposes.