Kate Tremayne

This book had some period detail which was nice. It was the reason I picked it up, but it sacrificed the period detail for the romance. And then it further chose to follow lines that were cliched and obvious trying to make a mystery and give the book depth.

While there was plenty of good elements to work with, it failed when it sank to the obvious. From it's current popularity, it is doubtful that many will find this story, or even read it. So we have a heroine who is a twin. Her brother is off in 1651 working as a spy for Charles II who is of course trying to regain his throne. They help Royalists and hide them in their house, one of the few in the area to do so.

When a stranger comes she thinks he is a spy, and of course it is obvious he is the love interest. Too many coincidences crop up, and misunderstandings that are either easily or not easily at all explained.

Here, when we have a chance to see the battle of Worcester in great detail, and give more reality to our story, we are taken away from it, concerned with how the hero fares more than what is happening to force Charles from his ambitions, and of course in flight, our heroine, as all romances of the period, has an encounter with the king. No, somewhere it just fails where we find it hard to accept her device of the Mask, or other elements, for she has maintained her stance for years, and then lets it all unravel at this point.

Once and only once, but serves as a guideline should I want to write in the style.… (mer)