Cover image and blurb from Goodreads
When rebellious aristocrat Cressida and Lord Greville parted ways, they swore never to meet again. Their short marriage had already descended into bitter estrangement, destroyed by scandal and betrayal.
Years later, Greville is a soldier in the Peninsular War and Cressida is following the drum as another man’s lover. Scorned by society, she has learned to survive as a spy – until the day she is caught behind enemy lines, by none other than Greville himself.
Threatened with paying the ultimate price, Cressida is offered a deal: she must entrap and betray the most famous man in England. And Greville, unforgiving, angry and still shockingly attractive, must ensure she complies.
Catapulted to the heights of fame, Lord Byron is just as chaotic, charming and ruthless as he was when he, Greville and Cressida were teenagers. As the three old friends gather for a summer house party in the Scottish Highlands, Cressida is forced to confront her past and ask herself a terrifying question: is it too late for she and Greville to fight for one another at last?
So, I am not sure what I was expecting with this book but it wasn’t this, and I say that with honest delight. This is vastly entertaining and although there is romance, fizzling and sizzling away between Cressida and Lord Greville, the actual historical backdrop really gives the book its substance. While I am a little uncertain about the Irish connections (the hazard of being Irish while reading historical fiction), the characters are excellent and the plot really stands up. The appearance of Lord Byron is wonderful and it’s rather fun to see him fit into this story.
It really is the detail that makes this book. I am no stranger to Regency romances and this is not that; it’s rather more plot than romance. Cressida is an intriguing main characters as she is not always likeable but she is someone I found myself rooting for whole-heartedly.
I would definitely recommend this book to those who enjoy historical fiction, particularly during the Regency era, and who want a setting that isn’t London, and the Ton, and that isn’t the actual battlefields of Europe, but is equally compelling.
whelmed.blog 