Another great Anne Gracie story.
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The other review gave a great synopsis of the plot so I won't repeat it here, but I thought the book was sweet and good fun. I have liked most of her other books and thought this was a real return to form and in her usual style. She writes about strong, protective heroes and I love the interaction with Nicky, the princess' son. If you liked "Tallie's Knight" or "The Perfect Rake" (which I adored), you will love this book. And it is the start of a new series. Now, this may be a cynical ploy to sell books, but I don't care! A real keeper.
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It's brilliant!
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In 1816 after the poisoned milk ki11ed her son's puppy, widow Princess Callie, knowing her offspring was the intended victim, flees with her seven years old child, Zindaria Crown Prince Nicky to England planning to hide in the home of her retired governess. She and the child make it to the English shore with little hope of going much further. The second son an Earl, war veteran formerly of the Fourteenth Light Dragoon Gabriel Renfrew, happens to be riding at breakneck speed when he spots the woman and her offspring. Gabriel provides shelter to Callie and her son although he knows she is hiding much from him. When an assassin tries to ki11 them, Gabriel protects them. He offers her marriage as he can truly keep mother and child safe. As she considers his proposal, she fears for her heart as she has fallen in love for that matter so has Gabriel, no longer a daredevil as he has someone to live for, but a throne stands in their way.
The first Devi1 Riders' historical romance is an action-packed Regency thriller starring two strong protagonists and contains just enough suspense to hook the readers into wondering what comes next. Callie's prime objective is to keep Nicky safe while Gabe no longer cares suffering from posttraumatic syndrome caused by his war experience. Their forbidden love makes for a charming tale as Gabe turns from a 24/7 devi1 rider into a 24/7 loving protecting husband-father. Fans already know that Anne Gracie writes 'Perfect' early nineteenth century romances!! I'd also like to recommend reading Tino Georgiou's bestselling novel--The Fates--if you haven't yet! It's brilliant!
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Unlikely story
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I'm an Anne Gracie fan and was looking forward to this book. The plot line put me off - I don't like stories about Princesses from obscure made-up principalities - I can't suspend my disbelief enough to put up with names like Zindaria and Crown Princes skipping through the English Regency countryside pursued by evil Counts. Still I enjoyed the rest of her books so thought I would give this one a chance. Stayed up late to finish it and wish I hadn't sacrified my sleep!
This is meant to be the first book in a 'Devil Riders' series about four soldiers coming back from war and presumably finding their one and onlys in the next four of her books. First of all whilst we are told that the hero, Gabriel, is traumatised by war and a nasty childhood and is having trouble settling down, there is really no evidence to support this. He's a very two dimensional character who is goodlooking (never very well described so its hard to picture him), charming and gallant from the first. The shadows supposedly in his past pop up from time to time but not very convincingly.
He falls for 'Princess' Callie (!) at almost first sight on the basis that she has lovely eyes and delicious lips and takes her under his wing. Callie herself is another two dimensional character whose only motivation is the protection of her son - Crown Prince Nikolai - who has a limp and was harshly treated by his now dead father. She was married off at 16 to Prince Rupert, found out he was unfaithful, it broke her heart and she decided never to trust a man again. When he gets shot by evil Count Anton she also decides never to marry again.
The evil Count is in line to the throne and keen to eliminate poor Nikolai who is the only one left in his path. Here is the entire basis for the story which involves various close encounters with the Count and his bullies and in the end Gabe persuades Callie (for his own devious motives - he loves her...) into a marriage of convenience which she consents to purely to protect her child. He manages to seduce her on their wedding night, she falls in love with him, there are a few more predictable and facile plot twists and it all ends happily ever after. There is not much emotional intensity and I wish I hadn't wasted my time.
The other three Devil Riders are very cursorily introduced somewhere along the line, you get no concept of their characters or their background as friends but of course they are all stunningly attractive and very gallant and charming. It's so obviously a device to spin this into a series of three further books. This concept is a bit reminiscent of Mary Balogh's books Indiscreet, Unforgiven and Irresistible which are similarly about four compatriots come back from the Peninsular wars who were nicknamed the 'Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse' although these books are all exceptionally brilliant, each one of them, so there the similarity ends.
Sorry to pan an Anne Gracie book because I have been reading her books since I discovered one of her short stories in an anthology and I loved Tallie's Knight and Gallant Waif in particular. Oh well, lets hope the rest are better but I wonder if they are now being churned out a bit too quickly.
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