A Christian based romantic tale of cultural clashes and espionage. Lady Celine is the widowed countess from one of France's most historical and aristocratic families exiled to England. Rees Phillips is the son of a prosperous merchant working in the English home security office. He has been charged with infiltrating Lady Celine's household posing as a butler. It seems she is suspected of espionage activity against England and appears to have French Republican sympathies. The romantic chemistry between these two widely differing people is immediate and unmistakable, even at their first encounter. It shakes Rees Phillips's English loyalties to the core as he desperately tries to, on the one hand, protect her and, on the other hand, discover her true motives and loyalties. This is a beautiful love story with such a historical backdrop during the first fall of Napoleon. Their love for each other is fraught with great difficulty because of their widely disparate class differences. A good read full of intrigue, suspense, and an almost hopeless love story. Main characters are drawn well and interaction is pretty well-written, but the biggest struggle of the book comes from a lack of complications to move the plot forward. If this were just a romance, it would have received a higher rating from me, but the lack of real danger in a plot line centered on espionage kept the book unconvincing. Internal personal struggles reigned supreme and were written pretty well, but left a glaring hole where more significant external struggle should have been present. Perceived danger was left as only perceived except in one instance. The book would have been improved if a tangible villain or two had been fleshed out.
What do You think about Moonlight Masquerade (2013)?
Christian based regency romance with a bit of a mystery thrown in on the side.
—bengia
Wish I had skipped this. I was looking for a good romance. This wasn't it.
—kdkf
So many names and political talk. The regency era is just not my thing.
—spere