What do You think about Some Enchanted Evening (2007)?
This is the first in a trilogy about the Princesses of Beaumontagne. It is historical romantic fiction with the first novel set in Scotland in 1808. As with all of Dodd's female characters, Clarice is smart, independent, and fun to spend time with. Robert, the male lead, is dark and troubled after his years of war. With the help of Clarice and his sister Millicent he finds he can be the man he once was. Clarice is the middle sister and since their exile from Beaumontagne has been guardian to her youngest sister, Amy. Clarice and Amy have survived by peddling royal secret formulation cosmetics and skin creams, a creative and noble alternative to prostitution. When they enter the town of Freya Crags they meet many interesting people, including Robert the Earl, and the adventure begins.
—Shea
Setelah membaca "candle in The Window", membaca buku ini serasa minum es teh manis setelah makan kue triple coklat-nya Harvest, ga berasa.Jalan ceritanya agak membingungkan, terkesan ada intrik, tapi ternyata intrik yg ada cuma begitu doang. Emosi Clarice terhadap Hapburn maupun sebaliknya juga kurang terasa, terkesan terburu2. Gw malah lebih suka dengan karakter Amy, lebih hidup, lebih ada emosinya n membuat gw makin penasaran dengan kisah dibuku berikutnya. Ntah memang terjemahannya yang kurang sreg, atau memang penulisan aslinya seperti ini, krn gw kurang menikmati dalam membaca buku ini, hingga akhirnya banyak yang gw skip, gw hanya membaca bagian percakapan aja. Sedih jg sebenernya baca novel dgn cara seperti ini, tapi mo gimana lagi klo ga bisa menikmati :(
—Sari
I wanted to give this book only 2 stars, really. The story itself offers little. But Christina Dodd's writing made the book an easy read. I did not struggle to stay focused so I just quickly went through the story. I like both lead characters, Clarice and Robert. Clarice the princess is definitely better portrayed than Robert. Robert, other than his brooding war veteran image, has no shape. I feel like I don't know him even at the end of the book. The plotline is simple. Princess in exile meets Scottish war veteran Lord. Seriously Robert could have been English or Chinese, it would not have made any difference. It is definitely not a Scottish/highland romance. Robert blackmailed Clarice into doing something for him so that he could take revenge on an despicable man who was his commanding officer (or something like that) in the war. In the process they had sex and somehow fell in love. But Clairce had to return to her country, duty calls. Robert let her go only to find Clarice return later, because true love conquers all. I do not have problems with the fairy tale storyline. It is silly, but once in a while I do not mind a fairy tale. But I had trouble understanding why they behaved the way they did. I don't know why Robert decided to seduce Clarice. I don't know why Clarice let him have sex with her. I don't know what Robert thought having Clarice pretend to be the Spanish woman would achieve. I don't know why Clarice decided to be Robert's lover for as long as it was possible. There was literally no relationship development. We were told they were attracted to each other then they had sex. Love and possessiveness, we were also told. None of which I was convinced of. Because I like Christina Dodd's writing I am going 3 generous stars. If it was any lesser writer this book would have been 2 stars.
—Zoe
