The Imperial Season Book 1
by Mary Lancaster
My rating: ★★★★★
5 FULL STARS !! :-D
This is a lovely clean romance, with a hint of espionage that will delight every regency light romance fan.
Set during the famous Congress of Vienna in 1814, it brings us not only among the sparkling ballrooms of high society but also among intrigues, lies, dangerous papers and secrets concerning the politics of that time.
The novel, basically, follows the love story that slowly arises between the two main characters: Lizzie, the daughter of an English baron, who died not long before, and the ambiguous thief Johnny, whose acquaintance began thanks to a big misunderstanding.
__THE PLOT IN SHORT__ 1814 Vienna. All the nobility of Europe and the biggest names in politics participate in the event and in the most sumptuous parties and masquerade balls.
---> Lizzie, daughter of an English baron, and her siblings have recently lost their father and with him the inheritance of the house which went to a mysterious and hateful Russian cousin, with English origins.
Having been welcomed by their uncles, they now all find themselves in the glittering Central European capital, on the occasion of the great peace congress.
While aristocrats and diplomats delight in courtship, dancing, gambling and espionage, Lizzie only thinks about how to get the money to find a new home for her sisters and step brother, herself and the lively and unpredictable big dog.
She therefore devises a very unorthodox plan, involving a brazen yet charming thief, thus getting herself into one mess after another.
---> The heartbeat, however, does not only come from the dangers, but also from a charming and fiery young Cossack colonel, met at a masquerade ball, who will help her not only solve her problems, but also those of her cousins and uncles.
___MY OPINION__ I loved it simply because it had everything that can put a romantic and bored (and perhaps lately a little depressed) female reader in a good mood:
1) a handsome and gallant hero, cheeky enough to please all women, but with a good heart, who cannot say no to the request for help of an impoverished young woman and her lively and friendly siblings.
2) an enterprising heroine. Inexperienced enough to still be innocent and without malice in contact with men, but also courageous enough to throw herself headlong into desperate undertakings for the good of her sisters and illegitimate brother, who are still children and at the mercy of an unjust fate.
3) funny situations created by misunderstandings and small romantic skirmishes.
THE LOVE STORY in fact grows little by little, but you don't have to be half through the book to enjoy sweet emotions and romantic sparks... OUR HEROES MAKE US DREAM DURING THE WHOLE STORY.
4) Pleasant supporting characters, who make the atmosphere light and cozy:
- smart children and the troublemaking dog.
- the beautiful and rich countess who gives great emotional and material support to Lizzie.
- a secret agent, gruff and lethal, but ultimately good (and protagonist of the next book in the series)
- Lizzie's uncles and 2 cousins, a little naive but good people.
- our hero's good friends, a bad guy to kick, a slimy guy to kick too, a hateful mother and all the real prominent characters of the time (starting from the Tsar of Russia up to the most courted noblewomen of 'Europe, such as the Princess Bagration and the Duchess of Sagan and her sister Dorothéé de Talleyrand).
_WHAT IS MISSING IN THIS CLEAN HISTORICAL ROMANCE? __
I could say that, with the exception of the historical characters, cleverly inserted among the fictional ones, there's no historical analysis of an event so important as to change the fate of the whole of Europe, nor some descriptions of the city of the time.
The author limits herself to indicating important names and a delicate political situation.
----> Being this a pure light entertainment read, the lack of historical depth didn't bother me and I didn't miss it.
While reading I was able to fully enjoy all the lightness and joy of a clean love story that the novel offers, so much so that I have already started reading the second book in the series. After all, why leave this bubble of well-being?
AS ALWAYS I ADD: forgive my English, it's not my native language, but I still hope that my review can be useful to you in some way.
READ ALSO "The Imperial Season" BOOK #2 and BOOK #3:
#2 Vienna Woods
#3 Vienna Dawn
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