Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Review: The Songbird's Seduction by Connie Brockway

Effervescent bon vivant Lucy Eastlake is a young operetta singer whose star is on the rise in Edwardian London. Though struggling to maintain her beloved great-aunts’ household, she holds fast to the belief that “things will work out.” Now, with the fiftieth anniversary of a siege her great-aunt Lavinia lived through approaching, it looks like Lucy is right, because a fortune is due to be divided among the survivors. All Lucy and her great-aunts have to do is travel to a small Pyrenees town to claim Lavinia’s share of a fabulous treasure in rubies. What could be more simple?

Professor Ptolemy Archibald Grant is the brilliant, straitlaced grandson of a British lord who also withstood the siege. When his grandfather asks him as a matter of honor to escort his old love on the journey, the about-to-be married professor agrees, not expecting Lucy to be part of the bargain. Losing the great-aunts en route, the handsome, buttoned-down professor finds himself caught up in Lucy’s quirky, bewildering, and probably illegal efforts to reunite with them, as he is drawn further and further into an inexplicable infatuation with the free-spirited singer. What could be more complicated?

But when unwilling attraction gives way to sizzling passion, both will be forced to confront the ages-old question of whether love trumps honor…or the other way around.

My Rating: 4 Stars

Quirky, fun, and romantic in the Edwardian age! I love the unusual heroes and heroines of Connie Brockway's stories! She takes us on an adventure through Downton Abbey's England and France.

A rising operretta star, Lucy Eastlake is used to conforming to everyone's expectations. Passed around to numerous relatives since her parents death at age 7, she has tried to be what everyone needs. Her two great-aunts were the last stop for her and she loves them dearly. When the chance to change their future occurs through an inheritance of her aunt Lavinia, she insists on going on the adventure of a lifetime to retrieve it! Professor Ptomley Archibald Grant is a stick in the mud, anthropology genius and the grandson of Lavinia's old flame.

The chemistry from Lucy and "Archie" (as Lucy says what every reader is thinking... Ptomley, what kind of name is THAT for a hero !), is off the charts romantic. They tumble into love on the road to France in a gypsy troupe. Wonderful writing, Ms. Brockway!

This review is for an ARC courtesy of Montlake Romance via NetGalley.