// Prelude for a Lord //By Camille Elliot
{Book Review by Bethany}
Publisher: Zondervan
Source: Book Look Bloggers
Publication Date: August 5th, 2014
Number of Pages: 352
ISBN: 0310320356
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
// Book Synopsis //
Taken from GoodReads
"An awkward young woman. A haunted young man. A forbidden instrument. Can the love of music bring them together . . . or will it tear them apart?
Bath, England—1810
At twenty-eight, Alethea Sutherton is past her prime for courtship; but social mores have never been her forté. She might be a lady, but she is first and foremost a musician.
In Regency England, however, the violin is considered an inappropriate instrument for a lady. Ostracized by society for her passion, Alethea practices in secret and waits for her chance to flee to the Continent, where she can play without scandal.
But when a thief’s interest in her violin endangers her and her family, Alethea is determined to discover the enigmatic origins of her instrument . . . with the help of the dark, brooding Lord Dommick.
Scarred by war, Dommick finds solace only in playing his violin. He is persuaded to help Alethea, and discovers an entirely new yearning in his soul.
Alethea finds her reluctant heart drawn to Dommick in the sweetest of duets . . . just as the thief’s desperation builds to a tragic crescendo . . ."
Bath, England—1810
At twenty-eight, Alethea Sutherton is past her prime for courtship; but social mores have never been her forté. She might be a lady, but she is first and foremost a musician.
In Regency England, however, the violin is considered an inappropriate instrument for a lady. Ostracized by society for her passion, Alethea practices in secret and waits for her chance to flee to the Continent, where she can play without scandal.
But when a thief’s interest in her violin endangers her and her family, Alethea is determined to discover the enigmatic origins of her instrument . . . with the help of the dark, brooding Lord Dommick.
Scarred by war, Dommick finds solace only in playing his violin. He is persuaded to help Alethea, and discovers an entirely new yearning in his soul.
Alethea finds her reluctant heart drawn to Dommick in the sweetest of duets . . . just as the thief’s desperation builds to a tragic crescendo . . ."
// Bethany's Book Review //
Camille Elliot's debut is a lovely regency novel with a nice sprinkle of mystery. Full of meaningful characters and lessons learned, it is a wonderful choice for all regency suspense fans!
I am quite a fan of regency fiction, and I also enjoy stories that have an aspect of mystery to keep things jumping. Prelude for a Lord involves both of these aspects, making for a delightful read with a very classical feel!
Even thought this is Camille Elliot's first novel, you really wouldn't think so from her elegant writing style, which impressed me right from the beginning. This author has such a lovely way with words, and her writing style really did fit perfectly with the regency genre. The story was very well thought out, but the way it was told added so much to the story!
This novel had a lot of characters, and I think that the author did an excellent job intertwining their lives, making for a well-thought out story line. I loved how certain aspects of one character's life provided insight into another characters personality. For example, the gentleman in the story had a sister who's protection he greatly valued. Since the author went into detail with his sister's character, you really got to know her and her fear of not being protected. Since we really get to know the sister well, we see how great her brother's integrity is when we see him go to certain lengths for his sister, and how that is his way of loving her. There were many other instances like this, that I just loved. It added another dimension to the novel!
Despite the fact that this is a regency fiction, this story surprisingly wasn't heavy on the romance, and rather focused on the main character and the mystery surrounding her. While there was romance at the end, I felt like the relationship status stayed at the "friendship" or "co-worker" level for a great portion of the story, cutting out a lot of mushy feelings and scenes. Personally, I like to have a controlled level of romance in the novels I read, so I loved how that worked in my favor with Prelude for a Lord.
Overall, I really enjoyed this novel, and would definitely recommend it! Fans of regency suspense will not want to miss out on this gem of a novel!
I am quite a fan of regency fiction, and I also enjoy stories that have an aspect of mystery to keep things jumping. Prelude for a Lord involves both of these aspects, making for a delightful read with a very classical feel!
Even thought this is Camille Elliot's first novel, you really wouldn't think so from her elegant writing style, which impressed me right from the beginning. This author has such a lovely way with words, and her writing style really did fit perfectly with the regency genre. The story was very well thought out, but the way it was told added so much to the story!
This novel had a lot of characters, and I think that the author did an excellent job intertwining their lives, making for a well-thought out story line. I loved how certain aspects of one character's life provided insight into another characters personality. For example, the gentleman in the story had a sister who's protection he greatly valued. Since the author went into detail with his sister's character, you really got to know her and her fear of not being protected. Since we really get to know the sister well, we see how great her brother's integrity is when we see him go to certain lengths for his sister, and how that is his way of loving her. There were many other instances like this, that I just loved. It added another dimension to the novel!
Despite the fact that this is a regency fiction, this story surprisingly wasn't heavy on the romance, and rather focused on the main character and the mystery surrounding her. While there was romance at the end, I felt like the relationship status stayed at the "friendship" or "co-worker" level for a great portion of the story, cutting out a lot of mushy feelings and scenes. Personally, I like to have a controlled level of romance in the novels I read, so I loved how that worked in my favor with Prelude for a Lord.
Overall, I really enjoyed this novel, and would definitely recommend it! Fans of regency suspense will not want to miss out on this gem of a novel!
D I S C L A I M E R :: I received a complementary copy of Prelude for a Lord from the publisher, for the purpose of this review. I was not paid to promote this novel, and all thoughts expressed are completely my own, honest and unbiased opinions.
This was a great read, I do hope the author will continue to write about the other characters mentioned in this book.
ReplyDeleteHow would one go about receiving "complementary copies" of books from a publisher to review? Do you have to sign up for something or do they have to ask you to do it? Thanks a bunch!
ReplyDelete-Marianne
Hello Marianne!
DeleteAll the books that Madi and I receive for free to review are sent to us through various publisher's blogger book reviewing programs. We are a part of several publisher's review programs, and our favorites which we review for most often are: Litfuse, Bethany House, Revell and Book Look Bloggers. On our blog sidebar we have several badges for the various blogger review programs that we are a part of, and you can click on those to view the websites and learn more about the review programs. If you have any further questions feel free to ask!
Have a blessed day!
Bethany
Awesome, thank you! I will definitely look into that... what could be better than free books???
Delete;)
-Marianne
Thanks again! I just signed up for the Bethany House Blogger Reviews. They make it so easy! I will certainly enjoy reading and reviewing for them!
ReplyDelete-Marianne