Author: Philippa Lodge
Genre/Age: Historical Romance
Series: Chateaux and Shadows Series (Book Three)
Publisher: Wild Rose Press
Format: ebook via Goddess Fish Promotions
Rating: ✺✺✺✺
Links: Goodreads
Synopsis: Emmanuel, Chevalier de Cantière, youngest son of a baron, is happiest raising horses far from his complicated family. When news comes his mother is deathly ill, he races to her side only to find she has recovered and moved on, leaving behind her companion.
Catherine de Fouet blends into the background, saving up so she'll never have to wait on waspish, scheming old ladies like the baronesse again. She has no interest in a resentful gentleman, estranged from his mother, no matter how broad his shoulders or intriguing the wounded soul behind his handsome face. She just needs someone to escort her back to Versailles.
But Catherine is suspected of poisoning the baronesse. She rebuffs a pushy courtier who tries to use blackmail and bad poetry to make her his mistress. Her reputation hangs by a thread.
The Chevalier wants more than anything to protect this woman whose prickly exterior hides sweetness and passion. They need his family to help them through court intrigues--almost as much as they need each other.
“Mademoiselle?”
She shook her head slightly.
He walked to her, but she turned her face from him. “Catherine?” he said, his voice softer. His heart clenched. “Are you ill?”
She shook her head and lifted her handkerchief to her face with a trembling hand.
He knelt beside her and took her free hand. She froze. He pressed her hand between his, wanting to kiss it, but not sure she would allow it. “Was it d’Oronte?”
She sniffed. “Yes. No.”
“What did he do?” Manu released her hand. “I will call him out.”
“No!” She finally looked at him, her eyes red-rimmed and her face pale but her usual glare in place.
She sniffed and looked down at her hands.
“What can I do?”
“Nothing.”
Frustrated, he stood and threw his hands up. “I will kill him.”
“You will not.”
“What did he do?”
“You are not my father. Or my brother. Or even my cousin.”
“I’m not your husband or lover, either, but I won’t let that idiot do anything to you.”
She stared at him for several tense seconds, her surprise overwhelming her other emotions. Her expression crumpled, and she covered her eyes with her handkerchief.
He went back down on one knee and took her hand again.
Philippa Lodge has a hundred stories in her head and a social media addiction. She writes historical romance set in Louis XIV’s France (sometimes with the king himself!); New Adult romantic women’s fiction-type stories set in small-town, small-college, modern America; and contemporary romance with nerdy beta heroes and cranky heroines whose pasts can be healed with the love of a good man. She lives with one husband, two cats, and three kids in the inland valley of California.
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**Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for honest review.**
How romantic!
This book caught me by surprise for a few reasons. The story centers on Manu, who returns to his home after becoming informed of his mother's illness. However, he arrives to find that his mother has recovered and left without bothering to wait for him, thus further straining their relationship.
Manu's mother may be gone, but she has left her companion behind. Catherine strives to stay invisible. All she wants to do is keep Manu's mother happy for a while longer, or just until Catherine has earned enough money to leave and live on her own. Yet, a journey with Manu changes everything.
One thing that I was not expecting was how much this story involves Manu's entire family. I was impressed by the author's ability to weave so many vastly different characters together to create a flawed, yet growing and adapting, family. This is the third book of this series and has definitely increased my interest in reading the previous books.
Another surprise I found while reading was how largely my feelings about Manu and Catherine changed throughout the story. There were times that I wanted to slap Catherine and strangle Manu. Then again, I wanted to hug them both, too. To say that these were well fleshed-out characters would be an understatement.
I was only slightly disappointed by the romance. This is a sweet love story and I enjoyed reading it. I just hoped that when the magic finally happened, that we would get more than a few paragraphs with pretty poetic words. With the amount of angst and tension that had grown between the couple, I wanted to see that passion translate in the bedroom, too. It almost felt like the kissing scene was more intense than the actual love making.
This book caught me by surprise for a few reasons. The story centers on Manu, who returns to his home after becoming informed of his mother's illness. However, he arrives to find that his mother has recovered and left without bothering to wait for him, thus further straining their relationship.
Manu's mother may be gone, but she has left her companion behind. Catherine strives to stay invisible. All she wants to do is keep Manu's mother happy for a while longer, or just until Catherine has earned enough money to leave and live on her own. Yet, a journey with Manu changes everything.
One thing that I was not expecting was how much this story involves Manu's entire family. I was impressed by the author's ability to weave so many vastly different characters together to create a flawed, yet growing and adapting, family. This is the third book of this series and has definitely increased my interest in reading the previous books.
Another surprise I found while reading was how largely my feelings about Manu and Catherine changed throughout the story. There were times that I wanted to slap Catherine and strangle Manu. Then again, I wanted to hug them both, too. To say that these were well fleshed-out characters would be an understatement.
I was only slightly disappointed by the romance. This is a sweet love story and I enjoyed reading it. I just hoped that when the magic finally happened, that we would get more than a few paragraphs with pretty poetic words. With the amount of angst and tension that had grown between the couple, I wanted to see that passion translate in the bedroom, too. It almost felt like the kissing scene was more intense than the actual love making.
In closing...
A sweet romance with a dash of mystery as two broken souls find solace in each other. Four suns for The Chevalier!
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