Friday, May 16, 2014

Book Beginnings: His Majesty, The Prince of Toads by Delle Jacobs

Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.


London, England 
January 1, 1815  

Tucked in amongst the odors of wax and smoking wicks, lavender and musk, lurked the aura of anticipation. Faint, yet distinct, it hung like a scent itself in the heavy air of the Carstairs drawing room.
It became more than a smell. Sophie heard it in the sudden hushing of voices, saw it in the slight raising of eyebrows. Previously attentive gentlemen stiffened, and with polite nods faded away as if they had not been fluttering about her just moments before. Her nape prickled, and Sophie felt like she was a goat staked out in a tiger trap.
"It's Lucas," whispered her friend Minerva, her narrowed silver eyes tracking the movement behind Sophie's back.
Even the music stopped. Lords and ladies stood still in the blue and gold drawing room, their sly glances in Sophie's direction reflected in the mirrored wall. 


His Majesty, The Prince of Toads by Delle Jacobs

Lucas thinks Sophie has trapped him into marriage. He leaves as soon as they get married and goes to a war. When he comes back, he does not recognise his own wife! But he needs her. For her beauty, her money and lot more. She refuses to be in any part of his life. Lucas is stubborn and Sophie is hard headed. They are perfect for each other but don't know that.

Lucas and Sophie are both haunted by the terrible atrocities they both suffered during the war. Sophie is the daughter of a German Count and lost her parents to the conflict. With the help of her uncle, she flees to the safety of England. It takes Lucas and Sophie working together to heal what they couldn’t do on their own. The ending is satisfying on multiple levels; a marriage is united, the pain of the past is healed, and the couple has the support of dear friends and family.

The language is good, the interactions between Lucas and Sophie holds interest. And secondary characters play important roles. It is a good historical romance.

14 comments:

Sheri said...

This sounds great! Another one to add to my reading list :) Thanks for sharing! Here is my beginning at Shut Up & Read

Sandra Nachlinger said...

Great description in the opening scene. I like the way the author used almost all the senses. I can feel the tension!
Here's the link to my Friday post: DARLIN' IRISH.

Cleopatra Loves Books said...

I love this beginning and would definitely keep reading....

http://cleopatralovesbooks.wordpress.com

Catherine @ Book Club Librarian said...

Very descriptive beginning ... enjoy! Thanks for visiting my blog.

Katherine P said...

Love the beginning on this one. The author does a great job setting the scene.

Yvonne @ Fiction Books Reviews said...

Hi Gautami,

I love the idea of a 'lurking aura of anticipation'. In fact the entire passage is so descriptive, that based on this alone, I would definitely keep on reading and hope that the remainder of the book is of equally fine quality and that some well developed characters only serve to enhance the experience.

Thanks for sharing and enjoy your weekend,

Yvonne

Laurel-Rain Snow said...

This one sounds so suspenseful! Thanks for sharing...and for visiting my blog.

JC Jones said...

I love the title. Great Choice.

Yvonne said...

Great start! Sounds good.

Anonymous said...

I love historical romance stories! Thanks for sharing this! I've added it to my TBR bookshelf! Also, Thanks for stopping by and visiting my blog; have a wonderful weekend :)

Elizabeth said...

I love books set in London and in the 1800's.

Great descriptions.

ENJOY!!!

Elizabeth
Silver's Reviews
My Book Beginnings

guiltlessreader said...

If I saw this in the library I probably wouldn't even pick it up. The title, maybe -- it sounds like a fairy tale? But the beginning makes it sound really good! I'd keep going :)

Lindsay said...

An intriguing and nicely descriptive beginning, I would read more! Thanks very much for visiting my blog and commenting on my beginnings post too

Rebecca @ The Key to the Gate said...

I love historical romance so this may be a good book for me to check out! Thanks for visiting me @ The Key to the Gate.
Happy Reading!
Rebecca