THE GARDEN INTRIGUE by Lauren Willig

A Pink Carnation Novel

Berkley

February 16^th, 2012

978-0-525-95254-1

Contemporary, Historical fiction, romance

Hardcover

Reviewed by Dawn (love2read28@gmail.com)

Obtained by Publisher

 

Augustus Whittlesby is deep undercover for the Crown and as a really bad poet to boot. He has gotten his coded messages through to his contacts and as he moves among the salons, he runs into a woman who will steal his heart even as he steals hers. For Emma Morris Delagardie, France was such fun. She eloped with a Frenchman, became widowed and now has been enjoying her weekly salons where she as well as those invited destroy Augustus’s bad poetry. But there is more to Emma than meets the eye and it will take the help of Augustus Whittlesby to help Emma figure out where she needs to be-home in France or back to the States. But what happens when feeling long turned off flare with desire and the heart is engaged?

I absolutely adore the Pink Carnation series. It is a nice blend of historical, romance, intrigue as well as a dash of contemporary as well. The characters find themselves at a crossroads and the reader is on the edge of their seat trying to figure out which road they may take. The author does a great blend of historical and mystery with a touch of romance and the story-within-a-story plays out beautifully & gives this reader such enjoyment. The author does some deep research and it plays out perfectly amid the pages of THE GARDEN INTRIGUE. This is an author who knows her history and delivers it all perfectly without a lot of information dumping. I have to point out though, that this installment in the Pink Carnation series is definitely more character driven rather than the more action packed the past stories were about. We get to see some of my favorite characters at a cross roads and finding they need to make decisions that could either make their lives so much more wonderful or put them on a path that they never anticipated. The story flows nicely and you run the gauntlet of emotions-laughter to tears to sighing over a romantic scene. I can recommend you keep a box of tissues next to you in case you find yourself choked up over some particularly emotional scenes or laughing so hard at imagining Miss Gwen as a pirate captain. All the characters are well written, multi-dimensional and definitely left me eager for more from them all. The secondary characters were just as well written and kept the story flowing nicely.

THE GARDEN INTRIGUE is a romantic story, one that steals the heart and leaves you breathless for more after the last page is read. With the right amount of introspection in for the characters to emotional scenes that draw the readers’ emotions in, Ms. Willig delivers another well written story to enjoy on a lazy summer afternoon. Now my question is, when will the next adventure in the Pink Carnation series be out?

This is an objective review and not an endorsement