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By: Vanessa Kelly
Releasing
August 30, 2016.
Zebra
Zebra
In My Fair Princess (The Improper Princesses #1) by Vanessa Kelly, Gillian Dryden's family are looking to see her settled down with the right man. However, being the wild woman that she is, she's ignorant on what is acceptable when interacting with people of the Ton. Can the Duke of Leverton, Charles Valentine Penley, manage to teach her what she needs to know to be successful in her quest to find a husband?
Right from the beginning, this book was riveting, fast-paced and immediately drew me in with what Gillian is trying to accomplish in her quest for revenge. Will she get her wish? Will everything work out alright? However, it was from the moment that the hero and heroine met that had me quickly flipping the pages, wanting to discover how the growing relationship between Gillian and Charles would develop.
The dialogue was intense due to the main characters back stories, especially that of the heroine, because she's the illegitimate daughter of a prince and people can be nasty about that fact. However, there were also some light-hearted moments that had me smiling or laughing. Most especially, the moment that Gillian and Charles meet. The heroine certainly knows how to make an entrance.
Both the main characters were incredible, as to were the secondary characters in Gillian's family and Charles's sister. For the first time in a long time, Gillian finally knows what acceptance is. That there are people that don't rush to judge just because of who her father is. Charles's sister was one of those people, and I liked how she encouraged Charles to pursue Gillian. As for the heroine, she's strong, brave, wild, and I liked that she doesn't allow the hurtful things people say to get her down too much. That she's willing to stand up for what she believes in and stand up for those that don't have the courage to stand up for themselves. I also liked how protective she is of her mother; a woman that seems quite fragile because she believes she didn't do right by Gillian when she was young.
While Charles, he's confident and determined to help Gillian be able to interact socially without offending anyone. Since she's prone to swearing or getting herself into trouble, if someone says something she doesn't like, which is proven when she stands up to a man being nasty towards her new friends and after what some men take from her that she's determined to get back. Moreover, I liked how protective he is of Gillian, and how determined he is to prove to her that she's not alone anymore. That she can rely on someone besides herself.
Overall, Ms. Kelly has penned a delightful novel that encompassed a strong romance, a heroine that took me completely by surprise and a hero that charmed me from start to finish. The way this story ended was perfect, as Charles proves to Gillian that he'll always be there for her. I would recommend My Fair Princess by Vanessa Kelly, if you enjoy historical romance mixed with a dash of suspense.
Right from the beginning, this book was riveting, fast-paced and immediately drew me in with what Gillian is trying to accomplish in her quest for revenge. Will she get her wish? Will everything work out alright? However, it was from the moment that the hero and heroine met that had me quickly flipping the pages, wanting to discover how the growing relationship between Gillian and Charles would develop.
The dialogue was intense due to the main characters back stories, especially that of the heroine, because she's the illegitimate daughter of a prince and people can be nasty about that fact. However, there were also some light-hearted moments that had me smiling or laughing. Most especially, the moment that Gillian and Charles meet. The heroine certainly knows how to make an entrance.
Both the main characters were incredible, as to were the secondary characters in Gillian's family and Charles's sister. For the first time in a long time, Gillian finally knows what acceptance is. That there are people that don't rush to judge just because of who her father is. Charles's sister was one of those people, and I liked how she encouraged Charles to pursue Gillian. As for the heroine, she's strong, brave, wild, and I liked that she doesn't allow the hurtful things people say to get her down too much. That she's willing to stand up for what she believes in and stand up for those that don't have the courage to stand up for themselves. I also liked how protective she is of her mother; a woman that seems quite fragile because she believes she didn't do right by Gillian when she was young.
While Charles, he's confident and determined to help Gillian be able to interact socially without offending anyone. Since she's prone to swearing or getting herself into trouble, if someone says something she doesn't like, which is proven when she stands up to a man being nasty towards her new friends and after what some men take from her that she's determined to get back. Moreover, I liked how protective he is of Gillian, and how determined he is to prove to her that she's not alone anymore. That she can rely on someone besides herself.
Overall, Ms. Kelly has penned a delightful novel that encompassed a strong romance, a heroine that took me completely by surprise and a hero that charmed me from start to finish. The way this story ended was perfect, as Charles proves to Gillian that he'll always be there for her. I would recommend My Fair Princess by Vanessa Kelly, if you enjoy historical romance mixed with a dash of suspense.
BLURB:
First, Vanessa Kelly brought readers The Renegade Royals. Now, in a delightfully witty new series, she introduces The Improper Princesses—three young women descended from royalty, each bound for her own thrilling adventure . . .
Despite being the illegitimate
daughter of a prince, Gillian Dryden is happily ignorant of all social graces.
After growing up wild in Italy, Gillian has been ordered home to England to
find a suitable husband. And Charles Valentine Penley, the excessively proper,
distractingly handsome Duke of Leverton, has agreed to help transform her from
a willful tomboy to a blushing debutante.
Powerful and sophisticated, Charles
can make or break reputations with a well-placed word. But his new protégée,
with her habit of hunting bandits and punching earls, is a walking scandal. The
ton is aghast . . . but Charles is thoroughly intrigued. Tasked with taking the
hoyden in hand, he longs to take her in his arms instead. Can such an
outrageous attraction possibly lead to a fairytale ending?
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“Letitia,
I’m the one who should be insulted. You rejected me once, and now you’re
propositioning me in the middle of a ballroom. Did you really believe I would
fall for your tricks again?”
She struggled to control her temper and
made a credible job of it. “Poor Charles, you always were a fool. That, I see,
has not changed.”
“Well, now that we’ve exchanged a
sufficient number of insults, I think—”
Before he could finish, Jack materialized
from behind a nearby pillar. “Excuse the interruption,” he said brusquely, “but
I need to borrow Leverton.”
Letitia sneered. “You may have him. He’s
quite as rude as you are, Lendale, which I had not thought possible.”
Jack laughed. “Up to the old game again,
eh, Letitia?” He looked at Charles. “She tried it on me a few weeks ago, if you
can believe it.”
Her pale blue gaze brimmed with hatred.
“You are no gentleman.”
“And you are no lady, so we’re even,” Jack
said in a cheerful voice.
Charles thought she would choke on the
spot. And he thought he would choke on the laugh he decided to swallow. “I
suppose I should be annoyed that I was her second choice. Again.”
“Consider yourself lucky,” Jack replied.
“But enough of this nonsense, old boy. You need to rejoin your party
immediately.”
The vague anxiety that had been lurking
around the edges of Charles’s consciousness sprang into sharp definition.
“Dear me,” Letitia said in a catty voice.
“There is a commotion on the other side of the dance floor, and I believe I see
your protégé, Your Grace. She seems to be engaged in some kind of dispute with
my husband and Lord Andover.”
When Charles took a hasty step toward the
dance floor, Letitia grasped his arm. “Are you sure you want to do that? You
know how much you hate scandal, my dear Charles.”
“Letitia, what did you do?” he asked.
She shrugged her beautiful white
shoulders. She’d almost destroyed him years ago, and now she’d apparently
decided to do it to Gillian.
“Why?” he demanded.
“Because she decided she wanted you, old
son,” Lendale said. “And she clearly thought Miss Dryden was an impediment.”
“I don’t have time for this,” Charles
said, disgusted. He stalked away, trying to ignore Letitia’s mocking laugh. He
wove his way through the crowd, moving as quickly as he could without knocking
anyone over.
“Why the hell weren’t you keeping on eye
on Gillian?” Charles snapped when Lendale caught up with him.
“I’d just gone off to get some
refreshments, for God’s sake. I’d snagged a footman with a tray of drinks when
I saw that Letitia had trapped you in her evil snare.”
“You shouldn’t have left Gillian on her
own, Jack.”
“She’s your damn responsibility, not mine.
Besides, she was with her grandmother the last time I saw her. How the hell was
I supposed to know she would get into an argument with one of the greatest
morons in London?”
“You have no idea how many ways that
blasted girl can get into trouble,” Charles said. “And speaking of Lady
Marbury, where is she?”
“There she is,” Jack said, all but pushing
a corpulent earl out of their way. They ignored his protests as they hurried to
join her.
“Charles, there you are,” she said in a
relieved voice. “I stepped away to the retiring room, and I came back to this.
You must make Lord Andover go away before Gillian does something dreadful.”
“I intend to,” he said in a grim voice.
Unfortunately, he was still several feet away when he saw Gillian’s lips curve
up in a smile that made it clear mayhem was about to occur.
By the time he got clear of a gaggle of
excited debutantes, Gillian was practically standing on Andover’s toes, saying
something that Charles couldn’t hear over the din of the crowd. A moment later,
she delivered an outstanding right hook that caught Andover under the chin.
Since the earl was well-known at Gentleman
Jackson’s for having a glass jaw, the effect was both predictable and profound.
He toppled like a felled tree, straight into a cluster of bystanders, including
a footman carrying a tray of champagne goblets. The poor footman tumbled into a
middle-aged matron possessed of a well-padded figure, and both went crashing
down to the floor, along with the champagne.
“What a nice, flush hit,” Jack said in an
admiring voice.
“Do not
tell her that,” Charles growled as he elbowed past a pair of girls who were
shrieking and fanning themselves in a dramatic fashion.
Jack shot a sly grin at Charles. “I don’t
mean to interfere, old boy, but you might want to drop a word in Miss Dryden’s
ear that boxing isn’t usually the done thing in the middle of a ballroom.”
“Thank you for that extremely helpful bit
of advice, you idiot,” Charles said in a blighting tone.
Jack simply laughed.
Charles stalked up to Gillian, who stood
over Andover, flexing her hand. When she glanced up at him, she let out a sigh.
At least he thought she sighed, since it was hard to hear anything in the
growing pandemonium.
Gillian clasped her hands at her waist and
patiently waited, a picture of serene beauty in the midst of chaos.
“Well, Miss Dryden,” Charles said, “now
that you’ve provided the main entertainment for the evening, what have you
planned for an encore?”
She flicked a glance around the crowded
ballroom that seethed with excitement and gossip. Then she looked back at him
and shrugged. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead, Your Grace. I am, however,
entirely open to suggestion.”
Vanessa Kelly is an award-winning author who was named by Booklist, the
review journal of the American Library Association, as one of the “New Stars of
Historical Romance.” Her Regency-set historical romances have been nominated
for awards in a number of contests, and her second book, Sex and The Single
Earl, won the prestigious Maggie Medallion for Best Historical Romance. Her
current series, The Renegade Royals is a national bestseller. Vanessa also
writes USA Today bestselling contemporary romance with her husband, under the
pen name of VK Sykes.
