An absorbing historical love story by a “new to me” author that I highly recommend, A PRINCE TO BE FEARED is my favorite discovery of the year so far.
Category: Historical Fiction with Elements of Romance
Release Date: May 7, 2013
ISBN: 9780957301696
Rated 5 out of 5 Stars + Recommended Read
Book pulled from my eBook TBR Mountain Range, purchased by me.
There’s nothing more thrilling than to stumble upon a book that surprises me from the very first paragraph. Author Mary Lancaster has taken mid 1400s history and made it come alive through her exquisite characterization and storytelling skills. We’re given glimpses of Vlad Dracula as a man, a teenager, a prince of Wallachia, a warrior and an exiled prince jailed for twelve years, awaiting his chance to recover his throne and gain vengeance against those who have denied him his right by birth and accomplishment. Back and forth through history we follow his determination to gain what he feels is rightfully his, including the woman he loves. He’s cruel, he’s compassionate, he’s fearless and he loves with fervor only his future wife can understand.
Ilona Szilagyi is a complete mystery when the reader is first introduced to her. Her sadness is actuated by her dull grey attire and veiled headdress. We know she’s the king’s cousin and is to marry Vlad Dracula but we don’t know why she wants to hide from everyone, including the man she once loved. The setting is perfect; a mystery surrounds the couple who have been separated for years while Vlad has served his time. There have been plenty of atrocities against, as well as done by, Vlad Dracula but who has turned the vibrant Ilona into this sad soul who seems better suited to a convent?
This begins their tale and the reader is transported along with them, embraced by a love story as poignant as Romeo and Juliet. If you love a rich, vibrant historical novel that is a rare find, then I suggest that you run to your nearest eRetailer and grab yourself a copy of A PRINCE TO BE FEARED. I highly recommend this novel as a fabulous rendition of historical events so real that you’ll swear they happened exactly as Mary Lancaster portrayed it. So addictive and captivating that I didn’t want to read the end. More, please!
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