Helpful Score: 1
I love Michelle Diener's Tudor era books better than this series set in the Regency era. That being said, everything she writes is good, she's become one of my autobuy authors. This is the 2nd of the Regency series, the first one is The Emperor's Conspiracy and the 3rd is A Dangerous Madness. You won't lose anything if you read this one first, but I would recommend reading Banquet of Lies before the 3rd book, because the character of the hero of book 3 is established here.
All of Diener's books combine a well done political intrique/mystery plot with a love story, however there are no bedroom scenes. Rather, it is a slow developing romance, with some danger and adventure. I liked the hero, but it is the heroine here, Giselle(known as Gigi), who steals the show. She has grown up traveling around Europe with her father, who does some work for British intelligence. After he gets assassinated, she is left holding an important letter, and the killer is on her trail. She hides in plain sight by working as a cook in the household of the hero, Lord Aldridge(Jonathan). Although she comes from an upper class background, cooking has always been a hobby and passion of Gigi's. Since childhood, she has spent a lot of time with her family's chef learning the tricks of the trade, so she has no problem doing the job. Due to her unconventional upbringing, she is more resourceful than the average young woman of her age and class.
The descriptions of food prep and gourmet meals were part of the fun of this book, as were her relationships with the other servants "belowstairs" who become her new friends. There were also a number of interesting secondary characters that added a lot to the story.
It would have been nice to have a couple more scenes that allowed Jonathan to shine. We don't get to see him in action much, even though he was a war hero, and clearly capable of heroics. But if you appreciate intelligent writing and good historical details, you'll definitely enjoy this book. 4 stars.
All of Diener's books combine a well done political intrique/mystery plot with a love story, however there are no bedroom scenes. Rather, it is a slow developing romance, with some danger and adventure. I liked the hero, but it is the heroine here, Giselle(known as Gigi), who steals the show. She has grown up traveling around Europe with her father, who does some work for British intelligence. After he gets assassinated, she is left holding an important letter, and the killer is on her trail. She hides in plain sight by working as a cook in the household of the hero, Lord Aldridge(Jonathan). Although she comes from an upper class background, cooking has always been a hobby and passion of Gigi's. Since childhood, she has spent a lot of time with her family's chef learning the tricks of the trade, so she has no problem doing the job. Due to her unconventional upbringing, she is more resourceful than the average young woman of her age and class.
The descriptions of food prep and gourmet meals were part of the fun of this book, as were her relationships with the other servants "belowstairs" who become her new friends. There were also a number of interesting secondary characters that added a lot to the story.
It would have been nice to have a couple more scenes that allowed Jonathan to shine. We don't get to see him in action much, even though he was a war hero, and clearly capable of heroics. But if you appreciate intelligent writing and good historical details, you'll definitely enjoy this book. 4 stars.
