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Russian Eagles #5
The Ice King
She'd resigned herself to her dismal fate. Tanya had no money, and now with the death of her uncle, no home. The solution was a virtual prison sentence: she must take a job as companion to a reclusive and ailing old woman in a remote Russian Village. But fate granted her a reprieve. Kindly relatives offered her a season in St. Petersburg, and Tanya was thrilled and grateful. St. Petersburg was the city of her dreams. She was determined to pack a lifetime into that one all-too-short visit. And the disturbing Prince Nikolai was there to see that she did!
He was acting like a jealous man. But the moment the thought entered her head, Tanya dismissed it as utterly impossible. A person had to have feelings in order to be jealous, and Prince Nikolai hadn't earned the name Ice King for nothing. He seemed devoid of all emotion, particularly love. What had happened to him, wondered Tanya, to turn his heart so cold that no woman had been able to thaw it? The answer to the question was shocking, and it turned Tanya's feelings into a confused mixture of pity...and love.
He was acting like a jealous man. But the moment the thought entered her head, Tanya dismissed it as utterly impossible. A person had to have feelings in order to be jealous, and Prince Nikolai hadn't earned the name Ice King for nothing. He seemed devoid of all emotion, particularly love. What had happened to him, wondered Tanya, to turn his heart so cold that no woman had been able to thaw it? The answer to the question was shocking, and it turned Tanya's feelings into a confused mixture of pity...and love.
188 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1980
8 people are currently reading
174 people want to read
About the author
Dinah Dean
26 books12 followersDinah Dean is known mainly for the historical romances she wrote in the 1980s for the Mills & Boon Masquerade Historical Romance imprint. Historical romances then, as now, included a wide range of both writing quality and historical accuracy. Dinah Dean is at the top end of the scale for both. While she does not confine herself to any one period or place, most of her books are set during the early 19th century, in either Waltham Abbey, Essex, England, or in Russia. As a resident of Waltham Abbey and the secretary of the Waltham Abbey Historical Society Dinah Dean is well informed about the history of the town and she uses this in her books which are set between 1060 and 1808. She is also knowledgeable about Russia and, as well as her romances about the early 19th century, she set one book there in the late 11th century.
Dinah Dean also published under the names Jane Hunt and Marjorie May.
Dinah Dean also published under the names Jane Hunt and Marjorie May.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
September 9, 2009
After the death of her guardian, Tanya Kirova was doomed to spend the rest of her life stuck in the Russian countryside when fate smiled on her with the arrival of her distant relatives. Alexei and Marie Kirova graciously allowed her into their home for a few weeks in order to experience the wonders of St. Petersburg before she was sent to live with yet another elderly relative just doing their Christian duty. Tanya was delighted to explore Russia's most wondrous city and was eagerly determined to bottle up every new experience. It was at her first ball where she caught the eye of Prince Nikolai Volkhov, and her innocent eagerness to explore her hosts' staircase was the first step in thawing out the man known as the 'Ice King.' Prince Nikolai's deadened demeanor was known to everyone within the Russian aristocracy and so it was with wonder and awe that they watched the little nobody from Yaroslavl melt the Ice King. Nikolai wonders if he might let go of his ghosts with Tanya by his side, but he also wonders if his past misdeeds may be too much for her to understand. It is with a heavy heart that the Ice King bares his soul and prays, as does all of Russia, that his Tanya finds it within herself to set him free.
Foolish man. He had nothing in his past that needed to be forgiven. If anything, the only thing he needed was a great big hug. Nikolai was a wonderful hero. While known as the Ice King, this hero was far from icy. He was actually sweet, kind, (yes, I said kind so deal with it Nikolai) considerate, witty and so full of heart that I wanted to gather him up in my arms and rain kisses and hugs upon him. While Nikolai definitely showed moments of dry wit:
"I'm afraid I was showing off to impress you."
"But you might have fallen!" Tanya said faintly, gazing at him with a mixture of horror and incredulity.
"In which case, presumably you would not have been impressed after all."
he is not a humorous man. And while I definitely saw moments of unhappiness in his character, I never saw moments of ice, either. His outlook on life was certainly dour, thanks to his Rebecca-esque witch of a wife, but from the moment we meet him, he was so, so ......... nice! He was one of the nicest character's I've ever read. I know that probably sounds boring, or boringly beta, but it was much more interesting than that. And Tanya was also one of the nicest heroine's ever. She was quick witted, level headed, gracious, and I will forever love her for loving Nikolai.
This was a truly lovely book. At first it started off slow and the middle section of the book seemed to go nowhere. But that is part of this books charm. The best way I can describe this book is that it's smooth. There are no peaks or valleys in this book. No raging emotions or passionate scenes of lovemaking. Instead it's smooth. Tranquil. Gentle. It's peppered with interesting facts about Russian architecture and the Russian scenary was vividly described. The character's were all warm hearted and so, so...........nice! There are no evil Russian characters in this book, (a la J.Lindsey's Secret Fire) instead everyone was welcoming to Tanya. Even the Czar was rooting for them!
Best of all, there were no Big Misunderstandings. The conflict in this book was maturely acknowledged and dealt with. While the circumstances surrounding Nikolai's "past misdeeds" was quite odd, as well as a little eyebrow raising, he manned up and confronted it. I loved that. And I loved this book.
On a side note, I had no idea that these books were such rare finds. I found (most of) Dinah Dean's Russian collection at my library store and I thought, "why not?" After shelling out my measly pocket change for them, I was later stunned to find that I had fallen ass backwards into a literal treasure trove. At first I was not sure why, but after finishing it I understood. While The Ice King is not a tempestuous, passionate read, it is proof that romance lives and once found it is to be held on to with everything you have. And that makes it very rare.
Foolish man. He had nothing in his past that needed to be forgiven. If anything, the only thing he needed was a great big hug. Nikolai was a wonderful hero. While known as the Ice King, this hero was far from icy. He was actually sweet, kind, (yes, I said kind so deal with it Nikolai) considerate, witty and so full of heart that I wanted to gather him up in my arms and rain kisses and hugs upon him. While Nikolai definitely showed moments of dry wit:
"I'm afraid I was showing off to impress you."
"But you might have fallen!" Tanya said faintly, gazing at him with a mixture of horror and incredulity.
"In which case, presumably you would not have been impressed after all."
he is not a humorous man. And while I definitely saw moments of unhappiness in his character, I never saw moments of ice, either. His outlook on life was certainly dour, thanks to his Rebecca-esque witch of a wife, but from the moment we meet him, he was so, so ......... nice! He was one of the nicest character's I've ever read. I know that probably sounds boring, or boringly beta, but it was much more interesting than that. And Tanya was also one of the nicest heroine's ever. She was quick witted, level headed, gracious, and I will forever love her for loving Nikolai.
This was a truly lovely book. At first it started off slow and the middle section of the book seemed to go nowhere. But that is part of this books charm. The best way I can describe this book is that it's smooth. There are no peaks or valleys in this book. No raging emotions or passionate scenes of lovemaking. Instead it's smooth. Tranquil. Gentle. It's peppered with interesting facts about Russian architecture and the Russian scenary was vividly described. The character's were all warm hearted and so, so...........nice! There are no evil Russian characters in this book, (a la J.Lindsey's Secret Fire) instead everyone was welcoming to Tanya. Even the Czar was rooting for them!
Best of all, there were no Big Misunderstandings. The conflict in this book was maturely acknowledged and dealt with. While the circumstances surrounding Nikolai's "past misdeeds" was quite odd, as well as a little eyebrow raising, he manned up and confronted it. I loved that. And I loved this book.
On a side note, I had no idea that these books were such rare finds. I found (most of) Dinah Dean's Russian collection at my library store and I thought, "why not?" After shelling out my measly pocket change for them, I was later stunned to find that I had fallen ass backwards into a literal treasure trove. At first I was not sure why, but after finishing it I understood. While The Ice King is not a tempestuous, passionate read, it is proof that romance lives and once found it is to be held on to with everything you have. And that makes it very rare.
October 27, 2013
If you're in the mood for something heavy, this ain't it. Average, light reading. A little over the top at the end with the sugary sweetness and neat and tidy bow wrapping things up, but tolerable through most of it. Enjoyed the emo hero's slow melt. (Ha! Didn't mean to make a pun to match the title.) LOTS of skimming unless you're really interested in an in-depth education of Russian architecture and furnishings.
May 28, 2014
The book blurb pretty much says it all, and I'm five or six book reviews behind (plus some Vine swag), so I'm cutting this short. A quick easy read, setting is St. Petersburg around 1819 or thereabouts. A slightly angsty hero with issues from his past that led him to shut himself up and earned a reputation as the Ice King. Poor heroine comes to town and she slowly melts him down.
Not a lot of action, the heroine and the family she stays with spend lots of time getting escorted around St. Pete and seeing the sights in between spots of drama leading up to the HEA. Not great, not bad either.
Not a lot of action, the heroine and the family she stays with spend lots of time getting escorted around St. Pete and seeing the sights in between spots of drama leading up to the HEA. Not great, not bad either.
July 21, 2017
My second book by this author, the first being the Cockermouth Mail, which was surprisingly well put together. This book is set in the same time period of Regency Period, but in Russia, which was a new and interesting setting to me. I had read very few historical fiction set in Russia before this book, and this one was full -- and by full, do I mean chock-full of historical facts. It is loaded with details of every sort of architectural tidbits about the buildings and people of the time. I saw that the author spent a lot of time traveling to Russia and it shows in this book. That kind of historical detail is to be commended and was more common for the older traditional historical fiction novels.
But perhaps because I am not as used to Russian society and its rules, the book failed to enchant me. It was well-written for the most part. There are almost no villains, aside from the Ice King's late wife and her brother, and everyone behaved scrupulously well. Men were gentlemen to a fault, and Tanya had pleasant relationships with all the women around her. The only conflict/mystery to the book was what had happened to the Ice King in the past, and it is revealed that
Perhaps it is the complete difference in culture that threw me -- I can't really tell, but I couldn't tell if Nikolai was heroic or overly dark and dramatic. Yes, his marriage was horrific, but was that sufficient reason to be SO gloomy? He was so gloomy that he never cracked a smile. Somehow he was bedazzled by Tanya in his gloomy way and would dance with her multiple times in one evening (but never smiling). She, on the other hand, was a poor relation with a time limit to her fun and games in St. Petersburg and so she reined in on any hopes, even though he even kissed her from time to time without declaring himself. I get that he's gentleman-in-waiting to the Czar and has to ask for permission before he can ask Tanya to marry her, but it seemed weird in this traditional romance that he would do such things so freely without declaring himself. And yet he angsted (again) so much over telling Tanya he had a bastard son with his serf. She later reassured him that he was an honorable man because her older male relatives thought nothing of demanding droit du seigneur on the serf girls' 14th birthdays.
It was all very HUH? to me, and I couldn't pin down whether it was because of the setting or because the way his character was made out was inconsistent. What a cultural shock, and I only just read a book. I had thought that I had read more than the above average historical fiction reader's share of regencies, but it was quite odd to me. Society was so rigid on the one hand, with people talking because he had danced with her more often than with other females, and yet they could venture alone into a dark arbor by themselves...wherein he did proceed to kiss her silly. I couldn't quite make out the rules of propriety in this book and that was frustrating.
And he did nothing for me. He was boring and as some reviewers put it, totally emo. But I was happy for Tanya, because she had a deprived life and shouldn't be going to some incredibly cold, remote manor with no town to sit next to an old relative until that relative died. For her sake, I'm glad she ended up with a really rich Prince, although I did worry that her son wouldn't inherit.
But perhaps because I am not as used to Russian society and its rules, the book failed to enchant me. It was well-written for the most part. There are almost no villains, aside from the Ice King's late wife and her brother, and everyone behaved scrupulously well. Men were gentlemen to a fault, and Tanya had pleasant relationships with all the women around her. The only conflict/mystery to the book was what had happened to the Ice King in the past, and it is revealed that
Perhaps it is the complete difference in culture that threw me -- I can't really tell, but I couldn't tell if Nikolai was heroic or overly dark and dramatic. Yes, his marriage was horrific, but was that sufficient reason to be SO gloomy? He was so gloomy that he never cracked a smile. Somehow he was bedazzled by Tanya in his gloomy way and would dance with her multiple times in one evening (but never smiling). She, on the other hand, was a poor relation with a time limit to her fun and games in St. Petersburg and so she reined in on any hopes, even though he even kissed her from time to time without declaring himself. I get that he's gentleman-in-waiting to the Czar and has to ask for permission before he can ask Tanya to marry her, but it seemed weird in this traditional romance that he would do such things so freely without declaring himself. And yet he angsted (again) so much over telling Tanya he had a bastard son with his serf. She later reassured him that he was an honorable man because her older male relatives thought nothing of demanding droit du seigneur on the serf girls' 14th birthdays.
It was all very HUH? to me, and I couldn't pin down whether it was because of the setting or because the way his character was made out was inconsistent. What a cultural shock, and I only just read a book. I had thought that I had read more than the above average historical fiction reader's share of regencies, but it was quite odd to me. Society was so rigid on the one hand, with people talking because he had danced with her more often than with other females, and yet they could venture alone into a dark arbor by themselves...wherein he did proceed to kiss her silly. I couldn't quite make out the rules of propriety in this book and that was frustrating.
And he did nothing for me. He was boring and as some reviewers put it, totally emo. But I was happy for Tanya, because she had a deprived life and shouldn't be going to some incredibly cold, remote manor with no town to sit next to an old relative until that relative died. For her sake, I'm glad she ended up with a really rich Prince, although I did worry that her son wouldn't inherit.
February 9, 2018
This has, for whatever reason, been one of my all-time favorite romances. :)
July 10, 2024
After being orphaned at a young age Tanya was brought up by her father's elderly uncle and his wife, living a quiet life in the country, fascinated by books . On his death her life became even quieter as his wife didn't appreciate having Tanya in the house and sold all his possessions so dearly loved by Tanya. When she died Tanya was left with nothing except possibly a home with her aunts I'll sister as a companion, until her father's brother offered her a place in his family until his daughter is launched into society in about six months, an offer Tanya accepts so she has some pleasant memories when she's moved to live with her aunts sister.
In At Petersburg Tanya quickly attracts the attention of Prince Nikolai ( who we met in book two of the series), who quite against his reputation as the Ice King, dances with her more than he should and starts paying more and more attention to her. Injured terribly in the Battle at Borodino, Nikolai will never be fully fit again, and added to his mistreatment by his late wife before she killed herself he's become a shell of the man he used to be. But something about Tanya breaks through this ennui and he spends more and more time with her, but he has dark secrets, and how will Tanya react when she learns them?
Well, apart from some spelling issues and wrong words, I loved this book, On a par with books one and three in the series. Great to see Boris and Vladimir again too.
In At Petersburg Tanya quickly attracts the attention of Prince Nikolai ( who we met in book two of the series), who quite against his reputation as the Ice King, dances with her more than he should and starts paying more and more attention to her. Injured terribly in the Battle at Borodino, Nikolai will never be fully fit again, and added to his mistreatment by his late wife before she killed herself he's become a shell of the man he used to be. But something about Tanya breaks through this ennui and he spends more and more time with her, but he has dark secrets, and how will Tanya react when she learns them?
Well, apart from some spelling issues and wrong words, I loved this book, On a par with books one and three in the series. Great to see Boris and Vladimir again too.
June 8, 2023
So lovely, and a well deserved HEA for a frequent and very unhappy character. Very low to almost no angst, in fact smooth sailing all round.
Not quite a 5 star for me as we spend a LOT of time going to balls and sightseeing around St. Petersburg. There are only so many times I can be subjected to a tour of a old church or famous landmark, or hearing about people being escorted into yet another dinner, before I start skimming.
Not quite a 5 star for me as we spend a LOT of time going to balls and sightseeing around St. Petersburg. There are only so many times I can be subjected to a tour of a old church or famous landmark, or hearing about people being escorted into yet another dinner, before I start skimming.
January 1, 2024
Good story, great characters
Glimpses into the complicated life of Russian culture and people post Napoleonic Wars. The culture and religion seem so archaic and barbarous at times. Romance as written was lovely and all the couples deserved their HEA. I have books 6&7 to read yet and recommend this series.
Glimpses into the complicated life of Russian culture and people post Napoleonic Wars. The culture and religion seem so archaic and barbarous at times. Romance as written was lovely and all the couples deserved their HEA. I have books 6&7 to read yet and recommend this series.
May 12, 2022
Set in Russia around 1816? A little rambling at times but I enjoyed the story and the characters
July 31, 2022
A charming romance, it���s quite straightforward but still engaging. The MC’s were adorable together.
Five Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Five Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
July 26, 2024
this was so cute 🥺
March 18, 2021
I love this book and the characters within it and it is book I return to time and again. It is within my book comfort list on my log page for this reason.
I bought this back in 1980 and have read this many times since. It is part of her Russian Series. I fell in love with the characters she developed over this series of books as well as her descriptions of the Russian landscape and culture under the Romanovs. Set in 1819/1820 St Petersburg I loved this story of Anna and Prince Nikolai Volkhov and the other secondary characters are well developed too. They all seem so real to me, like welcoming friends back in to my life when I return to the novel.
Synopsis
Tanya had resigned herself to her dismal fate - she had no money, and now with the death of her uncle, no home. The solution was a virtual prison sentence: she must take a job as companion to a reclusive and ailing old woman in a remote Russian Village. But fate granted her a reprieve. Kindly relatives offered her a season in St. Petersburg, and Tanya was thrilled and grateful. St. Petersburg was the city of her dreams. She was determined to pack a lifetime into that one all-too-short visit. And the disturbing Prince Nikolai was there to see that she did!
He was acting like a jealous man. But the moment the thought entered her head, Tanya dismissed it as utterly impossible. A person had to have feelings in order to be jealous, and Prince Nikolai hadn't earned the name Ice King for nothing. He seemed devoid of all emotion, particularly love. What had happened to him, wondered Tanya, to turn his heart so cold that no woman had been able to thaw it? The answer to the question was shocking, and it turned Tanya's feelings into a confused mixture of pity...and love.
I bought this back in 1980 and have read this many times since. It is part of her Russian Series. I fell in love with the characters she developed over this series of books as well as her descriptions of the Russian landscape and culture under the Romanovs. Set in 1819/1820 St Petersburg I loved this story of Anna and Prince Nikolai Volkhov and the other secondary characters are well developed too. They all seem so real to me, like welcoming friends back in to my life when I return to the novel.
Synopsis
Tanya had resigned herself to her dismal fate - she had no money, and now with the death of her uncle, no home. The solution was a virtual prison sentence: she must take a job as companion to a reclusive and ailing old woman in a remote Russian Village. But fate granted her a reprieve. Kindly relatives offered her a season in St. Petersburg, and Tanya was thrilled and grateful. St. Petersburg was the city of her dreams. She was determined to pack a lifetime into that one all-too-short visit. And the disturbing Prince Nikolai was there to see that she did!
He was acting like a jealous man. But the moment the thought entered her head, Tanya dismissed it as utterly impossible. A person had to have feelings in order to be jealous, and Prince Nikolai hadn't earned the name Ice King for nothing. He seemed devoid of all emotion, particularly love. What had happened to him, wondered Tanya, to turn his heart so cold that no woman had been able to thaw it? The answer to the question was shocking, and it turned Tanya's feelings into a confused mixture of pity...and love.
April 30, 2012
A beautifully written story with a hero that seemed rakish and cold-but was really a completely sweet beta. *melts*
I did have a problem with some of the things that happened or were revealed in the end-.
Still my overall feeling about this book are very positive. And I will be checking out more reads from this author. She knows how to write for sure!
3.5 stars
I did have a problem with some of the things that happened or were revealed in the end-.
Still my overall feeling about this book are very positive. And I will be checking out more reads from this author. She knows how to write for sure!
3.5 stars
May 28, 2013
I love the old traditional regencies from the 1980s and early 1990s. I wasn't reading them then but luckily have gotten some great recommendations online about authors and publishers to pursue in the used book market and newly published backlists.
I especially love the more unusual ones such as the Russian regencies by Dinah Dean. A discussion in the comments at Dear Author mentioned these and I was lucky enough to get one from interlibrary loan and really enjoyed it. This one I had to watch for a good price on the used book and I am glad I got it. I can see it being one I will reread often. Others have described the story so I will just say I was pleased with it; especially since I hope to travel to St. Petersburg next year and want to see some of the same sights Tanya did!
I especially love the more unusual ones such as the Russian regencies by Dinah Dean. A discussion in the comments at Dear Author mentioned these and I was lucky enough to get one from interlibrary loan and really enjoyed it. This one I had to watch for a good price on the used book and I am glad I got it. I can see it being one I will reread often. Others have described the story so I will just say I was pleased with it; especially since I hope to travel to St. Petersburg next year and want to see some of the same sights Tanya did!
May 2, 2013
This is not particularly well written - sentences and chapters ending in odd places - but it's a favorite that I re-read often. There's just something sweet and romantic about it that makes me feel good. Nikolai is a passionate, heroic, yet gentle man who wants to loved. Who can resist that?
May 23, 2017
One off my keeper shelf. Just wanted to read it again. It never gets old. Set in Russia in the early 1800s. Lovely... sigh
September 7, 2013
A solid 4 stars. Enjoyed it immensly.
April 22, 2016
Really liked this book. The uncertainties at both ends was realistic. Both hero and heroine were sweet and simple. Cute love story.
September 11, 2016
One of my favourite books of all time.
July 28, 2013
Boring. Couldn't finish this book.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews