Almost a Princess

Men from Special Branch #4

by Elizabeth Thornton

From nationally bestselling author Elizabeth Thornton comes a sensuous new tale of true love and fiery romance—under the most intriguing of circumstances.

Case Devere, the steely-eyed earl of Castleton, has agreed to help Special Branch track down a notorious killer—one who just happens to be his archenemy. But he finds more than he bargained for when his search leads him to Jane Mayberry, a beautiful bluestocking passionately devoted to the cause of women’s rights—and to protecting her privacy. As irresistible as she is uncooperative, the spirited Jane arouses Case’s interest—as well as his worst suspicions—when she quietly disappears. Determined to find the one woman who may hold the key to his investigation—and to his heart—Case goes after her.

Though their sparring belies an attraction too powerful to deny, Jane knows there can never be anything between herself and the strong-willed earl. For she bears a dark and terrifying secret that must remain hidden—even at the cost of a broken heart. As Case fights for the love of the one woman who has ever mattered to him, they are swept into a deadly game by a killer who won’t stop until he has punished them both.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Regency, Mystery, Historical Fiction, Suspense

400 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Mary Forrest George, née Baxter was born and educated in Aberdeen, Scotland, where she taught school for a number of years before establishing her own nursery school, St. Swithin Street Nursery School, an institution that is still going strong today.

She and her husband then emigrated to Canada with their three young sons. She taught kindergarten and Grade One for a number of years in Winnipeg, Manitoba, before becoming lay minister at a Presbyterian Church in Winnipeg.

As part of her continuing education, she enrolled in evening classes at the University of Winnipeg to study Classical Greek. Five years later, having completed an Honor's thesis on Women in Euripides, she received her B.A. (Classics Gold Medalist).

After reading her first romance, a Regency by Georgette Heyer, she was captivated by the genre. Hereafter, writing became her hobby. In 1987, her first book, a small Regency entitled, Bluestocking Bride, was published by Zebra books.

She is the author of twenty-four historical romances, and two novellas. She has been nominated for and received many awards including the Romantic Times Trophy Award for the best New Historical Regency Author and Best Historical Regency. Seven of her novels have been finalists in the Romance Writers of America Rita awards, Scarlet Angel, Strangers at Dawn, Princess Charming and The Perfect Princess, Shady Lady, The Marriage Trap, and The Bachelor Trap. Her books appear regularly on national best-selling lists and have been translated into many languages.

Elizabeth's hobbies include reading (particularly mystery and suspense novels, biography, and history), and traveling to do research for her novels. She is also an avid Harry Potter enthusiast.

Reviews

[Daniella · Rating 5 out of 5]

How do I even begin to describe how amazing Almost a Princess is? Well, I have been wracking my brain for the last few minutes, and I have come to the conclusion that nothing short of "sheer perfection" can do this book justice. Granted, Ms. Elizabeth Thornton's writing may not be as eloquent as Madeline Hunter's or Lisa Kleypas', but that minor flaw seems inconsequential in light of all its allures, which I will proceed to describe in the succeeding paragraphs.

The best feature of Almost a Princess is its characters. At a glance, Case and Jane may not seem very special. Indeed, one might even think, "What's so great about a notorious rake who falls in love with a strong-willed chit who, in turn, harbours a dark secret of her own? It's been written hundreds of times before!" Yes, I would have to admit that's exactly how I felt when I picked up this book; I didn't have such high expectations of it. But I was wrong. Case and Jane brought life to this novel. While I was reading it, I couldn't think of them as fictional characters, because in my mind they were so much more--they lived, they breathed, they loved. They were so beautifully written, each of them deep and complex, that they seemed alive.

Jane may come across as a haughty man-hater at first (some may even think she was too hostile at times), but as the story progresses, you will learn that deep inside lives a frightened and scarred woman who just want to protect herself and the people she loves. I won't give out too many details, but everything she did made sense in the end. She had good, justifiable reasons why she acted the way she did. She's tenacious and stubborn without being unreasonable; while she gave Case a hard time, she didn't refuse to see reason when she saw the futility of her situation. I love the fact that she was so realistic, and I wouldn't have done things differently had I been in her situation.

Case is an equally amazing character. While he may start out as a normal, stubborn alpha who didn't give a damn about other people's affairs (like the cause of his aunt and the Lady's Society), he grows into an understanding man who would do anything to protect the love of his life. What I appreciate most about him is his humility. At a crucial moment, during the oh-so-dreaded Big Misunderstanding, he could have prolonged the conflict by clinging on to his bruised pride and jealousy, but he didn't. Instead, he felt ashamed for even doubting her, and humbly begged for her forgiveness. He believed her, without her her uttering a single promise or rebuttal to the accusations laid against her. That was how strong his faith was in Jane. And I've never encountered a hero who displayed that much trust in the heroine until now. Just wow.


Both characters displayed a great degree of maturity throughout the novel. They should be applauded with how gracefully they handled the Big Misunderstanding, along with all the other crises that came along their way. I also feel compelled to mention that another remarkable aspect about Case and Jane's love was the fact that it wasn't based on lust or physical attraction, but on a deeper connection between the two. He didn't lustfully rip off her bodice after checking her out--no, he really grew to love her because of, well, her. And vice versa. The physical awareness came after--something that is very hard to find in HR novels, since it's usually the other way around. I don't know, but for me, this made Case and Jane's attraction more meaningful and natural, and I really believe that they were really made for each other. In fact, I can't think of a pair more perfect and well suited.


Needless to say, I really recommend this.

[Ririn Aziz · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars

[Hal Evergreen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Almost a Princess had the potential to be an engaging historical romantic suspense novel in the same vein as the works of Amanda Quick. Unfortunately, Elizabeth Thornton does not possess Quick's clever way with words. Thornton's flat, uninspired writing style, dull characters, and insipid dialog drained all life from this novel. Even the suspense plot, which began so promisingly, meandered confusingly through the middle of the book and then fizzled out abruptly. The interminably-long chapter which followed the unsatisfying climax seemed designed to punish readers who had lasted up to that point. I found that I disliked the main characters even more when they were happy than I did when they were miserable, so I was dying for the novel to be OVER already.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Normally a plot like this would be my cuppa, a blue stocking heroine, an arrogant heir to a duke, murder and scandal, it had all the right components, but it fell flat, there wasn't a scintilla of charm or saucy romance. Spoiler......
The fact that the heroine was (as we found out towards the end) a runaway wife really threw cold water on this reader as did the convenient disposal of the villain husband. I would love to rewrite this clunker, because it had tremendous potential.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book took me ForEver to read, and I'm not sure why. I don't know if I just had a lot of stuff going on in my regular life at the time or what. Maybe the emotions in the story were too intense for my mood at the time. It's a very intensely emotional book.

Anyway, the hero gets involved in the story because there's a murder in the prologue, with a clue left that points back to a man they thought was dead, killed in the war in Spain. The hero wants to talk to the bad guy's sister, which means he has to find her, which means tracking down a woman associated with his aunt's charity. But the blasted woman won't give him her friend's address. And he actually enjoys sparring with her. Although, when she takes her friend the letter she's agreed to deliver, he follows her and really gets the heroine's back up. And the story kicks off. The villain wants to torment the hero by toying with the other people in his life, like his recently cast-off mistress. There are twists and turns in the plot, surprises and revelations, and other things that are inevitable in a romance. I did enjoy it quite a lot, even though it took me so long to read. And really, it wasn't so long. Four or 5 days, but given that I usually complete a book in a single day, it felt like a long time to me. So. Good read. I liked it.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weak 3*

The book started out with some promise, but lost ground at the end. The writing was serviceable, if uninspired, and the suspense plot was interesting. The romance was flat, and while the main characters were likeable enough, they were too generic to really capture the reader's heart. The best part of the book was the suspense plot, which I was enjoying until the last couple of chapters. At the end, it feels as though the author didn't know what to do with herself or the story, so she tied up every loose end as quickly, and implausibly, as possible. Characters suddenly broke character. Hell, even the dog acted out of character at the end. How did the dog even know the Duke and why was he suddenly so attached to him? Then, after winding up the suspense plot abruptly, the author adds a last chapter that is really just a sappy epilogue in disguise.

This is not an author I'm interested in returning to. The 3* rating is only because the first 3/4 of the book had my interest due to the suspense plot.

[Candice]

Love this book. The mystery that goes along with the love story makes it so much more exciting than just the plain old love story. My favorite part of this book is how much Jane Mayberry can hold her own. The story is a period piece novel set in the older England settings and back then, it was not heard of for women to back talk to men or stick up for themselves. Women were treated as paintings on a wall, or like a house maid kind of. They were there for domestic purposes only, not to voice their opinions. I love the fact that Jane Mayberry goes above and beyond that. I admire strong women who know what they want and go for it! It is a fiction novel so there is no truth behind the story, but the idea of it makes me smile!!!

[July · Rating 4 out of 5]

Case Devere the Earl of Castleton is trying to hunt down his archenemy Gidean Piers who has mysterously risen from the dead. While in the war in Spain. Case thought he killed Piers but it is beginning to look like Gidean was not killed and is out for revenge in a big way. When his search leads him to Jane Mayberry a beautiful woman devoted to women's rights and protecting her privacy. Case because suspicious and when she disappears, He is determined to find her.
Unknowingly drawing her into a web of danger.

I have to say that I enjoyed this book.

[Anke Zweel · Rating 5 out of 5]

bought this book in my matric year when I was going through the love story stage.

I loved this book who wouldn't - almost a princess who wouldn't want that

[Nadee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggled with this book. I do think that part of it stems purely from timing - I had just read two fun stories about empowered heroines in regency England, and was hoping for more of the same. In that, I was disappointed. I empathized with Jane, but at the same time I wanted her to be more independent, more able to take care of herself. And Case ... Case was too perfect. I felt like we had paragraphs and paragraphs about his charisma, his goodness and how Jane was keeping him at arm's length only because she didn't want to fall for him. When they did actually fall in love, it seemed to come out of nowhere. I had no idea why or how the connection happened. She seemed to be relieved to have someone to take care of her, to take care of a major problem that had just appeared in her life. I know - it makes sense, especially for the time period, and also for a woman who has had to be independent for a fair bit of her adult life. But I didn't want her to be so willing to be rescued, to put her fate in the hands of another man without getting involved at all. Yet that's what it seemed like she did. It was frustrating. She seemed to lose her agency and what made her most interesting. The book was quite lengthy too - I plan to go back to it, but I did not finish it before losing interest.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit disappointed

Too predictable. The previous novel in this series was quite book but obviously set the bar too high. The mystery was just too predictable and the characters too generic and unmemorable. 2.3 stars

[merilie Gonzales · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost A Princess

I love reading this series by Elizabeth Thornton. Every book is well written, and every character is well fleshed out. I've got one more to go. This book was hard to put down and I read it in less than a day.

[Sandy Champagne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay book. I loved the heroine although I found the hero to be somewhat lacking in defining characteristics. The pacing was quick and the plot was intriguing and kept my interest. In short, a nice read.

[Desi · Rating 4 out of 5]

leído en Abril 2014

Me gustó mucho, bonita historia, buenos protagomistas!!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just reread this book. An enjoyable read. I do so like when sex isn't just thrown in everywhere, but is tastely done in a place in the story that makes sense. Interesting plot.

[Minnesinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I also consider this book better than the first 2 in the "series" (a term I use loosely, because Book 2 seemed strangely out of place).

I really liked the heroine Jane. She was incredibly brave and self-sufficient, didn't care about how she looked to men, wasn't simpering like every other female. The fact the Case falls for her shows he has good taste! Despite this, he still seems a bit cardboard-y to me as a character, i.e., a quintessential aristo. Though he DID have years of experience in the grueling, brutal Peninsular Wars, unlike his younger brother who joined up at the last minute and was feted along with the rest of the British officers after Waterloo.

"La Roca"--Gideon Piers--provides the suspense throughout, and he has connections to both Case and Jane, Jane through his sister. (The two women were both teachers at the same school somewhere.)

Other authors might have left the plot there, but Thornton adds a surprising twist with the sudden appearance of an abusive husband, James Campbell. When Jane runs into him in London, I could feel her terror--like Julia Roberts in "Sleeping with the Enemy": Running away to start a new life but always afraid that the monster will find her someday. Campbell doesn't hesitate to punch Jane in the stomach (where it won't show, of course) in the middle of a London street. The fact that another bully witnesses him beating her and cheers for the abusive husband is sickeningly real.

I can imagine that Thornton's feels special compassion for abused women because she was a priest later in life; I can only imagine that she was called on more than once to counsel abused women.

I think Thornton's books are so popular precisely because they are not just "fluff"; they describe the darker side of life as well. Mentioning domestic violence and an early women's rights organization lends realism, and tells readers that the road to where we are today didn't happen overnight--it has been a centuries-long, painful struggle.

Young women need to know this and pay tribute to the generations of women before who had to fight for the right to vote, own their own property, even open a banking account. We're still fighting gender discrimination and abuse. Girls today probably can't imagine men having the right to commit a wife or mother or sister to an insane asylum against her will, or the right to take a woman's children away from her for having an affair. Or blocking access to birth control. These still happen today! Even though Roe v. Wade has been a law for decades, the rabidly conservative are still trying to rob women of the right to determine what happens to their own bodies. Men still hunt down ex-girlfriends and wives who dared to break free, still kidnap children to punish and terrorize the women. Scares the bej__us out of me just thinking about it.

Thornton mentions that divorce was rare at the time in England because it was so expensive--20,000 pounds sterling! Unbelievable. It infuriates me when I hear men joking about marriage being a ball and chain for THEM. If anyone is chained, it's the wives in most cases. Divorce was so expensive so that it would be impossible for wives to escape. It is still beyond the reach of wives who have no money of their own! Women really were chattel then, and still are today--especially in many poor nations.

So where does it all end? Sadly, it doesn't. There will always be bullies, men who want to control women by whatever means necessary, as long as there are abusive parents to model abusive behavior to their children. A very sobering thought.

[Tricia Schneider · Rating 3 out of 5]

When you pick up a book written by Elizabeth Thornton there are two things that you are guaranteed: a happily-ever-after ending and a suspense-filled ride to get there. Her books are filled with intrigue and danger and Almost a Princess was no exception. From the first page, we are given a glimpse of what to expect with the enigmatic Jane Mayberry who has secrets to hide and the honor-bound Caspar Devere who has a mystery to solve.

I only have one minor issue with this book which is why I didn't give it a four or five star which I usually give to all of Ms. Thornton's books. There were a few instances of head-hopping that jarred me a bit out of the narrative. Other than that, this book kept me riveted and I enjoyed reading about Rosamund's brother. Rosamund Devere found her romance in The Perfect Princess. Although, I was pleased to find Harper joining Case in this adventure, I was a little disappointed that Richard Maitland hadn't made a prominent appearance. He's still one of my favorite heroes!

[Vmontgzz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Esta es la segunda novela que leo de ET y me gusto mucho mas Falsas Apariencias.
Casi una princesa me resulto buena porque tiene suspense y se deja leer, pero no me tuvo todo el tiempo con la incertidumbre de lo iria a suceder.
Tambien me gusto que Jane es independiente y autosuficiente y que Case no me parecio el tipico noble arrogante y sobreprotector que tan pronto se topa con la protagonista la quiere manejar a su antojo.
En fin que para mi resulta buena para pasar el rato.

[MonicaBD · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. The main characters had depth, and were good for each other. I liked the H and the h, which is absolutely necessary for me to give a book four stars. The romance was sweet and enjoyable. The mystery intertwined with the love story set the story apart, and pushed it up to a 4 star rating for me.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has several flaws (it went on long after it should've ended), but Thornton must've have a good time writing it. The book read like she was enjoying herself, making the flaws easy to overlook while reading.

[Michele bookloverforever · Rating 3 out of 5]

kidnapped heiress, innocent man searching for the real criminal. he kidnaps her as part of his escape. they fall in love. all ends well. enjoyable.