May 5, 2010

Series Review: The Prince Trilogy

Raven NewLeopard NewSerpent New

Three friends, three loves stories, three fairy tales.

I admit I was quite late in join the ranks of Elizabeth Hoyt's fans. I had heard lots of praise for her debut, The Raven Prince, but since I famously dislike most buzzed-about books I was a bit reluctant to read it. Eventually I did take the plunge and never regretted it.

The Raven Prince is the story of Edward de Raaf, Earl of Swartingham, whom -after surviving a small pox epidemic that killed his entire family, and the death of his first wife (who died in childbirth some ten years prior) - is ready to move on and start a new family, he wants his family's home, the Abbey, to be full of children and happiness once more. As such, the last woman he should be interested in is Anna Wren, a young widow who works as his secretary (Edward is an Agricultural scholar, and often writes papers about such matters, needing someone to transcribe them in a clear hand). Anna has no connections or money, and she's quite sure she can't have children, still some attractions are undeniable and this is one of them.

After The Raven Prince, comes the Leopard Prince, about one of Edward's friends, Harry Pye; he's introduced in the first story, along with Viscount Simon Iddesleigh, the three gentlemen are friends and agrarians. Harry works as an estate manager for Lady Georgina Maitland, a relationship that turns quite complicated when they begin to feel attraction for each other. Georgina is a bit eccentric and never really thought about getting married, she knows engaging in a liaison with Harry isn't the smartest move but she can't help herself, and neither can Harry. But where will that take them?

Finally, The Serpent Prince kicks off when Lucy Craddock-Hayes finds Viscount Simon Iddesleigh half-dead on her doorstep. After finding out some finer points regarding the death of his beloved brother Ethan a few years before, Simon is bent on revenge and the people he wants to take revenge from are beginning to take notice, which lead to his half-death estate. Lucy is for the most part quite happy living with her father in their small town, but meeting Simon changes everything...

Well, of course I'm not going to spoil or anything, but all these three books were wonderful and in some way unusual. Plus, Mrs. Hoyt wove these funny little tales into her books (the titles of the books come from said 'tales') and it's a trait that has carried on to her other works, and I often find myself re-reading them.

Recently, all three books were given a cover make over (the ones posted above) which was why I decided to do this series review.

Personal Favorite
AnimeGirl
Original Covers:

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