Ariana's Pride [Kindle Edition]

Hello,

I just finished reading Ariana's Pride by Margaret Lake. I purchased the book after reading the author's short story "Of Love and War." I was astonished at the character development the writer achieved in the short story; therefore, I just had to see what she could do with a full-length novel. I was not disappointed.

I chose Ariana's Pride because of the interesting action adventure storyline.

I must say that at the outset, neither Lady Ariana Devoe nor Jeremy were likeable characters. Both seemed to possess character flaws that tended to cause me to dislike them. However, as the plotline unfolds, the pair comes to recognize their weaknesses and strive to overcome them. By the end of the book, they had redeemed themselves most admirably.

The author has a wonderfully descriptive narrative, which allowed me to easily visualize the various scenes depicted in the book.

The romance aspects of the novel are better than most romance books I've read, though admittedly they are not great in number. I don't normally read romance novels, but this author of historical romances skillfully merges action adventure and romance. I've said it before, but I'll say it again in this review. Margaret Lake's style reminds me of Baroness Emmuska Orczy's The Scarlet Pimpernel that I read as a young man. Like that classic historical romance, Margaret Lake's "Ariana's Pride" is a magnificent achievement.

Like Orczy before her, Lake has the ability to draw in crossover readers who prefer adventure books. There's nothing wrong with that. To the contrary, any writer who can get a reader to expand their reading preferences serves the readers well. You action adventure fans should try this book. Romance fans, there's plenty to admire here. The historical backdrop was fascinating.

I highly recommend this book. Indeed, it has caused me to rethink my preferred genres. I'll definitely be reading other books by this author in the future.

Sincerely,
Ricky

I'm afraid that I did not enjoy this as much as I have other books by Margaret Lake. I found this story a little far fetched and concentrating too much on the "adult" scenes to develop the characters and story line. However, don't let my review put you off - Margaret Lake is a very good writer, this novel just isn't one of my favourites. However, there is a sequel to this book which I really enjoyed - Catherine and the Captain.

With "Ariana's Pride", Margaret Lake has managed to mix a history lesson with a spoon full of sugar. I hope that we have not heard the last of Ariana, Jeremy, the "War of the Roses" or Margaret Lake.