Series: Oxenburg Princes (Book 3)
Nikolai Romanovin, a royal prince of Oxenburg, has
travelled to the deepest wilds of Scotland to rescue his grandmother the Grand
Duchess, who was abducted while visiting an old friend in the Highlands.
Wanting to avoid an international incident, Nik plans to quietly slip into
enemy territory disguised as a groom at Castle Cromartie. But his plans go awry
when he falls under the cool gray gaze of the laird's daughter.
Pragmatic and clever, Ailsa Mackenzie has been left in
charge of the family estate and her unruly grandmother in her father's absence.
Something about the new groom catches her eyes, and makes her think he's not
who he pretends to be -- and even more shockingly, stirs her senses. Is it his
obviously educated manners? His arrogant, non-servant-like presence? It's
certainly not his towering, powerful form, or slumberous, inviting green eyes!
After confronting the imposter and learning the truth,
Ailsa agrees to help Nik -- for she, too, understands difficult relatives and
would do anything for family. Soon their secret partnership leads to growing
respect, searing kisses, and then something far more perilous. And when their
quest turns dangerous, Ailsa and Nik must discover this unknown enemy while
facing the dangerous demands of their own unruly hearts.
This was a good conclusion to the series. In the previous
books, Prince Nikolai has the reputation of a womanizer and someone more
interested in pleasure than duty. Here we discover that there is more to the
party prince than meets the eye.
The story opens as his grandmother, the irrepressible Tata
Natasha, Grand Duchess of Oxenburg, has gone off to visit an old friend in
Scotland. Unfortunately, she left behind a black "case" of her
lotions and potions and has tasked the daughter of the house with writing to
the prince to have him send it. The exchange of letters between Ailsa and
Nikolai sets the stage of their preconceived ideas of each other. When the
Duchess is kidnapped during her visit, Ailsa feels compelled to inform the
prince, but also lets him know she has the matter in hand. She doesn't want him
showing up and getting in her way.
The prince has no intention of leaving his beloved grandmother's
rescue up to an unknown woman. He has other reasons for wanting to get away
from London without anyone knowing he's gone, so he goes undercover as a groom.
His arrival in Scotland arouses Ailsa's suspicions because it is obvious that
he is not a servant. Their confrontation was hilarious as she played with him
before calling him on his deception. After some more push and pull, and Ailsa's
attempt to leave him behind, she and the prince eventually agree to work
together to rescue the captives.
The sparks fly between Nik and Ailsa from the very start.
He is equally intrigued and frustrated by Ailsa's independence and stubbornness.
He is also wary, as his experiences with women have made him very cynical and
unwilling to trust. Ailsa is irritated by Nik's arrogance, but can't deny her
attraction to him, though she is determined not to give in to his seductive
ways. After all, there's no chance of anything permanent between them. It was
fun to watch these two together as their preconceived ideas were disproved as
they learned more about each other. I especially enjoyed Nik's growing respect
for Ailsa and her leadership style. He took a bit of a hit when she accused him
of being spoiled, but earned some respect when he took her words to heart. And though
their heads fought the feelings that grew between them, their hearts knew what
they wanted. Unfortunately, there were a couple of obstacles in their way. Nik
refused even to consider exposing Ailsa to life at court, believing that it
would destroy who she is. Ailsa considers herself bound to her land, besides
believing that she isn't good enough for him. Their relationship is further
complicated by a boneheaded move on Nik's part when he makes some pretty
terrible accusations against her. It takes some deviousness by Tata Natasha to
bring them back together. The epilogue was a nice wrap-up.
The underlying mystery of the book is the kidnapping and
rescue of Nik's grandmother and her companion. Ailsa and Nik butt heads over
the proper way to deal with it, both of them stubbornly sticking to their own
plans. Each of them had good points to make, and I wondered for a while if they
were going to end up working against their best interests because they couldn't
compromise. Matters were complicated by several attacks on their party, one of
which seriously injured Nik and separated him and Ailsa from the rest of the
group for a few days. The tension mounted as they came closer to where the
captives were held. There were some interesting twists to the rescue, one of
which I had begun to suspect but was still a shock. Nik and Ailsa's rescue came
from an unexpected source, making for a very satisfactory resolution.
No comments:
Post a Comment