I had the honor of receiving this book for an early review. Hope’s Betrayal is a historical romance in every sense of the word. It takes you back to the first romance book you read and evokes those feelings of wonder and anticipation. I can still feel the sun baking my skin as I lay on the pier, enthralled by the story of Hope and George.
Sometimes I like to comment on the cover art. This cover is seductive and the woman is now firmly implanted in my mind as Hope. I love it when the cover compliments the story inside.
Excerpt borrowed from Goodreads
One wild, winter’s night two worlds collide.
Known for his ruthless efficiency, Captain George Huntley is sent to stamp out smuggling on the south coast of England. On a night raid, the Captain captures a lanky lad, but finds his troubles are just beginning when the lad turns out to be a lass, Hope Tyler.
With Hope as bait, the Captain sets a trap to catch the rest of the gang. But in a battle of wills, with his reputation at stake, George Huntley starts to respect feisty, independent Hope. Challenged by her sea-green eyes and stubborn loyalty; Huntley now faces a new threat – his growing attraction to a sworn enemy. And a love where either Hope betrays her own kind, or Captain Huntley is court-marshalled, is not an easy destiny to follow.
I truly enjoyed Hope’s Betrayal. A sweet tale of falling in love despite their different places in society, the risks of a damaged reputation and the loss of a dream profession.
Hope is forced to join the free traders to feed her family. Smuggling is not her first choice, but what else can she do. To protect herself, she wears a disguise.
Captain Huntley is hell-bent on furthering his career and will not stop until the smugglers gang are all rounded up. He manages to catch one of them, but the lad is injured and he is forced to take him to his estate lest the boy dies.
At first the captain thinks he is going crazy.Upon cleaning up the unconscious lad, he gazes upon his face and feels stirred by him. He leans closer and laughs in relief when he recognizes the lad is a lass. And a beautiful one at that.
The physical attraction might be quick, as it can be in real life, but the emotional attraction is developed slowly. There are many obstacles to overcome for Hope and George if they are to be together and the way will not be easy.
Grace Elliot‘s writing is like a wave, building to a crest as it approaches shore, then crashing down. As you read the undertow pulls you deeper into the story, tossing you about and then gently depositing you safely on land.
There are a few places in the story where I felt it could have been explained in more detail, but maybe that is because I felt the need for more.
Historical romance has not been my first genre of choice since I was younger, but recently I have discovered some wonderful stories and I am left wondering, when did I wander away from reading them and what took me so long to come back?
Hope’s Betrayal is romance with a touch of innocence and I recommend it to anyone that enjoys falling in love, with all its angst and fervor.
5 STARS
I do not usually read the second book in a series first, so I am going to quickly get reading Eulogy’s Secret (The Huntley Trilogy – Book 1) so that I can tell you all about it.
More exciting news! Grace has graciously(grins) given me a working blurb of the third book in this trilogy, Verity’s Lie. Want to read it? Okay!
Lord Charles Huntley, notorious rogue…and government agent. His latest assignment is to protect a politicians daughter, Verity Verrinder, while her father negotiates an alliance against Napoleon. Huntley embarks on a campaign of seduction to keep Verity under his watchful eye, but hasn’t anticipated falling in love with his charge. When Lord Huntley turns his bone-melting charms on her, Verity suspects she’s exchanging an overbearing parent for a domineering rogue. Denying her attraction to the handsome Huntley, Verity goes in search of freedom, only to run into the clutches of French kidnappers. This leaves Lord Huntley with a stark choice between trying to save Britain’s peace negotiations or the life of the only woman he has ever loved.
I can’t wait to read more. I am hopelessly entangled in the Huntley family saga and these three brothers. What is really great is that each novel is written so that they can stand alone but why would you not want to read them in order. It is so much more fun!
About Grace Elliot
Grace Elliot leads a double life as a veterinarian by day and an author of historical romance by night. Grace is an avid reader and believes intelligent people need to read romance – as an antidote to the modern world. She works in a companion animal practice near London and is housekeeping staff to five demanding felines.
She has now written three historical romance novels.
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