Harper Fox - A Midwinter Prince
I believe this is the third book by Harper Fox I am reading (should probably make some notes in the future about the other two). The summary goes like this:
When Laurie, son of a wealthy London baronet, takes a homeless young man off the bitter winter streets, he only means to shelter him. But Sasha is beautiful and passionate, and he knows what he wants. Soon the two are entangled in a wild and illicit romance. Sasha, an illegal alien, has dangerous connections and a violent underworld past that won’t let him go. Privileged Laurie has problems of his own -- a brutal father who holds the keys to Laurie’s golden cage and would rather kill him than accept his son and heir is gay, let alone in love with a street urchin. Laurie’s only hope is to run. In a Romani encampment with Sasha, he finds not only a safe haven but sexual fulfilment beyond his wildest dreams.
But their new happiness is fragile. Sasha’s secrets run too deep, and he vanishes, leaving Laurie desolate, as much an exile in his own city as Sasha has been. Now Laurie must grow up and find his own strength. Can he break free of his suffocating aristocratic world in time to save his lover and himself?
For some reason that summary gave me an impression I was in for a Regency romance. I was wrong, although there is enough drama here for two Regency stories. In fact, it would probably work better in a historical novel than in a contemporary one. Villainous father was nearly opera-level villainous. Which for me is a problem because Evil Characters feel too much like handy plot devices. Sasha's "deep-running" secrets were also somewhat unconvincing, in a "honey, I need to confess: for the last ten years I was a spy/ assassin/ olive oil importer mafia boss" way. Or maybe combination of the two was the real problem? I wish the author picked either the evil!father or Sasha-with-secrets, not both in the same story. All troubles were (too) conveniently resolved in the end of the story, which proves my point: it was an overdose of problems for one novel.
Harper Fox specializes in pulling her characters through some serious emotional turmoil and takes readers along for the ride. Only after the story ends, you are left wondering why the characters did everything in such a melodramatic fashion. Yet for some reason, this time I started wondering about the excess of angst much earlier than the end of the book. I just couldn't stop thinking that there were more rational ways to do things than the main character did. When you want to give the character a kick in the ass, it gets a little harder to sympathize with him.
When Laurie, son of a wealthy London baronet, takes a homeless young man off the bitter winter streets, he only means to shelter him. But Sasha is beautiful and passionate, and he knows what he wants. Soon the two are entangled in a wild and illicit romance. Sasha, an illegal alien, has dangerous connections and a violent underworld past that won’t let him go. Privileged Laurie has problems of his own -- a brutal father who holds the keys to Laurie’s golden cage and would rather kill him than accept his son and heir is gay, let alone in love with a street urchin. Laurie’s only hope is to run. In a Romani encampment with Sasha, he finds not only a safe haven but sexual fulfilment beyond his wildest dreams.
But their new happiness is fragile. Sasha’s secrets run too deep, and he vanishes, leaving Laurie desolate, as much an exile in his own city as Sasha has been. Now Laurie must grow up and find his own strength. Can he break free of his suffocating aristocratic world in time to save his lover and himself?
For some reason that summary gave me an impression I was in for a Regency romance. I was wrong, although there is enough drama here for two Regency stories. In fact, it would probably work better in a historical novel than in a contemporary one. Villainous father was nearly opera-level villainous. Which for me is a problem because Evil Characters feel too much like handy plot devices. Sasha's "deep-running" secrets were also somewhat unconvincing, in a "honey, I need to confess: for the last ten years I was a spy/ assassin/ olive oil importer mafia boss" way. Or maybe combination of the two was the real problem? I wish the author picked either the evil!father or Sasha-with-secrets, not both in the same story. All troubles were (too) conveniently resolved in the end of the story, which proves my point: it was an overdose of problems for one novel.
Harper Fox specializes in pulling her characters through some serious emotional turmoil and takes readers along for the ride. Only after the story ends, you are left wondering why the characters did everything in such a melodramatic fashion. Yet for some reason, this time I started wondering about the excess of angst much earlier than the end of the book. I just couldn't stop thinking that there were more rational ways to do things than the main character did. When you want to give the character a kick in the ass, it gets a little harder to sympathize with him.