Here are links to my reviews of the previous Pink Carnation books:The Secret History of the Pink Carnation
The Seduction of the Crimson Rose
After twelve years in India, Robert, duke of Dovedale, returns to his estate in England to avenge the murder of his mentor during the 1803 Battle of Assaye. Robert plans to infiltrate the infamous, secretive Hellfire Club to uncover the murderer’s identity; but he has no idea that an even more difficult challenge awaits him: one Lady Charlotte Lansdowne.
Having cherished a romanticized view of Robert since childhood, Charlotte is thrilled by his return. To Charlotte, Robert is all the Knights of the Round Table rolled into one. That’s not exactly the case, but she can’t help but search for the man she loves inside this less-than-pristine package. And while Robert works to dissuade Charlotte from her delusions, he can’t help but be drawn to her innocence and inner beauty.
When Charlotte is approached by Lady Henrietta Selwick to join her in a bit of espionage, investigating a plot to kidnap the king, Robert soon realizes that Charlotte is not only the perfect partner in crime; she’s the perfect partner, period. Caught in a dangerous game with deadly flower-named spies and secret members of the Hellfire Club, Robert and Charlotte must work together to reveal the villain and confront their true passion for each other.
Charlotte has been in love with her cousin (don't worry, they're really distant) Robert since she was 12 and he comforted her after he father's death. Now Robert has returned and Charlotte is just as in love with him as ever. To her, Robert is the perfect man-kind, smart, gorgeous, rich, and returning home to claim his title and the women (Charlotte and her rambunctious grandmother-never thought those words would go together)-but what she doesn't know is that the real reason he returned home isn't as pretty as his face. Robert has only come back to the land that is rightfully his (he inherited Charlotte's dad's properties and title when he died) chasing after the man who killed his mentor. During battle in India, one of Robert's fellow British soldiers killed Robert's mentor, some great general whoever who has way less mention than you would think. The fact that Robert is now coming face to face with the life that is rightfully his is coincidental. After researching the man he intends on killing and discovering him to be a member of the mysterious "Hellfire Club," Robert gets intrenched in a plot of political upheaval and he must team up with Charlotte (and her friends Henrietta and Miles) in order to save the kingdom (but not from the French-I almost started cheering when I realized there were no French spies in this book. I have nothing against them just I found them boring in the other books. Cliches are only funny the first time they're mentioned. After a while all the espionage and accents got to me.)
Charlotte is one of my favorite heroines ever, probably because of the whole reading all the time and having a huge imagination thing (both of which I incidentally have in common with her). I loved how believable her innocence was, and its believability was because she knew she was innocent. I know that sounds like it shouldn't work that way but it did and I loved it. It was really corny reading about Robert falling in love with Charlotte, but sweet anyway. And the unicorn references made my heart melt. Penelope annoyed me because of her selfishness and her inability to actually be happy for Charlotte. At times when Charlotte would interpret Penelope's words and expressions as friendship I saw Penelope jealous that her shy, bookish, and not particularly pretty friend is catching the attention of one of the most eligible men around who has no interest in Penelope. Hopefully she'll redeem herself in the next book which is about her. If she doesn't then you'll hear all about it in my review.
4.4 stars.
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