The Secret History of the Pink Carnation (book #1)
The Seduction of the Crimson Rose (book #4)
The Temptation of the Night Jasmine (book #5)
The Betrayal of the Blood Lily is another in the Pink Carnation series, which combines modern romance with historical fiction, 18th century espionage, and good old-fashioned romance. In Blood Lily we are reunited with the impulsive and impossible Penelope who has just arrived in India with her new husband, Lord Frederick Staines. Freddie was sent to investigate a British officer in India, and the new couple undergoes numerous adventures on the way. Traveling as their guide in India is Captain Alex Reid, who is more than surprised to discover Penelope isn't the woman he expected her to be.
Overall Review:
This was the most satisfying of all the Pink Carnation novels. The modern story was good because the slow pace was actually okay for once. Eloise and Colin are finally together so the fact that their story would have lost a race against a snail didn't bother me. It was sweet to see their day to day lives as a couple. The historical romance in Blood Lily was satisfying and a lot edgier than the previous books, which made me enjoy it all the more. The other books were all pretty similar, but this one was jarringly different in a wonderful way.
Reading and Plot Speed:
This book, like all the others, was an easy and fast read. And once you reach the exciting parts, you are forced to finish it in one sitting.
Characters:
All the reviews I read about Blood Lily before reading it claimed that Penelope is the best of the heroines in the Pink Carnation series. I was inclined to disagree at the time because I thought her annoying and selfish in previous books. I remembered her as that girl who was friends with Hen and Charlotte and would constantly be putting them down while waiting for them to help her out of whatever heap of trouble she had just gotten into. However, once I started Blood Lily I grew to love Penelope more than any of the rest because she was the first one with not only brain or guts, but both. Another thing I liked a lot was how Alex was of a lower station than Penelope. In all the previous books the girls would marry up, but here Penelope is willing to let go of her extravagant lifestyle as Lady Staines and live life with the man she loves. Alex was a perfect match for Penelope because he completely balanced out Penelope's extreme personality.
Random Thoughts:
My biggest problem with the previous books was how they made sometimes fatal espionage seem fun and harmless. Blood Lily was a little darker and edgier than the others so it did add a bit more genuine historical flavor, but was still a little too fluffy.
5 stars.
The heroines of Lauren
Willig's bestselling Pink Carnation series have engaged in espionage all
over nineteenth-century Europe. In the sixth stand-alone volume, our
fair English heroine travels to India, where she finds freedom—and
risk—more exciting than she ever imagined.Everyone warned Miss Penelope Deveraux that her unruly behavior would land her in disgrace someday. She never imagined she's be whisked off to India to give the scandal of her hasty marriage time to die down. As Lady Frederick Staines waits, Penelope plunges into the treacherous waters of the court of the Nizam of Hyderabad, where no one is quite what they seem—even her husband. In a strange country, where elaborate court dress masks even more elaborate intrigues and a dangerous spy called the Marigold leaves venomous cobras as his calling card, there is only one person Penelope can trust...
Captain Alex Reid has better things to do than play nursemaid to a pair of aristocrats. Or so he thinks—until Lady Frederick Staines out-shoots, out-rides, and out-swims every man in the camp. She also has an uncanny ability to draw out the deadly plans of the Marigold and put herself in harm's way. With danger looming from local warlords, treacherous court officials, and French spies, Alex realizes that an alliance with Lady Staines just might be the only thing standing in the way of a plot designed to rock the very foundations of the British Empire...
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