Title: Echoes in the Mist Series: Kinglsey in Love
Author: Andrea Kane
Read copy: Mass Market Paperback
Published: February 1, 1994
Publisher: Pocket Books
ISBN: 0671755331
ISBN-13: 9780671755331
Trenton Kingsley, the embitttered Duke of Broddington, has dreamt of the day that he would avenge his beloved father's death. Returning suddenly from self-imposed exile on the Isle of Wight, he takes aim at the man he holds responsible...the unscrupulous Baxter Caldwell, Viscount Winsham. In a masterstroke of irony, he forces the viscount's hand and walks away with his most precious posession...his innocent sister, Ariana.
Ariana Caldwell has grown up in the shadow of a secret family tragedy, at the heart of which lay Trenton Kingsley. Forced to marry a man she had been led to hate—and fear—Ariana is helplessly caught in the renewed fury of an ancient feud. But despite the danger, her husband's unaccountable torment only draws Ariana closer, and her instincts will not allow her to retreat. Caught between Trenton's brooding desire and her brother's imperious demands, Ariana is on an odyssey for the truth...consumed by the promise of a passionate, overwhelming love.
My rating:
Six years ago, supposedly for causing a woman to commit suicide, Trenton Kingsley, Duke of Broddington, has moved to his estate in the Isle of Wight, into self-imposed exile. Now, he's back, determined to forever ruin the man he deemed responsible for the ruination of his life, Baxter Caldwell, the brother of the dead woman. Trenton is willing to do anything to accomplish his revenge, even using Caldwell's younger sister, Ariana, as a pawn.
Ariana Caldwell has grown up on stories about Trenton Kingsley's ugly character, but even though she's supposed to fear him, she doesn't. There's something in him that draws her in, convincing her all he needs redemption for whatever happened six years ago, and she's willing to provide it.
But someone doesn't want Trenton to be happy and that someone is determined to accomplish what the incident in the past has obviously failed to do. Utterly ruin Trenton Kingsley, no matter what.
Oh, wow.
It might sound presumptuous, but hey, it's my review. This story was a psychological drama disguised as a romance. And it worked. All of it.
The characters were engaging and realistic, deeply-layered and nicely drawn and developed. The story progressed at a perfect pace for the relationship and romance to grow slowly and organically; as Trent and Ariana slowly grew to know each other so did the reader and it is from that knowledge (mostly through observation, since words can sometimes be deceiving) that the romance, no, love, blossomed.
What worked most was the ambiguity. Ariana was the guide in the story, and the reader knew as much as Ariana did. The reader shared her apprehension, her doubts, her reasoning, and her thinking process. Who is Trenton Kingsley? What drives him? Did he really have a hand in her sister's death? What is the truth? What is a lie? What is an illusion? Who to trust?
The truth is hidden for most of the story, so the apprehension, the doubts as to the hero's true nature and/or intentions are real. The wondering, whether he's capable of what he's accused of, is incessant, even though instinct dictates there's more to it that meets the eye.
And in the end, it takes both observation, instinct and truth from his lips (as trust is finally established) to put the fears and doubts to rest, and for a man to finally find redemption and love.
But of course, that's not the end of the story. There's also an evil villain, their unwitting accomplice, and a nefarious plot to ruin Trenton (and Ariana in the process) out of pure spite, might I add.
The psychological torture was exquisitely done, finding both intended targets with chilling precision.
Intense, intriguing, chilling and alluring, this story is definitely a keeper.
5 stars, Andrea Kane, bitchslappable heroine/hero, favorites, historical, historical romance, re-read, suspense/mystery/adventure/thriller, victorian
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