A review by faerieminstrel
The Deception of the Emerald Ring by Lauren Willig
4.0
In this third installment of the Pink Carnation series, Lauren Willig continues to entertain and impress. The romance is subtle (barring one particularly steamy scene) and the mystery and intrigue is enough to keep me plowing through the series. Willig does a great job of linking the "Black Tulip" storyline not only to this particular volume, but to at least the next (and perhaps beyond).
The Eloise-Colin sub-plot, anchoring us a bit in the modern-day, does just enough to unify the whole of the Pink Carnation story, as well as to compliment, and perhaps even break-up the main narrative just enough to keep you guessing (and perhaps even re-cap the important points). Willig nicely balances the modern/Regency elements, never bogging the reader down too much with either storyline.
[As an aside, I have to admit that what I most love about Eloise and Colin has less to do with the potential of their blossoming romance, and far more to do with how Eloise can gush to Colin about all of her research findings. As a former academic (or perhaps, an academic on hiatus), I am always happy to have people around who appreciate my excitement over various things I've only just discovered/learned/connected (no matter how tenuously).]
Third books, I feel, often have the possibility of losing the readers and keeping them from wanting to keep reading, but I found none of that here.
That said, I am off to start book four!
The Eloise-Colin sub-plot, anchoring us a bit in the modern-day, does just enough to unify the whole of the Pink Carnation story, as well as to compliment, and perhaps even break-up the main narrative just enough to keep you guessing (and perhaps even re-cap the important points). Willig nicely balances the modern/Regency elements, never bogging the reader down too much with either storyline.
[As an aside, I have to admit that what I most love about Eloise and Colin has less to do with the potential of their blossoming romance, and far more to do with how Eloise can gush to Colin about all of her research findings. As a former academic (or perhaps, an academic on hiatus), I am always happy to have people around who appreciate my excitement over various things I've only just discovered/learned/connected (no matter how tenuously).]
Third books, I feel, often have the possibility of losing the readers and keeping them from wanting to keep reading, but I found none of that here.
That said, I am off to start book four!