I'm not going to go into plot detail on this review - enough others on Amazon have recapped it quite nicely. What I'm going to address are my problems with this book and why I couldn't even make it to page 100 before it damaged the wall. I really don't mind a bodice ripping historical romance on occasion; one does need some fluff from time to time. What I have a problem with is when the fluff is being promoted as historical fiction and not for what it is - romance.

So the hero is Michael Devereaux, the foster son of a great Earl and he's heir to the earldom. *Scratches head* How is it a foster son of questionable parentage becomes heir to an earldom? Weren’t those entailed to blood relatives? Said son of powerful Earl shows up at court with virtually no retinue and not only does no one know who he is, he's treated like dirt and doesn't even get a how-do-you-do from the King? I'm not even going into the disparity between the birth date of the real Princess Renee (daughter of Louis XII), with the date this story takes place (ummm, she'd be eight by my reckoning), let alone a daughter of the King of France making whoopee with a mere painter. Want more? The French ambassador calls a Princess of the Blood a royal whore to her face. More? Unattended, she introduces herself to a strange man and only provides her first name. More? The only lady attending this Royal Princess is her old nursemaid, no maids of honor that I saw.

All this plus over the top flowery prose consisting of way too much hitherto, heretofore and verily was enough to send the book flying. As for the first big sex scene, all I can say is you should be glad I can't quote from the book and post it here. Get it from the library if you must. I'm glad I did. ( )

First off I have to say I loved this cover. Second, from reading the description you would have no clue about a major factor in the plot of this book. As you read Michael Devereaux’s story I had an inkling of what was to come but it was still a surprise when the secret was finally revealed. I thought the first quarter or so of the book was interesting and the last couple hundred pages were great. I did think the book could have been much shorter though as the middle really seemed to drag along.

I seem to be on a Tudor court kick lately without meaning to. It’s great because so far none of the books are the same and each has had it’s own interesting story. Renee’s character is complex and intriguing. Michael did not grab me as much but the over arching story was worth the read. Stop here if you don’t want to know the secret the book description doesn’t mention.

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When Michael kept needing to drink the special potion to keep away the “sweating sickness” he contracted I began to think he sounded like a fledgling vampire but thought “nah, never heard of a vampire story taking place in the court of Henry VIII”. Then when it is finally confirmed it still seemed odd to me. I really liked Sharon’s take on vampires, their origins and the part they played in human history. I just wish this book was about 200 pages shorter. ( )