The Noble Guardian by Michelle GriepMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
As a stand-alone, this story is top notch. While it may be a trilogy, it does not depend upon the previous books, very straight forward and quite an excellent read.
As a historical read, it left a lot to be desired.
There were far too many modernisms in dialogue ("save your drama," "suit yourself,") and narration that would jerk me back to the present. There were no rubber pants back in those days, so the sheer work of hygiene would be almost insurmountable on a road trip because diapers were rarely changed and the waste was not washed out. The smell would have been unbearable in a closed in coach. Historical readers care about this kind of thing.
This is the problem with today's historical romance. No one seems to care about historical accuracy and authenticity--such as an upper class lady going cross country without a lady's maid or companion. For Regency times, this would be enough to completely ruin a woman's reputation to the point of equating her with harlotry. Griep did a good job of making the reader believe going back was impossible and the only way was to go forward not matter what awaited. But--servants and the lower class innkeepers and merchants were just as snotty as the upper class. No innkeeper would allow a woman traveling by herself to have a room. That would ruin his reputation as a good place to stay.
Pardon my little rant here but no gentleman of those times would consider taking a gentlewoman on a trip like this without a maid or companion. Samuel is written as a gentleman and sharply compared to a born gentleman who doesn't act as such. This puts it in the realm of a fairy tale, but wait! Even fairy tales keep princes in their correct social status.
However, the storyline and the romance was pretty good. So if you don't care about authenticity, you'll enjoy the read.
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