Review: The Secret Life of Lady Julia by Lecia Cornwall

Posted May 24, 2013 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Publisher: Avon, Harper Collins

Just a year or so ago, Julia was a lovely earl’s daughter, celebrating her betrothal to David, the Duke of Temberlay and set for a life of elegance and luxury.

But at her betrothal ball, she meets a stranger, a man who makes her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world—and when your fiancé thinks of you more as a little sister than a bride, that kind of attention can certainly turn a lady’s head.

Thomas Merritt is a thief with a secret past of his own. He attended Julia’s betrothal ball to steal her jewels, but ended up leaving with far more, utterly bewitched by the beautiful, innocent Lady Julia. After their one glorious evening together, Thomas leaves London, knowing he can never be part of her world again.

Julia’s steamy encounter with Thomas Merritt changes her life. Now, she’s no longer an earl’s daughter (disowned), or a duke’s bride-to-be (deceased). She’s an outcast and a mere paid companion to a lady who used to be her equal.

Julia never thought she’d feel as free with a man – or as passionate with a man – as she did Thomas Merritt. She met him in the park and was instantly smitten as was he. When Thomas shows up at her betrothal ball and pays her more attention than her betrothed she goes with it. That night ended up having severe consequences and Julia got disowned. Now she’s on her way to Vienna for a peace conference working as a paid companion. The last person she expects to see is Thomas but eventually that’s what happens.

Julia is used as a listener as no one knows that she spoke German fluently. She winds up getting invited to places she never thought she would but her scandalous past is constantly there in front of her. Her employer starts to fall in love with her but Julia is still hung up on Thomas even though she knew him for such a short time. When she finds out he’s in Vienna and he finds her on one of his thieving missions their paths cross and it wasn’t all for the better.

This was a very interesting book in the fact that it was certainly not anywhere near a typical romance. The h/h are apart for the greater part of the book and when they are together they actually admit that they love each other but basically know nothing about the other. I appreciated the fact that the author wrote that in as it was exactly what I was thinking. It was almost the IDEA of the other person rather than the other person themselves but it worked.

That being said I did have a hard time with the political aspect of the story, of which there was much. Now some folks might like that there is a ton of political intrigue but for me it took away from the romance of the story. I also didn’t care for the fact that the story showed Julia’s employer falling in love with her. I’m not sure why this bugged me exactly but I think it was because, again, it was taking focus from the main characters.

I really liked Julia in this story. I thought for everything that she’d been through she was truly a strong woman. She could have so easily fallen into depression and had the pity party of the century but she held her head high and dealt with the changes in her life. I loved that she didn’t regret a thing that she had done with Thomas either originally or when she was in Vienna. She was totally accountable for her actions and I adore that in a heroine.

Overall a good story that I might have liked better had the h/h spent more page time together. I’d definitely recommend this one for those of you who appreciate historical political machinations.

Rating: 3.25 out of 5

Lecia Cornwall


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