Goddess Fish Promotions Book Review: Victorian Scoundrel

Victorian Scoundrel

by Stephanie Burkhart

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BLURB:

It's 2011 and compressed natural gas has taken over from the coal producing steam machines of the Victorian Age. Alice Windsor, Princess of York, follows her mischief-making cousin, Edmund of Wales, back to 1851 where Prince Albert is hosting Britain's Great Exhibition.

Alice soon finds herself over her head in trouble. Edmund is determined to help Prince Albert build a dirigible and the prime minister appears intent in preventing her from stopping Edmund. Alice knows it's too early for the massive flying machine to take to the air. Complicating matters is the passionate Grayson Kentfield, Earl of Swinton. Alice can't stop her pulse from pounding when she's near him.

Can Alice give her heart to a man from the past while working to stop Edmund from changing history?

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EXCERPT

Tired and thirsty, she finally made it to the courtyard. Edmund was nowhere to be found. She should have expected it, really. No doubt he was in the palace filling their great-grandfather's head with forward-thinking ideas. She crossed her arms, staring at the steps. Several carriages waited nearby. No one in their right mind would let her into the palace looking like she did -- like she had just stepped out of the gutter.

"Excuse me, who are you?"

Alice spun around to find herself face-to-face with two gentlemen who stood near one of the waiting carriages. One gentleman was older, Alice guessed in his fifties, one younger. The older gentleman stared at her like she truly was a guttersnipe, but the younger one -- he was tall, with chiseled cheeks and sensitive hazel eyes. His broad chest filled his suit well and he measured her with a cool, appraising look that hinted at... appreciation. An uncomfortable feeling washed over her. Never had a man's stare made her feel so... warm.

"Well?" asked the older gentleman.

Alice straightened her posture with her usual royal dignity and took off her glasses as she always did when she introduced herself. "I am Her Royal Highness, Princess Alice of York."

The men looked at each other, at her, then back at themselves. She wasn't sure if they were befuddled, confused, or wanted to laugh. Finally, the older gentleman spoke. "Princess Alice is seven years old."

Alice bit the inside of her lip, realizing she had totally forgotten where she was due to the younger gentleman's attention. She slid her glasses back on. "Simply call me Alice -- Alice Windsor."

"And you may call me Prime Minister."

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Review: I read the second book in this series a few years back. It was full of wibbly wobbly timey whimey goodness, so when I got the chance to review the first book in the series, I was thrilled.

This book is a quick steampunk read and a great start to the series. I love Alice and Edmond Windsor. It was great to finally see how the story started.

The story combines all the wonderful things that make steampunk such a great genre, while adding a touch of romance between Edmund and Keira, the prime minister's daughter and Alice and Grayson. 

The mixture of present day and Victorian times makes the book all the more interesting. Something about this series reminds me of the Doctor Who epis set in Victorian England. I expect to see Strax, Vastra and Jenny at any given time. Maybe its just the time frame, or maybe its the time travel element of the story or maybe I still love working Doctor Who into everything I can.

But back to the story, Edmund is making mischief in Victorian times and Alice is trying to make sure he doesn't succeed in messing up the timeline. Burkhart really pays attention to detail in this book in regards to The Great Exhibition and The Crystal Palace.

If you are looking for a great way to get into the steampunk genre, this is a good series to start with and I can assure you the second book is just as good.

Rating: 5 stars

AUTHOR Bio and Links: 

Stephanie Burkhart is a 911 dispatcher for LAPD.  She was born and raised in Manchester, New Hampshire.  She served 11 years in the US Army and currently calls Castaic, California her home. Stephanie was married in Denmark in 1991 and has two young sons. She adores chocolate and is addicted to coffee.  She writes paranormal, contemporary, and steampunk romance and has two children's books published with 4RV Publishing.

FIND ME ON THE WEB AT:

WEBSITE:

http://www.stephanieburkhart.com

TWITTER:

http://twitter.com/StephBurkhart

FACEBOOK:

https://www.facebook.com/StephanieBurkhartAuthor

GOOD READS:

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4031660.Stephanie_Burkhart

YOU TUBE CHANNEL:

http://www.youtube.com/user/botrina?feature=mhee

PINTEREST:

http://pinterest.com/sgburkhart/

BUY LINKS:

AMAZON KINDLE:http://www.amazon.com/Windsor-Diaries-Book-One-ebook/dp/B0058UG9Q6/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1316808713&sr=1-1

BARNES & NOBLE NOOK:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-windsor-diaries-book-one-stephanie-burkhart/1104099940?ean=2940012813824&itm=1&usri=victorian%2bscoundrel

ALL ROMANCE EBOOKS:

http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thewindsordiariesbookonevictorianscoundrel-571272-141.html

PUBLISHER'S BUY LINK:

http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-183/Stephanie-Burkhart-Victorian-Scoundrel/Detail.bok

KOBO:

http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/The-Windsor-Diaries-Book-One/book-QYpbdTFmHEm64JwO_p9T1w/page1.html?s=-6Oq9Moeg0STYnHLUVccWQ&r=7

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