eBook The Winter Prince (Signet Eclipse) ePub

Author Cheryl Sawyer attempts to bring to life the much rumored (but unconfirmed) romance between Mary Villiers, the Duchess of Richmond and Prince Rupert of the Rhine, nephew to (the eventually deposed & decapitated) King Charles I of England during the early years of the English Civil War.

Mary Villiers is daughter to the infamous George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham (infamous for being lover to King James I and for his infectious charisma & dandified living). She was a very young girl when jealousy and spite lead to the murder of her father & Mary has tried to live a spot-free chaste courtier's life in the court of her informal "adopted" family - that of King Charles I, his wife Queen Henrietta-Maria and their sons. King Charles I is famous for his ineptitude which eventually lead to the overthrow of the English monarchy, and his wife, Queen Henrietta-Maria for her excessiveness, frivolousness and Catholic fervor. We meet Mary when she is 20 and in a passionless but respectful and friendly marriage to the Duke of Richmond. Mary pays court to the King and Queen nearly without question and without asking for favors - loyalty above all.

In walks the darkly handsome, roguish P.O.W. Prince Rupert of the Rhine, followed by his reputation as a ladies man. Mary and Rupert find themselves drawn to one and other and spend a year yearning and resisting their passionate urges. This sounds like a great set up for a good romance set against political turmoil... but the story didn't deliver. The passion is under developed (too many longing gazes and hidden thoughts) and the chance encounters are hokey (like meeting in a dark tunnel beneath the streets of Oxford that no one had traveled for 200 years). The military strategy sessions and battle descriptions did not add to the love story, and the love story did not add to the political history of the time.

Mary is hard to really truly like - her unwaivering loyalty and friendship to the selfish and fickle Henrietta-Maria is frustrating, and, as written, she seems too fragile, unaware and unsure of herself to hold the interest of the worldly, gallant Prince Rupert. Rupert, on the other hand, is a quirky man who holds to a chivalric code, speaks of himself in the third person, keeps odd pets and is a savage on the battle field (all documented to be true).

I wanted to like this book - but I found it to be just "OK" and a bit too slow for my liking. Those interested in reading about King Charles I and Queen Henrietta-Maria may find their presentation here of interest, though it is secondary to the main story. Sawyer keeps their characters consistent with opinions of the time. They are devoted to each other despite their religious differences. The Queen is a bit domineering, extremely fickle, and "meddlesome" in governmental and military affairs. Perhaps it would not have been such a significant flaw at the time if she had good political instinct, but she did not. Nor did her husband - Sawyer shows him to us as the indecisive and inept ruler he was.

To clarify, I did not expect a traditional sappy "historical romance" & was thus disappointed. I enjoy well written historical novels with romantic subplots. I enjoy the suspense of courtship - the Winter Prince just didn't hit the mark. If love expressed solely by whispered phrases once every 6 months and yearning gazes is your game, The Winter Prince is the book for you.

The year is 1642. Trouble is on the horizon, and Mary Villiers, though not a political player, is part of Charles’s inner circle and about to become very involved in the English Civil War, even as she tries to prevent it.

When Prince Rupert of Rhine comes back to England, potentially to lead Charles’s armies, Mary initially dislikes him. He’s at odds with her goal of preventing the army. However, once she accepts that war is inevitable, she slowly warms to him...
Not only does Rupert believe war is the only way to bring parliament to heel, his flirtatious manner with Mary soon has the king's enemies whispering about a scandalous affair. Mary loves her husband, but Mary still finds herself captivated by sexy Rupert. Although she still loves her husband, there’s no passion.

As the battle of civil war rages on, so does the pssion between Mary and Rupert. Can Rupert and Mary balance their other relationships?

Sweeping battle scenes, witty conversation, and declarations of true love will pull a reader into the heart of this Civil War.

‘The Winter Prince’ is a, memorable saga, moving across England, and even across the ocean, to illustrate the course of the war and the people fighting. Although the book starts out slow, the heat of passion between Mary and Rupert, along with the heated battles between King Charles I, his parliament, and a raging civil war provides a crafted, history-rich plot with an intriguing and dangerous romance.

As a historical romance this is pretty decent. Sawyer does a solid job of making sure she utilizes historical detail in a way that keeps the book centered not just in terms of period but also character. Her characters feel historically accurate. Both Mary and Rupert feel authentic and not vehicles for the author to deliver her own modern sensibility.

But coupled with a romance I found a bit too idealized (even before the Restoration, the upper class tended to be a bit more racy I think), the historical accuracy here tends to flatten the characters out a bit. This isn't always the case in other historical fiction, but here, unfortunately I found it the case. My main interest in the two was outside of their romance, and yet the romance ends to be a bit overpowering. Which is a plus for readers looking for something that more centered on the romantic aspect. But for me it felt like any time the romantic plotline was not the focus, the story got a bit slower. Darker. As in the author wasn't as interested and wanted it to be over so she could return to writing some cloying passion. Thwarted and conflicted and otherwise.

With the 17th century of England as its setting, there is an immense amount of information to work with. I think this book does a satisfying job at portraying some of the more subtle intrigue there was during that time period. I liked to see the characters in this novel trying to solve their problems emotionally and physically when there are tens of thousands of lives that would be at stake, and to the lengths with which the characters will go to try and save what they believe is right. I would give it a 3.5 if i could. I got this book for free through Endeavour Press for this review.