Review: Fantastic Historical
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 16, 2012
Oh my.  My second historical of the week and this is a complete 180 from the other one that I read.  This is a great story of family, star-crossed lovers, revenge, privilege, scandal and in the end true love.  I loved this book.  I read it one day and I'm still thinking about it.I will say there is a lot going on and there are a lot of characters to remember what the relation to everyone but the main characters, Nicholas and Sterling are perfect.  Their first meeting is intense, emotional and sigh worthy.  I instantly fell in love with both of them.  I cheered for them, cried for them and in the end felt that the ending of the book was the only way for them.  :)There were a couple of things that I didn't like though.  I hated Charlotte and her treatment of others including her family,  In the end, she was selfish, conceited and a brat that needed a spanking and not in a good way.  George was another character that was horrible to everyone around him.  His scenes were hard to take and they dealt with a topic that was swept under the rug a lot during that time period.  I really liked that Ms. Nathan didn't shy away from it nor prettied it up for the reader.  Great job.Did I mention that the book takes several years to be told?  I like that in a historical book because I don't have to rush through the reading.  The writer takes me on a journey through the written words on the page and this was one of the most beautiful told story that I have read in a while.  I felt like I was in the countryside of Maryland not to mention Paris.Keep in mind that this is a true historical written in the manner of Hyer, so the sex is behind closed doors but the tension build is great.  Every time Nicholas and Sterling were in the same room, you can feel the tension that rolled off of them.I really loved the lush settings, the scandals that enveloped Sterling and Nicholas and was completely rewarded in the ending.  Plus, whoever said love wasn't messy is lying.  It was even messy in the Guilded Age.***I received my copy for a blog tour for an honest review.  ***