Review: 3rd in the Beauvisage Series tells Nicholai's story
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 7, 2012
Wright can tell a good story and this 3rd in the Beauvisage series is no exception, but this one had some improbable plot developments that seemed a bit contrived and that kept me from rating it higher. (I am sparing you details as it would give away the plot.) The story's ok and if you're reading the series you probably won't want to skip this one but I don't think it's the best of the series. (I loved SILVER STORM.)This is the story of Nicholai Beauvisage, younger brother to Alexandre (both of whom we met in CAROLINE). Set in 1793, Nicholai returns to America from his family's estate in France after escaping death during the French Revolution. He lost a woman he loved in the chaos that was the Revolution and now is looking to get back into Philadelphia life with his family. Beautiful and independent, Lisette Hahn, an Austrian immigrant, runs the Hahn CoffeeHouse in Philadelphia, the new capitol. The CoffeeHouse is a meeting place for figures like Thomas Jefferson. Lisette is proud she is able to run the CoffeeHouse alone now that her father is sick but she doesn't know how long that can continue. She just wants an escape and it seems Nicholai is willing to provide one. Just as it looks like something is developing between them, Nicolai gets some news that will take him to London.Wright does a good job creating wonderful characters and the host of those from prior books in the series return for appearances, which weaves the books together. I do recommend reading them in order. As always, Nicholai is charming, but at times Lisette, who is otherwise a strong independent young woman, seemed to make unwise (even bizarre) decisions and was even a shrew for a brief period. I can't say I was fond of that kind of action on the part of the heroine.Should you want to read more, here is the list of books in the Beauvisage series:CAROLINE (1977)TOUCH THE SUN (1978)SPRING FIRES (1983)NATALYA (1991)If you like reading a series in time order, as I do, here are the books in Wright's intertwined Raveneau and Beauvisage series in chronological order:1780 - SILVER STORM1783 - CAROLINE1789 - TOUCH THE SUN1793 - SPRING FIRES1814 - SURRENDER THE STARS1814 - NATALYA1818 - SILVER SEA (originally BARBADOS)TEMPEST (to be released in 2012)