Review: Dystopian Meets Regency England
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 5, 2012
K. Reed has brought a new spin to the historical genre in this unique mash-up of the Regency period amidst the havoc brought by a plague bringing this part of the world to its knees.  There's a dystopian feel to this world that leaves a constant feeling of tension and paranoia to the story and its characters.  The usual image of Regency England with its romance and glittering balls is completely shattered with the death and lawlessness this story conveys and I applaud the author for daring to be different.Even though many preconceived notions are shattered by this story, there's still some things you can count on.  First and foremost is a to die for hero who goes above and beyond to keep those he cares about safe.  Grayson's created a safe zone amidst the chaos that has befallen the country and to continue to keep things safe he's forced into keeping company with those he detests.  He's soon caught up in a dangerous game that gets deadlier by the minute and puts the one woman he's come to love in danger.  That woman is Juliette, who knows more than she's telling and is more knowledgeable about the military than your average female.  She's a strong heroine, but something about her irritated me at times.  She seemed a bit holier than thou, not fully realizing that sometimes you have to do unspeakable deeds for the common good.  Her swift and violent condemnation of Grayson over beliefs she has about him made me angry with her and made her seem ungrateful.  I still admire her strength and the joy and support she brought to Grayson though and could put aside these flashes of annoyance.  The romance between these two progressed in a believable and very sexy way.  Their sexual interludes started out slowly but full of sexual tension and built rapidly to numerous steamy encounters throughout the second half of the book.The overall feel of this book shows us a bleak world on the verge of exploding into chaos.  Along with the admirable main characters whose love brings a bright spot to the darkness, there's many likable secondary characters whose stories deserve to be told.  As this story doesn't have a definitive ending, I look forward to K. Reed bringing us more from this uniquely thought provoking world.