Review: Very well done!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 7, 2012
I thought this was cleverly done, what with the title. This is the last of the Princes Trilogy, a series of romance novels where the narrative device is the retelling of British folklore that loosely parallels the events taking place in the actual romance. The first was the Raven Prince, then the Serpent Prince, then the Leopard Prince (probably my favorite one). The final part is actually a novella, and it's about a princess - the Ice Princess. A very cute way to wrap up a great trilogy by Ms. Elizabeth Hoyt.The heroine that is our Ice Princess is Coral, a character introduced, along with her sister Pearl, in The Raven Prince. Coral is a courtesan. After a beating from one of her aristocratic protectors left her nearly dead (and badly bruised, to say the least), Coral left that life, somewhat, and became the mistress of Aphrodite's Grotto. Playing Aphrodite herself, she dons a golden mask every night and manages the general revelry, but never offers herself to the patrons.That changes one night when Jimmy, the rather sadistic majority owner of the Grotto, proposes a game of cards. Whoever wins will enjoy Aphrodite herself for seven nights. Scared and disgusted, Coral has no choice but to go along with it. Fortunately for her, Isaac Wargate is present when the scandalous game is proposed. The puritanical captain doesn't approve of the Grotto or of Aphrodite - he has a devil of a time collecting his men whenever they dock, and doesn't like that they lose so much coin and come back stumbling drunk.Seeing Aphrodite/Coral's apprehension, Isaac, who never gambles, joins in. When a bit of luck (or a slip of the hand, you decide) declares him the winner, he claims his seven nights with Aphrodite.But Isaac isn't after sex. He's after Coral. He wants to get to know her, and of course, nothing troubles this deeply suspicious, emotionally guarded young woman more. Slowly, he manages to wear down her defenses, but his seven nights are up, and so is the charade of Aphrodite.Isaac is a wonderful male lead - definitely the strong and silent type, but with a very charming soft side. He's a simple man, and a very good one. He doesn't judge Coral for her occupation and generally seeks to help her, and it's impossible not to root for him when he thinks he's lost her for good.Similarly, it's impossible not to root for Coral. She's incredibly strong considering the life she's led, but as a result is very wary of getting close to people, which is completely understandable. But Isaac offers her something she's never had before, and it's so gratifying to watch her slowly change and blossom into someone new, someone who looks at the world in a new way and doesn't just see greed and lust and misery and exploitation.This was a short but very sweet read, simple in its loveliness, just like the two main characters.