title: Leonora: Tulips in Winter
author: Pounds, Regina
description: In 1788, Count Stropov and his friend, Prince Boro, trail an elusive thief all over Europe. A chance encounter with an English damsel in distress leads them onto a detour: they wager on who will be the first to seduce the beauty. Instantly, Count Stropov decides he will claim the beautiful Leonora. Stropov's loyalty belongs to his Russian Empress. Leonora's obligations tie her to her English home. Both are duty-driven and passionate. Thrown together into perilous situations, Stropov and Leonora develop a mutual infatuation. He holds her in his sway because her father gambled unwisely. She holds his fate in her hands, ever since he first saw her. Secrets from the past cast their shadow. Present dangers lurk. Stropov and Leonora's stormy relationship turns into more than an interlude, but can they defeat the odds stacked so high against them? Both have courage. Both are honorable. Both lack trust. Yet, if tulips can miraculously bloom in the midst of winter, perhaps their love can survive even the perils that await them in the heart of icy Russia.