In the Lost Princesses trilogy, the French Revolution has swept Europe into turmoil. The king and the dowager queen of the small mountainous country of Beaumontagne have sent his three young daughters to England for safety.
In the neighboring little county of Richarte, a cruel usurper has seized the throne from the rightful prince. He’ll do anything to find and kill the princesses, for the eldest princess and the prince are destined to wed in order to unite the two countries.
In the first book, the middle princess, Clarise, and her younger sister Amy live the lives of peddlers and charlatans. They claim to be exiled princesses to sell face creams made with special “royal” ingredients. Though their scam often works, it’s attracted the attention of a nefarious English magistrate who wants to see Clarise hung. As they employ their skills in a little Scottish town, the local laird takes Clarise under his protection, but he doesn’t believe she’s a princess.
Robert MacKenzie, the earl of Hepburn, needs to rescue his friend from a vicious officer in the English Army and requires Clarise’s help. After seduction fails, he blackmails her into helping him.
Clarise is a kind, beautiful, compassionate woman who always tries to make other people feel good about themselves.
Robert is stubborn, determined, so single-minded in his objectives, and downright cold at times. Once you learn his back story, however, his calculated coldness makes a lot of sense and you see the honorable man underneath the dark veneer.
My favorite character is Lady Millicent, Robert’s older spinster sister. I loved the way she blossomed into her own woman, gained confidence, and finally started to live her life.
Though Robert got his revenge and I loved the way it happened, I wished the despicable Colonel Ogley would’ve been publicly humiliated and punished for his sins.
There are a few unanswered questions. The most important one, in my opinion, is that Clarise and her sisters went into hiding because people wanted to kill them. By the end of the story, Clarise is no longer “hiding” and it should be very easy for the bad guys to find her, but this isn’t mentioned as if she’s no longer in danger. Also, I found the timeline of the story confusing. The princesses have lived in England for several years, but there are discrepancies as to how long when you compare the number of years to their ages.
The pacing slowed in the middle. There were a few typos but nothing major. I love stories told in multiple POVs—more than just the H/h—but this one sometimes lacked scene breaks to denote the change, which led to confusion. Even so, I really enjoyed it, and I’m anxious to read the next book in the series.
4 Stars
( )

I picked up the novel with the exquisite cover art and immediately thought of one of my Mother's favorite songs ~ Some Enchanted Evening ~ as performed by Frank Sinatra and I could often hear the music and the words in the back of my mind as I read this historical romance.

"Some enchanted evening, you may see a stranger,
You may see a stranger across a crowded room,
And somehow you know, you know even then,
That somehow you'll see here again and again.
Some enchanted evening, someone may be laughing,
You may hear her laughing across a crowded room,
And night after night, as strange as it seems,
The sound of her laughter will sing in your dreams.

Who can explain it, who can tell you why?
Fools give you reasons, wise men never try.
Some enchanted evening, when you find your true love,
When you hear her call you across a crowded room,
Then fly to her side and make her your own,
Or all through your life you may dream all alone.
Once you have found her, never let her go,
Once you have found her, never let her go."
Songwriters: Richard Rodgers
Some Enchanted Evening lyrics © EMI Music Publishing

Earl of Hepburn (Scotland), Robert MacKenzie's stranger is Princess Clarice of Beaumontagne. And Princess Clarice's stranger is Robert MacKenzie. It's a dazzling love story of the ages. And for all those who have ever questioned whether life should be fulfilled by duty and honor or by following one's heart, it is a novel not to be missed. ( )

This was a fun quick read. I haven't been reading many historical romances in the last few years and had forgotten how fun they can be...and quirky...and over-the-top...along with a bit of cheesy dialogue...lol. Christina Dodd is always a fun read.

This this the first in the trilogy "The Lost Princesses". When revolution comes to their country following the revolt in France, the three young princesses are bundled off to England for safety. Over time, circumstances change and their whereabouts become unknown. Now that the country is safely back under the family's control, the Dowager Queen wants to bring the princesses home.

Rating: 3.5 ( )

What a great story! I laughed and cried many times! Such wonderful writing and really engaging characters!! I love this authors work!!

Loved the princesses adventures. This was a great start to the series!

I am currently on a Regency kick and this one was terrific!! ( )

The first book in a trilogy. Fairly enjoyable; I might read the others.

Clarice is a princess without a country. She is exile with her little sister, hiding from those intent on taking her country and removing her grandmother from power. She is the second sister of three, and travels around peddling beauty products to young ladies throughout the UK. Undercover (so to speak), she calls herself a princess but doesn't say where she is from, which seems strange to me, but I will let it go. Classic historical romance hero Robert not only ferrets out who she really is, but also falls madly, deeply in love with her. Nothing new with the storyline from other novels of the type, but I did find it an amusing way to pass the afternoon.

What saved it for me was the last chapter and the epilogue. It took it from "meh" to "maybe I will read the other two." ( )