Review of The Queen's Lady by Eve Edwards

Title/Author: The Queen's Lady (The Lacey Chronicles #2) by Eve Edwards
Publisher/Date published: Delacorte BFYR, April 10th 2012
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "1584 – Surrey, England When Lady Jane Rievaulx begins service to the Queen at Richmond Palace, she is thrilled at the court’s newest arrival... Master James Lacey. Despite her previous courtship with his older brother, James is the man she truly loves. And for his part, he cannot deny his fascination with her. However, James is setting sail on a treacherous journey to the Americas, seeking absolution for what he sees as past sins. But when Lady Jane is forced into a terrible situation by her own family, there is only one man to save her. Will Master James return to his lady ­- before it’s too late?"

So, I really enjoyed The Other Countess, the first book in the Lacey Chronicles and the main characters in The Queen's Lady, Jane, made her debut in that one already. And I really liked Jane, so I was happy to see she was getting her own story!

Jane is seen by everyone as being cold and haughty when in fact she's not at all. It's just the fact that she's a woman and the loyalties of even her own maids lie with her father and even more with her brother. So it would be pretty hard for her to trust anybody. Jane doesn't come from a loving family and is mostly used by both her father and brother as a means to further themselves in society. Because that's what girls are for right? (stupid men)

In the previous novel I really, really liked James. He was fun and friendly and charming and just someone to fall in love with. In The Queen's Lady he turns a lot darker and harsher and I'm not sure I appreciate this change. I get that he's had some life-altering experiences fighting in the war, but well, let's say I could have done without him having undergone them. I did love the family dynamics between James and his brothers and even the half-brother they never knew they had up until this novel.

Like Ellie in The Other Countess, Jane needs a lot of rescueing. And you know, I like my heroines to at least give the rescueing a good try themselves and in this both novels have let me down. And I thought the 'bad guys' who were threathening her were able to go really far without anyone even trying to do anything about it. Not even Jane's brother and father tried to protect her, something I definitely don't understand. I mean, she was valuable to them as in that they wanted her to marry someone of their choosing again, so why not protect her?

I did think this was a sweet, fast read and I'm definitely picking up the last novel in the trilogy The Rogue's Princess cause its main characters is Christopher, the half-brother and I find him endlessly fascinating!

My rating: 3,5 stars