A Year of Light and Shadows by Helena Fairfax
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Four Point Five Stars.
A Year Of Light and Shadows is a three book anthology, the stories all connecting and following on.
Book 1: Palace Of Deception. Set in the fictional southern Europe principality of Montverrier, this is the tale of Scottish actress Elizabeth Smith, who has been offered a summer job impersonating a missing Princess. She must take the place of Princess Charlotte at a royal investiture ceremony. For five weeks Elizabeth is housebound at the castle learning her character role. Full time bodyguard Léon, rarely leaves her side and they become good friends.
Book 2: The Scottish Diamond. Elizabeth and Léon return to her home town of Edinburgh, Elizabeth to her drama school where they rehearse for Macbeth and tries to find a job. An exhibition at the castle of the famous “Scottish Diamond” offers Léon work, until once again they find themselves embroiled in the plans of the Royal family of Montverrier.
Part 3 is a short story. A Question by Torchlight. Hogmonay celebrations in Scotland and Elizabeth fears she will lose Léon. Can the Italian ever settle in dreary Scotland?
This is a captivating and well written set of stories and is a quick read at just 179 pages in total.
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Book Description
Three spell-binding romantic mysteries in one romance boxed set
Book One: Palace of Deception
From the heat of the Mediterranean….
When the Princess of Montverrier goes missing, Lizzie Smith takes on the acting job of her life. Alone and surrounded by intrigue in the Royal Palace, she relies on her quiet bodyguard, Léon. But who is he really protecting? Lizzie…or the Princess?
Book Two: The Scottish Diamond
To the heart of Scotland…
Home in Scotland, Lizzie begins rehearsals for Macbeth and finds danger stalking her through the streets of Edinburgh. She turns to her former bodyguard, Léon, for help…and discovers a secret he’d do anything not to reveal.
Epilogue: A Question by Torchlight (A Short Story)
A story of mystery and romance…
The approach of Hogmanay in Edinburgh means a new year and new resolutions. Lizzie and Léon have put their year of danger behind them. But something is still troubling Léon, and Lizzie fears the worst…
About the author
Helena Fairfax writes engaging contemporary romances with sympathetic heroines and heroes she’s secretly in love with. Her novels have been shortlisted for several awards, including the Exeter Novel Prize, the Global eBook Awards, and the I Heart Indie Awards. Her first novel was a contender for the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association New Writers’ Scheme Award.
Helena is a British author who was born in Uganda and came to England as a child. She’s grown used to the cold now, and these days she lives in an old Victorian mill town in the north of England, right next door to the windswept Yorkshire moors. She walks this romantic landscape every day with her rescue dog, finding it the perfect place to dream up her heroes and her happy endings.
You can find out more about Helena by subscribing to her newsletter at http://eepurl.com/bRQtsT All new subscribers receive a FREE copy of her novella Palace of Deception
Rosie Amber 