The Winter Queen (Harlequin Historical #970) Book

As Queen Elizabeth's lady-in-waiting, innocent Lady Rosamund is unprepared for the temptations of Court. She is swept up in the festivities of the yuletide season and, as seduction perfumes the air, Rosamund is drawn to darkly enticing Anton Gustavson….

With the coming of the glittering Frost Fair, they are tangled in a web of forbidden desire and dangerous secrets. For in this time of desperate plots and intrigues, Anton is more than just a handsome suitor—he may have endangered the life of the woman he is learning to love….

Library Journal

Sent off to be a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth when her parents disapprove of a romantic relationship, unsophisticated Lady Rosamund Ramsay is a neophyte in negotiating the intricacies of court life. Arriving as the Christmas festivities are just beginning, Rosamund is soon caught up in a wager instigated by the queen herself but expanded upon by the magnetic Anton Gustavson: Rosamund must teach Anton to dance, and he will give her ice skating lessons. But nothing is as it seems at court, including Anton, and while attraction sizzles, danger grows, threatening not only Anton's mission but Rosamund's safety as well. VERDICT Making good use of historical characters and events (including the exceedingly cold winter of 1564, which resulted in a rare Frost Fair on the frozen Thames), McCabe spins a darkly compelling story of passion, greed, and political intrigue that brings the turbulent Elizabethan period to vivid, not always comfortable, life. RITA® Award winner McCabe (High Seas Stowaway) lives in Oklahoma. Note: The attractive cover is an example of the new designs for Harlequin's historical romances.