The Forbidden Rose Book

Sherry Thomas fans will like The Forbidden Rose. Probably. Succinct like Thomas, Joanna Bourne's prose nonetheless sings with flare, marrying original metaphors for timeless ideas (e.g. "she was a battlefield of possibilities") and a quintessentially French understatement perfect for a French setting and a French heroine. +1000 pts. for a unique setting and research.

William Doyle and Marguerite de Fleurignac meet in Revolutionary France. Aptly, principle drives Doyle and Marguerite and, in the service of those principles, supreme pragmatism. He, a spy, she, a resistance leader.

I want to carve Marguerite et Doyle into a tree. They may be my favorite couple yet: self-deprecating, competent, and selfless Marguerite and sly, devilish and frank Doyle, who pushes just enough, rough and brawny in a society of aesthetes-- and only unassuming to the undiscerning eye. So undramatic and earthy, he is the everyman and the ideal at the same time, the alpha without the overbearing. I loved his -believable and frank- point of view. I could go on about Marguerite too, so big-hearted and independent.

Let's not forget Adrian. I can't wait for The Black Hawk . Rose can be read as a standalone, but Adrian's point of view here should definitely precede Hawk. Fans will meet his future love interest here too.

Readers enjoying historical romance and weary of ballrooms will enjoy that Marguerite and Doyle's dilemmas actually, you know, matter. Revolutionary-era spies, lacking COMSATs, PCs and voice recorders, carried out intelligence grunt work more often than assassination, but Rose excites as the heroes look over their shoulders for tails or exchange passwords-- vintage spy chic. Bourne invests equal effort in her setting, suspense and spy elements, but as she says, she doesn't write romantic suspense, so the action/conflict always comes back to Marguerite and Doyle.

All told, Bourne's sophomore effort, with bold voice and superb atmosphere, impresses more than her debut, The Spymaster's Lady . She's pared her narrative to the core, made this more pointed, that more powerful. She still writes sexual tension better than full-on love scenes, but that is enough. @.@ I thought I was done with historical romance besides Sherry Thomas, but I think I have another favorite author! I'll wait between books, however, since some plot elements repeat themselves, like the road romance.