Author: Lisa Bergren
ISBN: 978-43476432-4
Author: Lisa Bergren
ISBN: 978-43476432-4
Romance, danger, travel through Europe, and people who live in a magnificent, historic castle--Lisa T. Bergren sets the stage for intrigue in her second novel of “The Grand Tour Series,” Grave Consequences.
Bergren opens the narrative with two strong, contrasting emotions. Cora, along with her half-siblings and wealthy friends, are traveling by rail to Provence, France. As the train is leaving the platform in Paris, a wealthy French lord, Pierre de Richelieu, rushes to her window with a red rose. Then he kisses his fingers and places them against the glass. “That might have been the most romantic thing I’ve ever seen,” says her companion Lil. But fantasies of love are cut short as Cora notices a suspicious man several rows up spying on her. The danger of being kidnapped is all too real.
Like all good romances, the hero and heroine need to find their way to one another. The pathway becomes even more complicated when there are two attractive suitors. Both charming Pierre and the grounded tour guide Will are vying for lovely Cora’s affections, pulling her in opposite directions. In the meantime, our heroine if facing personal challenges as she has discovered that she is the illegitimate daughter of a copper baron who intends to control her future.
Lisa Bergren’s writing is rich with historic detail and vivid scenes. For example: “It was exhilarating, being here, so near the top of the mountains, on top of this ice set in place by the hand of God thousands of years ago…. Along the two miles we walked, we saw cirques—rounded carvings in stone and ice, like massive, natural amphitheaters. We saw ridges hewn into razor-sharp tips, and valleys in sweeping, rounded rivers still filled with the last vestiges of glacial meltings.”
Personally, I would have liked to see a two-page recap of the first
book for those who haven’t read it as well as for those who read it
but would appreciate a reminder of the characters and plot.
I recommend this book for readers who enjoy inspirational fiction and clean romance with an underlying spiritual message. Fortunately, readers won’t have to wait long for the third book in the series, Glittering Promises, to be released this fall.