I don't comment on book covers, I have a decent imagination, I don't really have to rely on a cover artist to paint a picture for me, Yes, some of them are gorgeous and nice to see, but I can handle making up my own faces,
But in the case of Lyn Stone's A Royal Murder, I got completely distracted, The man on the cover is nothing at all like I imagine Ryan McDonogh, He's too old, he's too small, he's sort of weasellike, and his hair is, quite clearly, not his own, It's jarring, and it bugged me every time I closed the book,
Ahem. That out of the way,
Ryan McDonogh is an American expat living in Montebello, one of the settings for the Romancing the Crown continuity, He's investigating the death of Desmond Caruso, nephew of the king, from the last book, Into his life comes Nina Caruso, Desmond's halfsister, who's traveled over to do some investigating of her own, He's assigned to watch over her and to check into her background, just in case,
As with many great plots, the two don't get along right away, They test each other, they discover each other's strengths and weaknesses, and, of course, they fall in love,
Not before someone's trying to kill Nina off, though, Someone's convinced that Nina's come to throw a wrench in the works and that she knows about the plan to get at the heart of Montebello's prince, To that end, the wouldbeassassin is willing to do anything to keep Nina quiet,
I enjoyed reading the book, though I did have a few issues with it, First, of course, the cover, Second, I didn't quite buy the relationship between Ryan and Nina, It felt, even at the end, a little too removed and reserved, despite the proclamations of love and proposals of marriage, It didn't seem genuine, I guess, but rather like it was supposed to happen and
so, oh well, ho hum, we'll go along with the plot,
I also felt that Ryan's dark secret, which was hinted at all through the book but only fully explained at the end, was likewise lacking the emotional punch it needed to make it feel real to me.
Still an entertaining read, I just wish it had sparkled a little more,
A Royal Murder by Lyn Stone released on Aug,is available now for purchase, Lyns foray into book length fiction began in the earlys, and she signed her first contract with Harlequin Historicals on Valentines Day,, Flowers, candy, kisses, and a book sale, too! There will never be another day quite like that one! she says, I always loved to write and even got excited about doing reports and term papers, I neglected other homework just to make that short story for English class as riveting as I possibly could, Even so, she never really considered writing as a career until much later, Instead, Lyn studied art and worked in Europe while she visited the places she now writes about in her historicals, At that time, she was painting those sights and selling pictures, While working at Boeing as an illustrator, s Lyn's foray into book length fiction began in the early 's, and she signed her first contract with Harlequin Historicals on Valentine's Day,.
"Flowers, candy, kisses, and a book sale, too! There will never be another day quite like that one!" she says, "I always loved to write and even got excited about doing reports and term papers, I neglected other homework just to make that short story for English class as riveting as I possibly could, "Even so, she never really considered writing as a career until much later, Instead, Lyn studied art and worked in Europe while she visited the places she now writes about in her historicals, At that time, she was painting those sights and selling pictures, While working at Boeing as an illustrator, she had the idea of trying to freelance book covers, Since she liked to paint faces and figures, romance novels seemed a logical choice, However, the field of cover art is highly competitive and she discovered it would take a great deal of research and preparation, While studying the market on covers, she became firmly hooked on the contents of the books and decided to try writing instead, "Definitely one of my better decisions," she admits, She is still an avid romance reader and manages to read an average of four per week in addition to one or two books outside the genre, Lyn feels a special affinity for England and Scotland with their wonderful castles and intriguing history, The American South and Southwest are her favorite settings for contemporary adventures, She and her husband, Allen, both natives of Georgia, live in North Alabama near their two children and four grandchildren, "The family contributes to my research," Lyn says, "They buy me books, clip articles, sketch costumes, and sometimes act out scenes, Even the grandchildren serve as inspiration for the younger characters, " sitelink.