The Loveday Conspiracy by Kate Tremayne

The Loveday Conspiracy by Kate Tremayne
Buy The Loveday Conspiracy by Kate Tremayne at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Historical Fiction
Reviewer: Sue Magee
Summary: The tenth book in a series - but it nevertheless works well as a stand alone. It's pacy action set mainly in Cornwall but with some exciting action in France. Recommended.
Buy? Maybe	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 496	Date: October 2009
Publisher: Headline
ISBN: 978-0755347674
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Sometimes you wonder if the reviewing gods have been unkind to you. You pick up a book which looks interesting – an eighteenth century historical drama with mentions of Poldark and Daphne du Maurier on the cover had a certain appeal on a late autumn afternoon when the weather didn't even tempt the dogs outside. Then you open the book and it's only when you idly glance at the list of the author's earlier books that you realise that you've made your entry at book ten of a series. Was I courting disaster? Unbelievably, I wasn't. It might be best to start off with the first book in the series but it's not absolutely necessary.

Trevowan Manor has been the home of the Loveday family for generations. It will still be owned by a Loveday but St John Loveday lost the house on the throw of a dice before killing himself – and now his cousin Tristan has the house. St John's twin, Adam, vows that he will punish the man responsible. Amelia has been forced from Trevowan and is now living in a cottage with the other dispossessed women. As if this wasn't enough of a problem, her son from her first marriage, Richard, has become even more than wayward and Amelia is forced to make a difficult choice.

It took me a few chapters – and quite a bit of flicking back and forth to the family tree to get all the Lovedays (and there are a lot of them) sorted out in my mind. I suspect that if you've read any of the earlier books in the series it wouldn't be a problem at all, particularly as all the characters have distinct personalities and you feel drawn into their lives very quickly. There's some 'bringing up-to-date' for those who've missed the earlier books but not to the extent that I think it would bother those who have read them.

There's a real sense of place too. The book moves from rural Cornwall, through the salons of Bath and on to post-revolutionary Paris and some of the darker corners of Royalist France. There's a satisfying ending but it still leaves you wanting to know more about what happens to the Lovedays. I wasn't entirely certain when I started reading this book, but I'll certainly keep an eye out for the next book in the series.

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

If this book appeals then you might also enjoy The Book of Fires by Jane Borodale.

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