A royal pain
Ratings10
Average rating3.6
Loved: Fun setting! 1930s England!
Disliked: The story seemed to drag at times.
What will stick with me: I really like Georgie as a character and look forward to following her adventures in the rest of the series!
Georgie is one of Queen Victoria's great-grand-daughter and 34th in line for the throne. But like a lot of aristocrats, she has the title but no money. So when the Queen asks her help to match the Prince of Whales with the young princess of Bavaria who is visiting, Georgie, as everybody, cannot say no. The problem is, the young princess, just out of a convent, is a little out of control and the prince is a lot more interested in Mrs Simpson. And naturally, death is once again on Georgie's path.
Georgie is a nice character: while she has been educated to being a lady, she also lives by her family's principles, never to run or surrender. What interests me most in this series is that it is set in the 1930's England, and mixes historical characters (such as the royal family) with fictional characters. It gives a good look at how people from different status traveled around, ate, clothed, in a word, lived in that era. I warmly recommend Rhys Bowen's books to all who love historical mysteries!
Sadly, I guessed one the responsible parties pretty early on in the book :o(
I just find the idea of a lady not knowing that they should ask for the allowance from the secretary, and not discuss the matter with the Queen... and that of course they should be compensated for the visit. And that she doesn't have a maid... sigh
I like the idea of her cleaning - or opening up service :-D
I knew the twist pretty early on, though.
What ever happened with the body in the library?
A good, 1920s period mystery set in England. The story overall was fairly light on the mystery part and more focused on developing the society story. The main character Georgie is an penniless aristocrat who has to attempt to keep up appearances when asked to keep a visiting princess.
I was charmed by the character and the story but kept mistaking bits from Carola Dunn's period mysteries set in a similar scenario.
Short Review: This the second in the series and starts to stand on its own. Georgie actually does some detective work in this book and does not rely on being in the right place at the right time. The audiobooks continue to be very good and I am looking forward to reading the next in the series. Let reference to Dorothy Sayers and the Peter Wimsey books in the book. But no less humor. Very enjoyable.
My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/royal-pain/
Cute. Entertaining. Light. Brain candy. Quick. Overall exactly what I wanted. Nothing earth-shattering, but well-written entertainment, which has just as much a place in the book world as mind bending literature.