The Rose and the Thistle by Laura Frantz

Laura’s storytelling reminds me of hers, filled with politics, intrigue and romance. As a teen, I devoured Anya Seton’s books. It has everything I love: deeply researched historical, slow burn romance and the most beautiful and vivid writing. This was my first Laura Frantz and I devoured it. Those who appear to be adversaries may turn out to be allies–and those who pretend friendship may be enemies. Her fortune, her future, and her very life are at stake. It would be best for everyone if he could send this misfit heiress on her way as soon as possible.ĭrawn into a whirlwind of intrigue, shifting alliances, and ambitions, Lady Blythe must be careful whom she trusts. He has his own problems–a volatile brother with dangerous political leanings, an estate to manage, and a very young brother in need of comfort and direction in the wake of losing his father. No sooner has Everard Hume lost his father, Lord Wedderburn, than Lady Hedley arrives with the clothes on her back and her mistress in tow. But in a house with seven sons and numerous servants, her presence soon becomes known. Secreted to the tower of Wedderburn Castle in Scotland, Lady Blythe awaits who will ultimately be crowned king. In 1715, Lady Blythe Hedley’s father is declared an enemy of the British crown because of his Jacobite sympathies, forcing her to flee her home in northern England. This slow burn historical romance will have you swooning into your cup of tea. Had he made it up? Folding her hands in her lap, she refused to be unsettled by his poetic appraisal. She couldn’t place the verse which was maddening. “And you, milady, have a ‘May face, full of caprice and whimsy and bordering on disgrace.”

“Well played,” he said, his eyes still stern.

So full of frost, of storm, and cloudiness.” Would he reprimand her again like he’d done following the funeral? Studying him, unsure of his next move, she aimed for lightheartedness.

The Rose and the Thistle by Laura Frantz