She's So High - Tal Bachman

The Queen's Lady
The Lacey Chronicles, Book 2

Author: Eve Edwards
Pages: 313
ARC Acquired from: Delacorte Books for Young Readers via NetGalley

Description from Goodreads:
England, 1584.

When beautiful Lady Jane Rievaulx begins her service to the Queen at Richmond Palace, she is thrilled to see the court's newest arrival . . . Master James Lacey.

No matter that Jane was previously courted by the eldest Lacey brother—James is the one who has won her heart. For his part, James cannot deny his fascination with Jane; his plans, however, do not allow for love. He is about to set sail on a treacherous journey to the Americas, seeking absolution for what he sees as past sins. But when Jane is forced into a terrible situation by her own family, only one man can save her. Will Master James return to his lady before it's too late?

First Sentence: "It was a sad fate to have only three people in the world who really cared about her."

Review:
Not gonna lie, the opening of The Queen's Lady threw me for a loop. Last I knew where the characters were left in The Other Countess, Lady Jane was going to go find James and tell him why she broke off her engagement to his brother (aka because she thought his younger brother was the sexy). In the opening section of this book, though, I am shocked and appalled to discover that Lady Jane has gone and married a wealthy old geezer (like she initially planned, although she does actually like him and he's saving her from shame, so that's good I guess) and James, accompanied by Diego, is at war. What?!?

From an intellectual standpoint, I guess I know that they can't confess their love at the beginning of a romance novel. I mean, where do you go from there? Babies, that's where. So this is all for the best, but it was still quite alarming. So watch out for that. It's always so startling when series pick up months or years down the road and everything waaaaay different than you expected.

The only real issue I have reading historical fiction is how freaky it is to think about how young these women are. Jane is 18 in this book, but was going to be married off in the first, when she was, unsurprisingly, younger. And she'd been eligible for marriage for a few years. Yikes. I am so glad that feminism happened. I mean, in olden days, I would either have a gaggle of children by now or be a spinste (note: I'm 24). The cover captures this awkwardness perfectly. The girl is quite pretty, but she looks a bit like a child trying on an adult's dress. This is what I remind myself of when I over-romanticize the past.

Although I did enjoy reading The Queen's Lady, I definitely preferred the first book in the series, The Other Countess. The difference lies mainly in the heroine. Ellie just had so much spirit and was very much not the typical lady in the Elizabethan era. Jane is much more well-behaved and rule-following. Of course, she does sometimes, but not nearly enough. She nearly gets herself trapped in a terrible future by not standing up for herself, which is just stupid. I guess I should have seen it coming, since she came close to doing so in the last book too.

Although I was slightly disappointed, you better believe I'll be reading the next book, The Rogue's Princess, when it comes out in January 2013. These are light, fun reads for anyone who wants a little more costume drama in their life!

Rating: 3.5/5

Favorite Quote: "'I will only be offended if you refuse to kiss me again, as then I'll be convinced I'm a failure at it.'"

"First class, fancy free, she's high society
She's got the best of everything
Why could a guy like me ever really offer?
She's perfect as she can be, why should I even bother, ah ha
Cause she's so high
High above me, she's so lovely"