Welcome to Cozy Jo's Romance Review blog. This is where you'll find reviews and discussions on historical or contemporary romance books and maybe a few other bits and bobs thrown in for good measure.
So come on in, sit down and find yourself a good romance book to read.

Sunday 22 January 2012

Storming the Castle by Eloisa James

A fun but short romantic story
4 stars

From a young age Miss Phillipa Damson has known that she will marry Rodney Durfey no matter what she might prefer. So when she hears that there is an ill baby at a nearby castle she sees it as her chance to escape her lot in life and runs away to take a position as nursemaid.

Jonas ‘Wick’ Berwick, the illegitimate brother of Prince Gabriel, serves as majordomo, overseeing the day to day running of Pomeroy Castle in Lancashire. His position in life – not quite a servant but not quite a gentleman – means that he has vowed never to marry. But when Philippa arrives at the castle he can’t help but wish for something different for his life.


This short story is a sequel from James’ A Kiss at Midnight which is the first in the Fairy Tales series. The series is set in Fairytale time with a dusting of the Regency so they aren’t as strict when it comes to historical detail and accuracy. You probably want to have read A Kiss… before reading this one but I don’t suppose it’s 100% necessary.

I’m really glad that Wick got his own story and from the start I thought Phillipa a great match for him. She’s that perfect blend of smart and strong but with a vulnerability in her that makes her likeable and relatable. Wick was also a good hero being proud and strong but truly in need of the love of a good woman. The pair had good chemistry and I was rooting for them throughout.

I debated between giving this 3 or 4 stars but decided in the end to be generous. My reason for this indecision was that due to its short nature the declarations of love came a little too abruptly for me. The conflict was also surrounding whether Wick and Phillipa could be together due to their different statuses but when the book concluded this was apparently a forgotten problem.

Overall this is a fun, quick read with characters I’m glad got their happily ever after. It’s not the best I’ve ever read but it’s a good read to pass an hour or so.

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