Elizabeth Hoyt, The Leopard Prince

The Leopard Prince

Elizabeth Hoyt

Warner, Apr 2007, $6.99

ISBN: 0446618489

In 1760, twenty-eight-year-old Georgina Maitland is wealthy so she can enjoy being single; she has no plans for a spouse as that means giving up her independence. When her sister pleads with her to return to the family estate in Yorkshire, she flees London with her land manager Harry Pye.

At her home, she learns that their neighbor, Magistrate Silas Granville, blames Harry for poisoning his sheep and demands she fire him before he arrests him. George refuses and directs Silas to leave her home. As tension mounts because Silas and Harry have a history involving his father, George and her estate manager fall in love. However, he will do nothing to jeopardize her position while she fears losing her autonomy if she boldly goes after the man she loves.

This is an interesting Georgian romance between an aristocrat and her commoner employee that showcases what happens when a person in authority abuses their public trust. The storyline is at its best when it concentrates on the lead pair, including incidents fostered on them by their odious neighbor. Silas is so nasty he is more a caricature of an abusive person, though his actions serve as a warning not to allow one person so much authority even in a localized setting. He affirms Lord Acton's admonition on power and another of his cautionary commentaries that "Every thing secret degenerates, even the administration of justice; nothing is safe that does not show how it can bear discussion and publicity." Elizbath Hoyt provides an exhilarating historical romance that will have waiting for the next prince to appear.

Harriet Klausner