Author: Eve Edwards
Format: Paperback
Pages: 304
Genre: Historical Fiction, Young Adult
Published: 7th July 2011
1586 – London, England. Sixteen-year-old Mercy Hart is the daughter of one of London’s richest – and strictest – cloth merchants. Kit Turner is an actor and the illegitimate son of the late Earl of Dorset. A chance encounter finds Kit falling for the beautiful Mercy’s charms, but their love is forbidden. A merchant’s daughter and a vagabond – it simply cannot be. If Mercy chooses Kit she must renounce her family name and leave her home. Will she favour duty over true love, or will she give Kit his heart’s desire?
*Possible minor spoilers of the previous books*
One of the things I like about these books is that while each of them largely revolves around the main female character, it's the boys who link the stories together. In the previous books, we've seen Will, the young Earl of Dorset fall in love with a girl of no fortune and his brother, James, fall for the lady Will was suppose to marry. This time it's their half-brother Kit's turn to fall in love with the 'wrong' girl.
Mercy comes from a strictly religious background which she takes to another level because of something in her past that she feels was her fault. An invite to her friend's for dinner leads to her meeting Kit and she's immediately attracted to him. However, what she doesn't know is that Kit is a theatre player and therefore not a suitable match for her. Kit is determined to win both Mercy and her father over, changing his laddish habits to try and prove himself.
The Rogue's Princess takes the Lacey Chronicles in another direction in which we are immersed into the world of Elizabethan theatre, complete with a cameo appearance from one Will Shakespeare. I've loved each of the Lacey boys as I've gotten to know them but unsurprisingly, Kit is my favourite. Just that he is considered the 'rogue' of the bunch swung my allegiances in his direction. He's a player in every sense of the word, both on stage and with the women. As soon as he meets Mercy though, he wants to change all that, not just to win her over but because he no longer wants that kind of life. He's dedicated to her from the start.
The story itself is rich in history from Shakespeare to religious conflict and conspiracy. While it's quite obvious that Kit and Mercy end up together, it's a bumpy ride and it's more about how and when it will happen than if it will.
An excellent addition to a great series, all I hope now is that their will be a fourth book centred around the youngest Lacey brother, Tobias.
