Book Review: A Flight of Fancy

Author: Laurie Alice Eakes
Publication Date: October 2012
Publisher: Revell Books
Series: The Daughters of Bainbridge House # 2

Cassandra Bainbridge has twice set aside her scholarly pursuits--once for the London Season and once for her wedding preparations. Love seems a wonderful alternative to study, until disaster strikes. When an accident brings an end to her betrothal, she heads for the country to recover from both her injuries and her broken heart. There she pursues her love for ballooning and envisions a future for herself as a daring aeronaut. But when her former fiancé slips back into her life, what course will she choose?

Filled with the mystique of London society and the charming beauty of the English countryside, "A Flight of Fancy" explores what it means to find the true source of happiness and love amid the distractions of life. Readers will love the next installment in this rousing Regency series from accomplished author Laurie Alice Eakes.

 

 

Nothing caught my attention more on the cover of this book than the hot air balloons in the background. I was just so enthralled with the idea of hot air balloons and I absolutely loved the fact that our main character, Cassandra, was so passionate about them too. I also loved the fact that I don’t think I have ever read a book based on the love for hot air balloons. In the world of literature and fiction today it is so hard to stumble across something entirely new, but this is seldom done so I was very pleased with the idea!

Cassandra Bainbridge is such a dreamer and I think that her love for ballooning, the Greek language, and even the study of physics is what drew me closer to her character. She just possessed such a strong passion for those areas of her life. She is definitely very bookish and highly intelligent which I can really appreciate in any female character, and that makes her all the more easy for me to relate too; besides the physics part! I did feel sorry for her because she thought she was too smart for any man to love and care for her. Alas, her passion for soaring in a hot air balloon thought the baby blue sky prevailed over it all!

There was a great deal of suspense that I immensely enjoyed about this book. Cassandra was put into situations that her cautious character would not usually be placed in. I love that! I think it shows a certain air of chance writing. I think that taking the main character out of his or her comfort zones makes any book that much more interesting. Not to mention all of the adventure that we face as well! I was pleased that we had a great romance, but I was all the more pleased with suspense and action that were added to it.

Now for the best part, hot air balloons! I mean what an interesting concept. I have read a few reviews in which people may have been put off by that aspect, but why would you be? To me it was different and it was executed very well. I feel like so many romances can be overdone and follow the same monotonous order. I have honestly never read a book with that displays the idea of hot air balloning, at least not set in 1812. This author just combined enough of everything to make this book really stand apart from the rest!

Available October 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

***A big thank you to the publishers at Revell for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review***