Book Review: The Creole Princess

Author: Beth White

Publication Date: April 7, 2015

Publisher: Revell

Series: Gulf Coast Chronicles # 2

All along the eastern seaboard, the American struggle for independence rages. In the British-held southern port of Mobile, Alabama, the conflict brewing is quieter--though no less deadly. The lovely Frenchwoman Lyse Lanier is best friends with the daughter of the British commander. Rafael Gonzalez is a charming young Spanish merchant with a secret mission and a shipment of gold to support General Washington. As their paths cross and their destinies become increasingly tangled, Lyse and Rafael must decide where their true loyalties lie--and somehow keep Lyse's family from being executed as traitors to the British Crown.

With spectacular detail that brings the Colonial South alive, Beth White invites readers into a world of intrigue and espionage from a little-known side of the American Revolutionary War. Her richly textured settings and characters delight while fast pacing and closely held secrets will keep readers turning the pages.

The French girl was the one to keep in his sights, and not only because she was good to look upon. Behind those golden eyes lurked a dangerous intellect.

The fact that she served the town as schoolmistress, only added to her general air of I am in charge, so do not cross me.

Fishing was a much more productive enterprise than wishing one’s life away.

“Now let us dance away these sober cobwebs before Cinderella must return to her stepmother’s clutches.”

This book is a continuation in the series known as the Gulf Coast Chronicles, as they are both set in Alabama and Louisiana. I will say that it is not necessary to read the first book in this series, The Pelican Bride, although it is definitely worth it because it is just as wonderful. Both books are set during the Revolutionary War, which I love to read about because I don’t often find too many set in this time period. Lyse, our heroine, absolutely made this book for me. The story has a common theme of freedom and our author, Beth White, adds to that theme by bestowing her leading ladies with different ethnicities ranging from French, Indian, and African. Lyse was born to a freed slave and in a time when nothing is certain even for the white man, you can only imagine how on edge everyone else was feeling. This is a story of love, freedom, family, loyalty, and most of all learning to speak up and speak out!

I have really been enjoying a lot of historical fiction lately. I can always appreciate when an author has done more than her fair share of research and allows readers to enjoy the historical setting as it was intended to be read and perceived. She weaves fact and fiction in the most miraculous way. I love a book that teaches me things as I read. We could all use an extra history lesson every now and then. Lyse will win over your heart from the very first page, and you are to be swept up in her love life and watching her make decisions and learning to follow her heart!

***A free copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at Revell in exchange for my honest review***