Review: The Greek Maiden and the English Lord

The Greek Maiden and the English Lord 
by Patty Apostolides
Publication date: September 2010
Publisher: Virtualbookworm.com
The Book Depository/Barnes & Noble

Summary:
Six year old Lily Montgomery wanders from her home in Patras on that fateful night of 1821 when the Ottomans set fire to the Greek city, and is captured by gypsies. Ten years later, she learns about her true identity from her gypsy grandmother and begins her search for her father, who is an English Lord and her mother, a Greek heiress. Her personal journey leads her to England, where she is informed by her cousin, Mrs. Bennington, that her father is away on a trip to the Indies and her mother presumably dead from the war. Lily is sent away to boarding school by Mrs. Bennington. There, she falls in love with Edward Grant, an English lord, but he is engaged to another. When Lily receives news that her father has died in a shipwreck, her whole world turns upside down. She has no funds and is forced to work as a maid to pay her tuition. Love wins the day, however, and a surprise ending will bring happiness to all.

My thoughts:
You can't always judge a book by its cover, or its title. While this book may not physically be an attention grabber, what is inside the book certainly is. Yes, the underlying story is the basic one we see in most romances. Girl meets guy, girl and guy are in love with each other, something keeps them from realizing that the other loves them too, but all is well in the end. But we do love those romances for a reason. In my opinion, The Greek Maiden and the English Lord stands above many of the typical romance novels that I have read, even if it does have the same basic story line. Mrs. Apostolides has an engaging style of writing that pulls you into the story and into the lives of the characters. You empathize with Lily as she seeks her family and deals with shame over her past. You admire Edward for his strong and caring personality. Also, this story is well written and there are many twists and turns that quickly grab and retain your attention. When reading this novel, I was reminded of the historical romances written by Johanna Lindsey that are set in England, but The Greek Maiden and the English Lord is a "clean" romance. I have no hesitations handing this one over to my book-obsessed teenager. Bottom line is, if you enjoy historical romances, this one is a must read.

You can find Patty Apostolides at her website and on Twitter.

A copy of this book was provided by the author.