The Barefoot Princess

January 23, 2006
The witty second entry in bestseller Dodd's Lost Princesses historical series (after Some Enchanted Evening
) chronicles the story of Princess Amy Rosabel, one of the three displaced princesses of Beaumontagne, a small European kingdom. In 1810, Amy is living on Summerwind, an island off the coast of Devon, whose residents have fallen on hard times thanks to the neglect of the Marquess of Northcliff, Jermyn Edmonson. A fierce, impulsive do-gooder, Amy carries out a plan to kidnap the handsome marquess and use his ransom to help the people of Summerwind. When Jermyn's Uncle Harrison refuses to pay the ransom, foiling Amy's scheme, she's left to deal with the irate hostage now residing in her cellar. As the animosity between Amy and Jermyn changes to romantic tension, and they edge ever closer to a sensual love affair, their romance is complemented by subplots involving Jermyn's long-lost mother and Harrison's true intentions toward his nephew. Dodd's intelligent historical romances never fail to please; this latest is no exception.

February 15, 2006
Kidnapping a man was more difficult than it looked, as Amy Rosabel discovers when she abducts Jermyn Edmondson, Marquess of Northcliff. All Amy wants is for Jermyn to pay for stealing Miss Victorine Sprott's idea for a beading machine and neglecting his duties to the residents of the isle of Summerwind. Amy manages to imprison Jermyn in Miss Sprott's house, where he will have time to review his transgressions while Amy waits for his uncle to pay his ransom. But her carefully crafted plan unravels, leaving Amy with a hostile, hotheaded, and handsome nobleman chained up in her cellar. RITA Award-winning Dodd continues her captivating Lost Princesses series, which began with " Some Enchanted Evening" (2004), with this wickedly entertaining, lusciously sensual romance featuring distinctive characters and fairy-tale charm.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)