Book Review: Fortune's Soldier by Deryn Lake

Title: Fortune’s Soldier

Author: Deryn Lake

ASIN: B00VGF2DYY

Publisher: Endeavour Press

Author’s web site: www.derynlake.com

Genre: Historical Romance

Print Length: 406 pages

Plot synopsis:

In the early 19th century Lady Horatia Waldegrave, daughter of the sixth Earl Waldegrave, falls in love with the subject of a painting, Captain John Joseph Webbe Weston, a soldier of fortune in the distant Austrian army. But John is heir to Sutton Place and a curse that comes with it which condemns all owners of the mansion to terror and misfortune. John and Horatia are drawn into its web. Can they find a way to free themselves from this ancient grudge? Or will their love be doomed by forces out of their control? Fortune's Soldier completes the SUTTON PLACE trilogy about the destiny of those fated to own the doomed manor of Sutton.

I acquired this book as a give-away at the Historical Novel Society 2016 Conference in Oxford, England; which is fortunate, as I probably would not have chosen it myself – it not being a genre in which I have a particular interest. However, I’m glad I did get a copy as I found it an intriguing and absorbing read, although I did find it a little confusing to start with – the main characters are introduced in a flurry of dream sequences and other unusual situations. But after that the story trots along at a good pace and there is always, through much of the book, the intrigue as to whether premonitions will be fulfilled. There is a fantasy aspect to the story that one has to open one’s logical mind to – it is not a simple historical novel. The story spans a number of years and also several trips back in time and is presented as a number of vignettes in space (mainly England and Austria) and time, but the story is well structured and the transitions in time and space are skilfully accomplished.

The characters are well rounded and adeptly created and described and the dialogue is well constructed so that it helps to both develop the characters and drive the story forward. As with the characterisation the description of setting is adroit and gives a very good sense of place – which is particularly important in this novel where place plays a very important part in the plot. If I had one irritation it was the frequent repetition of certain phrases; “And with that …” being one that is particularly common, but it is a small failing that can be easily ignored.

I enjoyed the novel very much and would recommend it, not only to those attracted to historical romance, but also to others that might wish to dip into a genre they would not normally read.

What do others think?

At the time of writing, there were 8 reviews on Amazon.co.uk, with 7 having ratings of 3* and above, and an average rating of 3.9*. The reviews themselves are somewhat understated.

There were 5 reviews on Amazon.com, all of them rated as 3* and above, with an average of 4.4*. The reviews are much more glowing in the US page than the UK page.

There was 1 review on Goodreads.com rated at 3*, and an average rating (over 40) of 4.2*.

Other books by the author (click on the image to go Amazon for more details):