Published:
January 6th, 2012 by Covenant Communications
Format: eBook
Source:
Purchased
Group age:
Adult
Genre:
Historical (Regency) Romance (very clean!)
Challenge(s):
2013 eBook Challenge
Grade rate: A+
After five years of
tracking and capturing spies on English soil, Philip Jonquil, Earl of Lampton,
is in pursuit of his last quarry. But at a traveler’s inn, he encounters an
unexpected and far more maddening foe: Sorrel Kendrick, a young lady who is
strikingly pretty, shockingly outspoken, and entirely unimpressed with him.
Indeed, Sorrel cannot believe the nerve of this gentleman, who rudely accuses
her of theft and insults her feminine dignity. Doubly annoyed when they both
end up at a party hosted by mutual friends, Philip and Sorrel privately declare
war on one another. But Philip’s tactics, which range from flirting to
indifference, soon backfire as he finds himself reluctantly enjoying Sorrel’s
company; and, much to her dismay, Sorrel finds Philip’s odd manner to be
increasingly endearing. In the midst of this waning war and growing attraction,
Philip catches wind of the French spy he’s been tracking, and Sorrel
inadvertently stumbles upon a crucial piece of the puzzle, making her
indispensable to the mission. But can two proud hearts negotiate a ceasefire
when cooperation matters most?
My Review
Oh wow! I felt
that when I opened this book I was given a rare jewel (pardon the corniness). Friends & Foes is, without a doubt, one of my favorite
romances of all time.
What makes this book so good? The marvelous characters! They are flawed yet wonderful at the same
time. Phillip (I have really good luck
with characters with this name!), is an English spy and pretend dandy that
cares deeply for his family. He is not
fooling everyone with the charade, least of all Sorrel. Phillip is loyal,
caring, and good natured. I love Phillip’s
war tactics and rules!
Sorrel has a difficult life. Her childhood was not all that happy and her
parents leave a lot to wish for. Nonetheless,
Sorrel grew up to be fiercely loyal and caring, but forced herself to put on a tough
façade to protect her heart. What I
liked more about Sorel was that she refused to be a damsel in distress, she is
a strong character and she can curse like a sailor to prove it! The
banter between Philip and Sorrel is priceless! It is, in fact, a war of
words that I enjoyed immensely.
All the characters are so well developed and unique. I love Crispin and Catherine (I have to read
their story soon!), and Sorel’s siblings, Fennel and Marjie.
The plot is, all in all, good, but predictable. The
writing, however, is an absolute gem.
Everything, from the descriptions and especially, the dialogue are so
good. The characterization, as you can probably tell from my inarticulate
gushing above, is amazing. Ms. Eden
managed to create a host of characters that will leave in my memory for a long
while. My only objection for Friends & Foes is that I wished for
an epilogue or something more at the ending, but maybe we will get to visit
with Sorrel and Phillip in the next books of the series.
As you can imagine, I purchased another one of Ms. Eden’s
books right away, Seeking Persephone,
and I already read it (review coming soon :)
If you enjoy historical romance,
I highly recommend Friends & Foes.
I can’t wait to read more about the Jonquil brothers and
thankfully there are seven of them :)
A quote for you:
“Let me see if I
can guess your brother’s name” Phillip assumed a very speculative look. “I’ve
got it! Horseradish.”
“Horseradish.”
“Knotweed, perhaps.”
“Really, my lord.”
"Nutmet? Peppermint?
Poppy?"
“Why on earth would
my brother me named Poppy?”
About the cover:
I have to confess that this is what made me buy this book. The cover is so pretty and delicate, don’t
you think?
