The Elusive Smuggler: Part 1 of Behind The Shadow

Antoinette George

Dec 2020 · Behind The Shadow Book 1 · Brangwyn Press

About this ebook

Compelling romance and swashbuckling thrills. The dramatic and gripping story of one man with two lives and the woman he craves, but cannot have…

He was the handsome aristocrat and charismatic adventurer who created a dynasty and she was the feisty, unconventional woman he loved. He was English and she was French, two strong-willed people determined never to give in to each other, and a devious, diabolical enemy determined to exact revenge on the smuggler who had constantly evaded him and thwarted his nefarious plans,

Set at the end of the 18th century when France was on the cusp of a bloodthirsty Revolution, this is an exciting and unputdownable tale of daring escapes, broken promises, distrust and misunderstandings, all threaded through by a passionate and turbulent love affair, a scorching romance that wouldn’t be denied.

Part 1: The Elusive Smuggler          

France 1790. A country in turmoil and you’re desperate. Your family has been unjustly thrown into a fortress prison for reasons nothing to do with the Revolution and it’s down to you to rescue them, if you can, before they meet a grim fate. So what to do when you only have a crippled brother to aid you? With law and order breaking down and justice gone missing, you decide only someone with a ruthless reputation can help, a devious and cunning criminal, if you can find the man you’ve heard about. The brutal and corrupt Regional Governor has been trying for years without success, but that won’t discourage you because you’re an exceedingly determined woman, wilful and somewhat eccentric, and you’ll pay or do anything if this man can help facilitate an escape from the fortress and get your family out of France.

Marie-Catherine de Mornay had always got her way and done what she wanted, and succeeded, but that was before she met The Shadow. However, Edgar Bernheim, the venal Governor, had his own private agenda, for which the Revolution was merely a front, and was an exceedingly vengeful man people took on at their peril…

Ratings and reviews

This is a cliffhanger, sort of. Even though the basic premise is never resolved there are so many adventures, tension built and resolved, changes occurred, and personal growth achieved that I didn't feel the sense of being cheated such an ending usually provokes. The characters are delightful and real, with unexpected depths. The plot is complex, but all twists and turns are a natural outgrowth of the characters or world previously established. Such a talented writer! Normally I award such books without a real ending one star but this one delighted me so much, I upped the rating to a 3.

I couldn't finish reading it there was too much "filler detail" in it. I grew so bored from the filler and the story not actually moving for pages and pages because it was all just filler. I like the story I did get. out of it, I read the whole prologue, and clear till they got to the gypsy camp, but I got so bored I had to find something else to read.

The Elusive Smuggler (Behind The Shadow, #1), by Antoinette George, tells the story of a handsome rake, known as The Shadow. The Shadow is a successful smuggler and the only hope Marie-Catherine and Edouard de Mornay, sister and brother, have of rescuing their parents and restoring the family. But first, they’ll have to track him down and convince him to help them. This search takes the siblings to meet Carlotta, a dancer who sometimes lives and travels with the Romani, but has her own story and her own dreams. This riveting historical novel is set in the late 1700’s, mostly in France near the coast, but with connections across the channel in England, too. The French Revolution is brewing, with dangerous implications for everyone, from the titled upper-class down to poor workers caught up in the wrong place, and Antoinette George is able to capture it all with fine details that transports readers to the era. The author’s research shows in the descriptions without slowing down the action. Since most people at this time would be conscious of social class and birth, our characters are constantly aware when someone they meet has well-educated speech or a cultured accent. Of course, that doesn’t mean that all the ladies in The Elusive Smuggler are ladylike, or that all the travelers are of low birth… These four characters are well developed, complete with their own flaws, making them feel authentic and grounded. The dialogue is always lively, with constant cheerful banter between the friends, and constant arguing between a certain couple. Our protagonists will need to apply fast actions, clever thinking and cooperation to accomplish their goals. But with political unrest and corruption around them, it’s very hard to know who is trustworthy, and this instills a consistently high level of intrigue throughout the novel. Fans of thrilling historical romance and stories of enemies-to-lovers will just eat this one up. The end of the novel makes it clear that the story of The Shadow, as well as Cat, Eddie, and Carlotta, is far from over, and there are three more novels planned in Antoinette George’s dramatic historical romance series Behind the Shadow.

About the author

 A student of history and a lover of cats (especially fluffy ones), travelling, dancing, and escapist and exciting romantic literature, not necessarily in that order. And not forgetting good food and wine… the former the bane of the diet always due to start tomorrow, the last her treat when writing in a sunny garden on a warm summer’s day or evening. Antoinette George has reinvigorated the saga for the twenty twenties: The Granville Legacy Series.

She writes the type of novels she’s always loved to read since she was a girl: romance, both historical and contemporary… full of drama, adventure, excitement, romance, passion and humour, with a touch of pathos here and there, and flawed heroes and heroines because no one is perfect! Hers are involved stories to get absorbed and lost in, that make you want to read on and on and not put down until you’ve found out what happens to all the disparate and fascinating characters that thread through them. And of course love wins in the end, never the villain!

Antoinette is a former award-winning copywriter and PR consultant by profession. Instead of reading to pass the time, she started writing on the train as she commuted from home to her office in the centre of London and everything took off from there. She lives by the seaside in Sussex, in the south of England, and very occasionally, on an exceptionally clear day, can just about see the coast of Normandy through her binoculars; her family think her crazy and obsessed with her novel writing, but her books will keep you engrossed for weeks and weeks and weeks...