Cathy Rackowski
When duty for ones country and passion for ones natural scientific gifts collide can love survive in the end? That is the question asked here and the road to the answer is a complex but rewarding one. This is the story of two people who are destined to be great in their own fields of brilliance, she as a surgeon in a time only men are allowed to work in that field, he an exiled but important leader to his small country…. Both needing to suppress the people they really are, she a loving woman, he a great portrait artist. Full disclosure here...this is one of my least favorite tropes, the woman who disguises herself as a man, one I would normal skip... but knowing how well Ms Ashe can weave a tale she made it work for me. The plot-line works in this story, for the first time I believed it and I'm glad I took the chance. We follow Ziyaeddin (pronounced Zee-y’aye-deen), known in England as Ibrahim Kent, in his support of Elizabeth (Libby) Shaw in her endeavor to succeed in Edinburgh’s all-male Royal College of Surgeons by hiding the fact that she's a woman. Ziyaeddin must fight his love for Libby as he knows he is destined to go back to his rightful place as Royalty in his home country to fight for his people. Can a woman truly live as a man to fulfill her utmost dedication to science and healing? Can a brilliant artist sacrifice his love for a woman and the gift of art to fulfill his obligation to his people? The answers are painful and the road they travel is filled with conflict but the resolution is well worth it all in the end. Ms Ashe has crafted a beautiful story about honor, passion, determination, love and patience. I highly and honestly recommend this book, it's a great read. NOTE: This can be read as a stand alone book.
Mo Daoust
THE PRINCE is the last book (?) in the Devil’s Duke series, and having read the previous ones, I had to read this one, although the woman-disguised-as-a-man is one of my least favourite tropes, and I had also I recently read another novel with a similar premise. Well, I’m pleased to say that Katharine Ashe made it work. Libby Shaw, daughter of the illustrious forensic physician John Shaw, has decided that will become a surgeon regardless of the fact that women are not allowed to pursue the required studies. She needs to hide her real identity, and who better than the attractive man she had met two and a half years ago to help her: famous portraitist Ibrahim Kent – Prince in exile Ziyaeddin Mizra. She has a deal for him, which will make it a very difficult enterprise because Ziyaeddin has never forgotten those lips, which he has never managed to paint to his satisfaction. Based on historical facts, THE PRINCE is a sweeping saga, as well as a feminist fairytale. Through Libby, we experience the impossibility for women to become physicians in the early 1800s, as well as all the intricacies of the medical profession, prosthetics (which was fascinating), the Resurrectionists, and the global political situation at the time – real and fictitious. Ms. Ashe has obviously done a tremendous amount of research, but I admit I was confused by the use of “Iran”, since Persia only adopted that name in 1935, 110 years after the beginning of the story; I had understood that during the Regency era it was known as Persia. Ziyaeddin and Libby have been attracted to each other since they first met, and it was striking how different they were: Ziyaeddin is calmness personified and a man of few words, while Libby is effervescent, tenacious, and a chatterbox; Ms. Ashe succeeded so well as conveying Libby’s bubbliness in her lines of dialogues that I could hear Libby talking a mile a minute, and honestly, she would have driven me batty at the beginning; thank goodness, she calmed down at some point. I’m not exactly sure why the OCD episode – at least, that’s what it appeared to me – was included, unless it was to show that Libby had a “flaw” (I’m not aiming to be politically incorrect her, only that Libby seemed at times a little too perfect.). Katharine Ashe’s prose is always impeccable, the dialogue natural and clever, and the characters very well-defined; some secondary characters were particularly charming, Archie for instance and Coira. I was a bit surprised that Libby’s agreeing to pose for Ziyaeddin did not go as I expected – for which I was thankful. The romance progressed organically, and it was a relief that Ziyaeddin was not an arrogant hero, and the romance is lovely. The abundance of details made the environment and the era come to life, although I feel some things could have been condensed a little. Nevertheless, THE PRINCE is a fine addition to this series, and even though some characters from the first three books make brief appearances, it stands perfectly on its own. In fact, had it been shortened a bit, it could have been the start of a whole new series; there is that much material in this novel. I give 3 1/2 stars.
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