Now and Forever

This was one of the most exciting romances I've read in a long time. Every time I thought I knew what was going to happen, something else happened, and every time I thought it was going to be the same old thing, it wasn't. I read about three romances every week, but this one was the spiciest one I've read in months. It had a lot of surprises in it and the heroine is really different. I would recommend it. It's really romantic, and you definitely won't get bored.

I couldn't believe how much I loved this book. From page one, I was hooked, and couldn't get through it fast enough. It's the oldest fantasy in the world - the peasant girl that everybody hates, meets a handsome stranger, falls in love, becomes rich and gets to go to balls. You'll be in heaven as it unfolds! But it's also a really thoughtful book. I would even use the word "gutsy". I think it took some guts to write this, and you'll see why. Just think of the story of Cinderella, then make the hero much more tragic, the heroine much funnier, add some really smart dialog, an intriguing plot in the background, and a WHOLE lot of hot sex. That's what this book is. I would buy it again!

In Tatiana Siskova, the pickpocket heroine of Now and Forever, Elizabeth Doyle has again created an irrepressibly bewitching character, but while Aurora, in Precious Passion, was as lively and vibrant as Tatiana, Doyle's new heroine courageously maintains her joy and unquenchable spirit in the face of poverty and amidst the turbulence of czarist Russia on the eve of revolution. This carefully researched and richly detailed historical backdrop helps us cheer Tatiana on as she struggles to bring color and passion into the grim life of Erich, the dashing and handsome Prussian spy. Doyle's growing maturity and craft are further demonstrated by Now and Forever's supporting characters. Tatiana's partner-in-crime, Lev, presents an unforgettable portrait of a young man trapped by circumstance, and heroic (if perhaps misguided) fatalism. Erich's partner-in-espionage Senta, on the other hand, is trapped by her own ambition, as well as by the double standard applied to a woman doing a "man's job." Romantic and beatiful, serious and whimsical, playful and thoughtful, Now and Forever deserves a place on your bookshelf.

Now and Forever is one of those books that I found difficult to put down. The story line grabbed me from the start, and I wondered with the turn of every page what was going to happen next. It is full of mystery, adventure, humor, and insight into both the characters and the intrigue of nineteenth-century Russia. Setting the story in this background caught my attention immediately, creating a story within the main story line. For me, this added interest to the love story as well as to the characters. The characters are written with depth and became very real. I found myself feeling what they felt: their despair and desperation, their devotion to friends and country, their optimism and hope, and (best of all) their joy at finding true love. I highly recommend this book. It is a "good read."

Now and Forever is my second favorite romance novel of all time (my first being Precious Passion, by the same author). Now and Forever brings us a grittier romance, in an unusual setting; at least, if I've ever seen another historical romance set in Tsarist Russia, I can't recall it now. Readers of Now and Forever won't have any trouble recalling the setting or its characters, Now and Forever.