Blurb
Lady
Felicia Sorensen, a brilliant microengineering student, finds herself
pressured to date Emperor Victor Sinclair, for he has fallen madly in
love with her! Despite being showered with extravagant gowns and
attention, she longs for a fascinating life as a scientist, instead
of the stressful and dangerous destiny of an Empress The social
pressures of being the Emperor's Betrothed, from gossip and
manipulation to an assassination attempt, cause her to weigh her love
for him against her personal goal, to do research in her own lab
someday. Will Felicia choose her Imperial lover and tough out the
extreme political and social pressures with the supreme ruler of the
Empire, or will she choose her goals and help thousands, millions,
possibly billions of people through her intellectual achievements?
The review
Dignity
is the first of Eva Caye's nine book series “To Be Sinclair”. I
should explain that I acted as one of the beta-readers for the eighth
book, Morality, and
was interested enough to go back to the beginning of the series.
Dignity is a romance in a science fiction setting. Everything that happens in the plot revolves around the
relationship between thirty-one year old Emperor Victor Sinclair and
his paramour, Felicia Sorensen. When we meet Victor, he is despairing
of ever finding the woman to help him secure his dynasty.
Felicia
is something of a maverick. Although of high-born status, unlike her
female peers, she has no interest in pursuing a suitable mate and
becoming, effectively, the manager of a household. She wants to be a
scientist, and do something to improve the lot of humanity.
Introduced
to Felicia, Victor finds the young woman refreshingly different.
Felicia, for her part, is well aware that a relationship with the
Emperor may well mean the end of her ambition to be a scientist. The
story evolves as Felicia learns more about Victor, while at the same
time growing to a greater understanding of how she might fit into his
life as Empress, without giving up her own goals.
The
juxtapostion between the essentially solitary role of a scientist and
the glaringly public life of the Emperor's fiancee is taxing. Felicia constantly struggles with her ambitions and her feelings for
Victor. Increasingly, her position in Victor's life attracts envy, duplicity and
hate, emotions Felicia must learn to deal with.
The
characterisation is excellent. I liked Victor and Felicia, and wanted
their relationship to work, despite the trials. It was nice to see
that neither was perfect, tripping and falling and making mistakes.
The subsidiary cast – quite a few – were sufficiently fleshed
out, with plenty of jealousy, back-biting, and plotting, as well as
support from friends and family. Both main characters develop and grow, and the ending is as satisfying as one expects from a romance.
I
found the world building to be an interesting mixture of high tech,
low tech and no tech, ranging from space travel via wormholes, to
computer systems which seem to be no better than we have at present,
through to hand-written letters on exquisite paper. But then, the
feel of the society smacks of Georgian Britain, with high-born ladies
vying for eligible men of rank. Indeed, the author's writing style is
more reminiscent of an earlier time. There's a formality about it.
For instance, Lady Brighton, who runs the hostel for young ladies
where we first meet Felicia, is frequently referred to as 'the good
lady', and the author tends to use the word 'for' instead of
'because' or 'since', a rather old fashioned construction. Although
we're in (mainly) Felicia's head, often the narrator steps in to
explain something, or to summarise a discussion, telling instead of
showing. That said, there's plenty of exquisite detail to bring the
scene to life. I particularly liked the descriptions of Felicia's
gowns, which she wears to various court functions. She has no
interest in fashion, so Victor commissions the dresses for her,
sometimes to make a point to an audience, sometimes to make a point
to her. The security arrangements surrounding an Emperor and his
court are detailed and totally convincing. Privacy is hard to come by
in that world.
On the down side, I did occasionally raise an eyebrow over some situations where Felicia's reaction seemed over the top, but I could put that down to different social mores. I also felt some of the computer security issues were far too simple, but again, I was prepared to shrug and move on.
On the down side, I did occasionally raise an eyebrow over some situations where Felicia's reaction seemed over the top, but I could put that down to different social mores. I also felt some of the computer security issues were far too simple, but again, I was prepared to shrug and move on.
There
are a number of low-key sex scenes in the book, nothing much
more than suggestion. However, the author has included a short story
at the end, something she calls an Easter egg. It's fun – but it's
hot. You have been warned.
The verdict
I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It's leisurely reading, not a full-on,
action-packed space opera. But it's a book I kept going back to, and something with
sufficient depth to make me think I might well read it again. If you like series,
then after you've finished this one, there are eight other books as
Victor and Felicia's family grows and matures.
You can find Dignity at:
Amazon
Smashwords
ARe
Learn more about Eva and the series at her website or find her on Facebook
You can find Dignity at:
Amazon
Smashwords
ARe
Learn more about Eva and the series at her website or find her on Facebook
