Sunday, July 27, 2008

Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen

I had a chance to meet Rhys Bowen at the same book signing even where I met Ellen Crosby. If you ever have a chance to go to this go - it's terribly fun. (Although make sure you have either given yourself a spending limit or you have lots of spare on your charge card. It's way too easy to spend too much money. I resisted the urge to go this year. Maybe next year...)
Anywho, Rhys Bowen was another terribly nice lady. I had read some of her Molly Murphy books which I enjoyed. They follow the story of an Irish immigrant to the United States in the early twentieth century. I picked up a copy of Her Royal Spyness, the first book in a new series, and had a nice chat with Ms Bowen. I passed the book along to my mom and just got around to reading it.
This new series is great!! I noticed in the acknowledgements that Bowen had thanked Jacqueline Winspear. I'm a big fan of Winspear's books so that put me in the right mood. Like Winspear, Bowen decided to tackle the interwar era in London (a favorite era of mine for any number of reasons). However, unlike Winspear, Bowen took a completely light-hearted attitude and wrote a fluffy but fun story.
The main character, Georgie, is 34th in line for the British crown. As a result she was trained like royalty. But, like much royalty by the twentieth century, Georgie's family has no money. She can't just *get a job* like a normal person, but she tries. Her attempts at work, her ability to poke fun at herself as royalty, and Bowen's grasp of British society and the importance of class combine to make a really enjoyable book.
The book is not deep. It's not meant to be. It is a perfect light summer read. It's not smutty or too heavy on the romance. It's just fun. (And apparently other people agree. It has gotten a decent amount of attention.) Now I'll just have to wait for the second book to come out in paperback.

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