Prelude for a Lord by Camille Elliot

Overview: Bath, England 1810.

At twenty-eight, Alethea Sutherton is past her prime for courtship; but social mores have never been her forté. She might be a lady, but she is first and foremost a musician.

In Regency England, however, the violin is considered an inappropriate instrument for a lady. Ostracized by society for her passion, Alethea practices in secret and waits for her chance to flee to the Continent, where she can play without scandal.

But when a thief ’s interest in her violin endangers her and her family, Alethea is determined to discover the enigmatic origins of her instrument … with the help of the dark, brooding Lord Dommick.

Scarred by war, Dommick finds solace only in playing his violin. He is persuaded to help Alethea, and discovers an entirely new yearning in his soul.

Alethea finds her reluctant heart drawn to Dommick in the sweetest of duets . . . just as the thief’s desperation builds to a tragic crescendo . . .

ISBN-13: 9780310320357
Publisher: Zondervan
Publication date: 8/5/2014
Pages: 352

Buy It: B&N | Amazon | CBD

 Read an Excerpt

My Review:  I loved this book. The author did an excellent job with every part of this book. I especially enjoyed the descriptions of the music and how it affected the characters in the book. They lent an extra layer of interest to the story and allowed me to really connect with the characters, even though my interest in music is elementary at best.

The characters were very well written. I could feel the struggle Alethea went through in her life. The emotions she had and the anger and bitterness she carried were tangible. Lord Dommick's struggle with PTSD (though it was not identified as such back in 1800's) was also tangible and well-incorporated in the story. Their romance was swift, but sweet. 

The message of the story was also very well written. Alethea struggled to learn that the God of her childhood was not the God real-life. The verses the author chose to use to portray this message to Alethea were unusual and well appreciated. Lord Dommick's struggle to capture the trust of his childhood, before the war, was relatable and real.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable. I look forward to learning more about the rest of the phenomenal characters in this book!

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via the BookLook blogging program in exchange for my honest review, which I have given.*

About the Author: Camy writes Christian romantic suspense as Camy Tang and Regency romance under her pen name, Camille Elliot. She grew up in Hawaii, where she started reading Regency romances when she was thirteen years old. Now she lives in northern California with her engineer husband and rambunctious dog.

She graduated from Stanford University in psychology with a focus on biology, and for nine years she worked as a biologist researcher. Then God guided her path in a completely different direction and now she’s writing full time, using her original psychology degree as she creates the characters in her novels.

In her free time, she’s a staff worker for her church youth group and leads one of her church’s Sunday worship teams. She also loves to knit Victorian and vintage patterns, spin wool into yarn, and is training to (very slowly) run a marathon.

Join me on my blog, Camy's Loft!