Splendor

'Joyce is a grand mistress at building tension to a crescendo . . . a vivid and more powerful romance with an undercurrent of sensuality.' -RT Book Reviews (Top Pick)She played a dangerous game. Carolyn Browne was a poor bookseller's daughter and an enlightened thinker, delighting London with her scathingly witty columns, written under the name Charles Copperville. Penetrating the town's gilded salons in male disguise, Carolyn soon throws her barbs at the wrong man-the enigmatic Russian prince, Nicholas Sverayov.He was a dangerous target. His notoriety, extravagances, and indulgent disregard for social convention fuel Carolyn's outrage. Nicholas has moved through the balls and soirees of high society effortlessly, a natural target of gossip, envy, and desire. But Nicholas is furious to find himself lampooned by Copperville, and quickly discovers Carolyn's dearly held secret. Now, as the two spar, a new game begins-a game of deception and pride, of longing and chance.And they played for the ultimate prize . . . As Nicholas sweeps Carolyn from the teeming streets and gala balls of Regency London to the splendor and majesty of St. Petersburg, against all odds the unlikely lovers embark upon a whirlwind of passion and peril until there is no turning back-for the stakes have changed, demanding no less of them than the unwavering courage to claim the love of a lifetime.'A complex narrative, lots of historical detail and a heroic era-the Napoleonic wars . . . a heroine readers will root for.' -Publishers Weekly