Angel of the Lost Treasure
by Marie Laval
An ancient secret hidden within a mother’s song …
When young widow, Marie-Ange Norton is invited to Beauregard in France by the mysterious Monsieur Malleval to collect an inheritance, she has no choice but to accept.
But when she embarks on the voyage with her fiery-tempered traveling companion Capitaine Hugo Saintclair, little does she know what waits for her across the sea in turbulent nineteenth-century France on the eve of Napoleon’s return from exile. When she arrives, she is taken aback by Malleval’s fascination with her family – seemingly inspired by his belief they are connected to a sacred relic he’s read about in coded manuscripts by the Knights Templar.
As it becomes clear that Malleval’s obsession has driven him to madness, Marie-Ange is horrified to realize she is more the man’s prisoner than his guest. Not only that, but Hugo is the only person who might be able to help her, and he could represent a different kind of danger.
My Rating:
My Review:
I have reveled in Ms. Laval’s rib-tickling rom/coms but this tense historical was not what I was expecting and I struggled to keep all the nefarious factions straight while the characters were battling with each other. There were many clever elements and twists but the storylines were densely packed, complicated, and stuffed to the rafters with unlikable characters with difficult names and unfamiliar titles. I got lost, many times. The little pea in my brain was not pleased with me! This type of historical is obviously not in my wheelhouse and I grappled with a few too many secret clandestine societies to keep track of while they deceived and assaulted each other through a slowly developing plot with occasional jumps of hyperspeed attacks.
My difficulty in fully appreciating this one was obviously down to my personal tastes and interests as the premise was original, the writing was lushly descriptive, and the characters were well-developed despite most being distressingly odious. I chaff at tales that have women treated like livestock. I know it happened but the feminist in me just doesn’t enjoy the reminder.
The various groups were all thundering around the French county side in carriages and on horseback in the freezing snow and fretting about the threatened impending return of Napoleon as well as his enemies and spies, while also trying to outwit and sabotage each other in competing attempts at locating a fabled supernatural relic hidden in a crypt that dated back to the First Crusades and sparked the founding of the Knights of Templar. I felt dashes of several Indiana Jones tales as well as pinches of The Da Vinci Code, and sprinkles of Angels and Demons. And I will confess, didn’t fully grasp all the historical and religious complexities and implications of those tales either.
Originally from Lyon in France, Marie has lived in the Rossendale Valley in Lancashire for the past few years. She writes both contemporary and historical romance. Her novels include best-selling contemporary romantic suspense novels LITTLE PINK TAXI and ESCAPE TO THE LITTLE CHATEAU, which was shortlisted for the 2021 RNA Jackie Collins Romantic Suspense Awards, as well as A PARIS FAIRY TALE and BLUEBELL’S CHRISTMAS MAGIC. Her latest novel, ANGEL OF THE LOST TREASURE, was released in February 2021. Marie also contributes to the best-selling Miss Moonshine’s Emporium anthologies together with eight author friends from Authors on the Edge.
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Sorry the book didn’t work for you. I have a real hit and miss relationship with historical fiction. Give me something thrilling, I’m fine. Put in a love story/romance and it isn’t for me. Great review.
Hmm, sorry this didn’t work for you. I did recently learn that often when an author switched genres their fans can be confused and have trouble connecting to the story so you aren’t alone in this feeling.
Sorry that this didn’t really work for you.