The Other Countess by Eve Edwards

Enough to Leave you Swooning

The Other Countess by Eve Edwards

Puffin Books, 2010, 352 pp

I'm on holiday in Glasgow, one of the most fascinating cities in the world, so you'd imagine I'm out exploring, breathing it all in. I wish. The only thing I'm breathing is the arabica bean-fuelled air of Starbucks and it's all the fault of one Eve Edwards, author of the genuinely unputdownable teenage bodice-ripper, The Other Countess.

It's Elizabethan England, the age of jousting, Walter Ralegh, having a tumble in the hay on Tuesday, and getting hung, drawn and quartered on Thursday. Ups and downs then. And that's certainly the case for Lady Eleanor Rodriguez of San Jaime, Ellie, feisty countess and daughter of Sir Arthur, whose obsession with trying to recreate gold has led to their ridicule, poverty and near destitution.

When Arthur lands a job at the court of Queen Elizabeth, Ellie thinks their luck might have changed, especially when she catches the eye of Will, the dashing Earl of Dorset. Unfortunately, handsome young noblemen with large estates but depleted funds don't marry poor maidens with lunatics for fathers ... or do they?

Do I have to tell you this is not one for the boys?

The cover claims it will 'leave teenage girls swooning' and I'm honest enough to admit it left me a little light-headed too. There's more than a little debt here to Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice but let's call it homage and move on. I loved it.

Ellie and Will are wonderful characters, with the sticky combination of passion and a sense of duty that makes for a deliciously problematic romance.

The writing is sparkling, vivid, pacey, full of warmth and humour, like the heady first flush of love itself. You know how it's all going to end but you find your stomach knotting with anticipation all the same.

There's also the wonderful prospect of something happening between Will's younger brother James, and Ellie's friend but Will's would-be wife, Jane. Roll on the sequel, The Queen's Lady, in February 2011!

Romance. Deception. Destiny. The Other Countess is all familiar territory but I challenge you not to be enchanted. It certainly turned this maiden's head.

If You Like The Other Countess, You'll Love ...