The Sapphire Heiress (The Silver Order)
Ella Leon’s good vs evil historical romance set in 1840s England features supernatural elements which spice up the adventure. In the first of The Silver Order series, heiress Mae Blackthorne is reduced in circumstance by her family’s bankruptcy and is now governess to two daughters of the Rosewood family, new owners of the Blackthorne estate. Ethan Locke, one-time pirate, betroths himself to the older Rosewood daughter to obtain access to the Blackthorne mansion and, he hopes, a powerful sapphire he once owned. Realising who Mae is, he offers a deal to split a treasure hoard hidden by her father. Romance unfolds slowly in this chaste novel, but the plot gallops along in an action-filled adventure of seafarers, treasure and things of magical power.
The Silver Order remains elusive, but there are two more planned books which I hope will expand on that. Some license is taken with Victorian morals through the unconventional Mae, but that’s fine in a romantasy where the pirate isn’t particularly pirate-like either and there’s not much adherence to the era. There is more telling than showing, which detracts occasionally, but this is a diverting read which will appeal to romantic suspense readers. Curl up with a cuppa and enjoy!
