Victoria II
Victoria II focuses on Princess Vicky, daughter of Queen Victoria, who has become the heir to the throne due to changed historical facts, and her search for a suitable husband as the royal consort. Willis’s note indicated that he was trying to preserve as much as he could of the original descendants of Queen Victoria, which seems to exclude it from the typical alternate history, which usually explores the change society-wide or much later in time rather than on the immediate consequences to the people involved. Victoria II sits more comfortably in the romance genre.
The writing style is engaging, and the characters are pretty well-drawn, but the plot has some jumps that makes it hard to suspend disbelief. The pace of the writing is fast and enjoyable, but that’s separate from the pace of the story, which is more problematic. It’s a fast read, but without the necessary development to justify some of the additional plotlines injected late in the story. If you want a quick romance novella, then this may be the book for you.
