REVIEW: Victorian Scoundrel (+$15 Amazon GC Giveaway!)

Title: Victorian Scoundrel

Author: Stephanie Burkhart

Series: The Windsor Diaries #1

Date Published: 2015

Publisher: Desert Breeze Publishing

Format: Kindle

Genre: Historical Romance (Sci-Fi) 

Source: Goddess Fish Blog Tours
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Synopsis:
It's 2010 and compressed natural gas has taken over form the coal producing steam machines of the Victorian Age. Alice Windsor, Princess of York, follows her mischief-making cousin, Prince Edmund of Wales back to the past and 1851 where Prince Albert is hosting Britain's Great Exhibition.

Alice soon discovers Edmund has struck up a friendship with their great-grandfather, Prince Albert, and his mischief making entails leaving a dinosaur-sized footprint in history. She also meets Grayson Kentfield, Earl Swinton, and the Prime Minister, Sir John Russell. The Prime Minster finds her odd, to say the least.

It's only when Alice falls for the handsome Earl Swinton does she realize the dangers of time travel. How can she give her heart to a man from the past while striving to stop Edmund from changing time with his forward thinking ideas?

~My Thoughts~

The Windsor Diaries is set in an interestingly different setting. It's technically modern day England, but primarily involves being in Victorian London. That's right, it's a time travel series! Mixing in the sci-fi with historical romance makes for a very interesting set of ideas, values, and plot twists! The added dimensions gave the story that much more life and vigor compared to your typical sci-fi or historical romance story. I enjoyed the diversity quite a bit!

Alice and Edmund are the time-traveling cousins (Lame...my cousins and I just played shuffleboard in our gran's basement together...) and upon reaching Victorian England, attempt to kindle a friendship with their many-times great grandfather who happens to be Prince Albert. 

Something cool about this book is that we get to discover two newly budding romances instead of a central theme revolving around one. Alice and Grayson Kentfield were sweetly cute in that "cutest couple in school" kind of way. I enjoyed how Grayson pursued Alice and that she stood out for him because she was different than the regular girls of the time. The second romance was between Edmund and Kiera and was also fun, though we didn't get a lot of screentime with them. I would have liked more I think. 

The titular scoundrel, I believe, is Alice's cousin Edmund (Although the love interest, Earl Swinton, does act the part of the scoundrel now and again!) and he's leaving massive tears in the fabric of history because of his interference. Not sure if I'm right in that assumption, but it seemed fun to speculate. Still, Stephanie Burkhart is very creative in her world-building and characters. She's definitely not one to let things be one genre or another and likes to mix things up in unexpected ways. She's a fun, unique, original kind of author that's worth investing in!

~Try an Excerpt!~

Tired and thirsty, she finally made it to the courtyard. Edmund was nowhere to be found. She should have expected it, really. No doubt he was in the palace filling their great-grandfather's head with forward-thinking ideas. She crossed her arms, staring at the steps. Several carriages waited nearby. No one in their right mind would let her into the palace looking like she did -- like she had just stepped out of the gutter.


"Excuse me, who are you?"


Alice spun around to find herself face-to-face with two gentlemen who stood near one of the waiting carriages. One gentleman was older, Alice guessed in his fifties, one younger. The older gentleman stared at her like she truly was a guttersnipe, but the younger one -- he was tall, with chiseled cheeks and sensitive hazel eyes. His broad chest filled his suit well and he measured her with a cool, appraising look that hinted at... appreciation. An uncomfortable feeling washed over her. Never had a man's stare made her feel so... warm.


"Well?" asked the older gentleman.

Alice straightened her posture with her usual royal dignity and took off her glasses as she always did when she introduced herself. "I am Her Royal Highness, Princess Alice of York."

The men looked at each other, at her, then back at themselves. She wasn't sure if they were befuddled, confused, or wanted to laugh. Finally, the older gentleman spoke. "Princess Alice is seven years old."

Alice bit the inside of her lip, realizing she had totally forgotten where she was due to the younger gentleman's attention. She slid her glasses back on. "Simply call me Alice -- Alice Windsor."

"And you may call me Prime Minister."

~Meet Stephanie!~ 

Stephanie Burkhart is a 911 dispatcher for LAPD.  She was born and raised in Manchester, New Hampshire.  She served 11 years in the US Army and currently calls Castaic, California her home. Stephanie was married in Denmark in 1991 and has two young sons. She adores chocolate and is addicted to coffee.  She writes paranormal, contemporary, and steampunk romance and has two children's books published with 4RV Publishing
 Stephanie will be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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