Review: The Redemption of Julian Prince by Victoria Vane

DISCLAIMER #1: This story is part of a collection of stories from a number of best selling authors. I have decided instead of reviewing them all at once which may be confusing to some of my readers, I am dedicating eight days to these amazing authors and their stories. 

From Goodreads.com:  She gave him a chance to bury his past… but the price would be his heart…

Burdened by the past…Orphaned at a young age and left to run wild, at eighteen Julian Price joins the fight against Napoleon in the hope of attaining honor. Devastated when his best friend, Thomas, is killed in battle, Julian returns home burdened with guilt, only to find his wastrel uncle has squandered his inheritance. 

Desperate to live her own life… Facing a future of drudgery caring for her aging mother and raising her brother’s children, Henrietta Houghton believes her chance at a real life died with Thomas, the only man who ever wanted her. But Henrietta is still full of dreams. When her wealthy aunt, offers her a gift of ten thousand pounds, Henrietta finally has the chance to choose her own destiny.

Everything has a price...With a fortune at her command, Henrietta offers Julian a marriage of convenience, unaware that she really offers Julian a means of salvation—not just his fortune, but his very soul.

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My Rating: 4 stars out of 5

This story had a different feel to it - not only different to the others in this anthology, but different in general for the genre. Never before have I come across a story where the main characters are not only childhood friends - but where it is the woman who willingly proposes marriage to a man in order to save him from ruin. Usually there is some sort of duplicity involved at first - so this novel was like a breath of fresh air as far as that plot-line is concerned. Even though all of these characters were well developed and the author obviously spent a lot of time making each one of them unique to the story, I have to say that my favorite character was that of Henrietta's great aunt – who knew that true love could overcome the odds and who had no qualms gifting a substantial amount of money to her niece, knowing exactly how she would use said gift. Watching the childhood friends figure each other out and how best to navigate the world of marriage however – was a priceless gift to the reader.

DISCLAIMER #2: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own. 

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 The Redemption of Julian Prince is available as part of the Once Upon a True Love's Kiss collection from Amazon.com