My Ruthless Prince: Regency Romance Filled with Intrigue
Title: My Ruthless Prince (Inferno Club)
Author: Gaelen Foley
Pages: 384
Genre: Historical Romance
Regency romances are not my usual cup of tea, but I found myself being completely charmed by Gaelen Foley’s My Ruthless Prince. The book boasts a tortured hero, resourceful heroine, multi-faceted villains, and a plot filled with intrigue. While this book is the fourth book (out of five) in Foley’s Inferno Club series, it can easily be read as a standalone book.
Drake, the Earl of Westwood, had been training to be an operative for the Inferno Club since he was a boy. Ostensibly a gentlemen’s club, The Inferno Club is in fact a secret international organization of noblemen fighting on the side of God, King, and country. Their arch enemies are the members of the Prometheus group, whose thirst for wealth and power threaten the stability of England and Europe.
As the book begins, we find out that Drake, one of the more promising Inferno operatives, had been captured and tortured by the Prometheans. Their treatment of him was so brutal that he’s lost his memory. Drake is rescued, but soon runs away from London and the Inferno Club, to return to the Prometheans’ headquarters in Bavaria, where he becomes the bodyguard to a very senior official in the hierarchy.
Drake’s no traitor. He’s out to infiltrate the Prometheans to take revenge for his ill-treatment, but his colleagues in the Inferno Club all believe he’s beyond salvation and set out to eliminate him. Only Emily refuses to believe the worst of him. Emily, Drake’s childhood playmate, and daughter of his family’s woodsman and gamekeeper, had nursed Drake back to health after his rescue. The two have always loved each other, although Drake’s misplaced sense of nobility has never allowed him to even think of her in that way, as he believes he’d be taking advantage of her. Emily too, has never professed her feelings for him, thinking him above her station. However, when Emily travels from England to Bavaria to rescue him from the Prometheans, she puts herself in deep danger, and Drake is forced to confront his own feelings for her.
There were lots of plot twists to keep the reader entertained, and Foley has created in Drake an extraordinarily compelling tortured hero. He’s withstood months of physical torture by the Prometheans, and is naturally confused. But while appearing ruthless and evil, we know that he will eventually come out on the side of good. His concern for Emily while he tries to also play both sides against each other is incredibly touching. Emily too, is an amazing heroine, selfless, completely devoted to Drake, and yet so not a doormat. She’s incredibly resourceful and capable, which is always a wonderful thing to see with a Regency romance heroine. Foley has a gift with creating believable characters, and I especially liked her villains, who were all too human. A wonderful read!
