Friends and Foes by Sarah Eden

   Napoleon has been on the back burner for some time now since his exile. But, he continues to play a role in the life of Lord Philip Jonquil or spy Philip Jonquil, in a relatable sense. He's been tracking a spy, Le Fontaine, related to Napoleon for years. Now he has one more chance. But, he needs to play his personal role along with his official role very close together. Like a two-act show played with cut screen. Now at a month long Christmas party with his close friends, and 7 brothers heaving a huge weight on him, his prospects seem less likely. Thinks take a turn around as he meets Sorrel, momentarily. But, even she takes a tole on him, heavier then the rest. Sorrel is a fast talking cripple, in her own words, she was trampled by a horse two years before they met, and did not receive medical treatment due to familiar matters. Now walking, moving, laying, and sleeping are a painful burden for her. She can't lean to her left, or even bend the knee. It was smashed from the hip down, and she has to rely heavily on a cane. Starting the world wind of how Philip and Sorrel met before the party. The case of the mistaken cane. Philip's philandering care-free cover at the party causes him to misspeak before he realizes the purpose of Sorrel's cane. To say that he put his foot in his mouth would be a drastic understatement, but Sorrel doesn't take his simple apology as easy as he would have liked. Instead she declares a literary war on him, for the remainder of the party. But, now Sorrel's attendance seems necessary when she overhears a conversation between Le Fontaine and his contact, when Philip and his partner where absent. Now they must work together, and put each others lives both in danger when the try to overtake Le Fontaine, his men, and his contact off shore. Not only are the guns one of the scary items to be faced in this book, but also horses. Sorrel must face horses again after the two-years of avoidance because of her incident. Napoleon really does have a huge effect on every one directly or indirectly.

The Commander's Desire by Jennette Green

   No guns, no computers, and definitely no finger scans. But, it was found to be harder for Elwytha to commit treachery against an enemy kingdom in the name of her deceased brother Thor. From the moment she got their, her knives were taken, her privacy was gone, and she was completely followed. No hall of the enemy palace could she study without Commander behind her. No walk could she take without a meeting being called with the Prince. And no knives to be found for her upcoming battle. However, as the days go by her plan seems less honorable. It went from being honorable revenge to treacherous murder in the mind of Elwytha. She continued to fight with it from day one, and fought literary wars with everyone around her. Including her betrothed the Commander, the one thought to be the murderer of Elwytha's favorite brother and former King. Commander found her war of words very interesting, and continued to bate them. But, when discovering Elwytha's motive for hating him so much, he sets on a journey to prove his innocence? However, can he be innocent if their is no proof to be found of his innocence only his guilt. And what of the Prince, suspicious of Elwytha from day 1. Protective of the Commander as well. And when his is actually King continues to refer to himself as Prince? Things don't make sense to Elwytha, and her confusion about her planned treachery doesn't help matters. Not even she knows how this plan will end. Or her older brother and now king of her kingdom Richard, who laid the plan in the first place. But, Elwytha begins to notice paranoid signs in Richards writings and words. She seems to not have faith in anyone including herself, playing games on a womb were never part of the world outsight of war. Who would have though she would have sought the days when she was in battle, seeing every card laid out on the table much easier then the false deceptions of the Commander's Desire.

Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay