A Year of Light and Shadows - Helena Fairfax

4 Stars!

ABOUT THE BOOK -
A Year of Light and Shadows contains three romantic mysteries in one volume.

Palace of Deception
From the heat of the Mediterranean....

When the Princess of Montverrier goes missing, Lizzie Smith takes on the acting job of her life. Alone and surrounded by intrigue in the Royal Palace, she relies on her quiet bodyguard, Léon. But who is he really protecting? Lizzie...or the Princess?

The Scottish Diamond
To the heart of Scotland...

Home in Scotland, Lizzie begins rehearsals for Macbeth, and finds danger stalking her through the streets of Edinburgh. She turns to her former bodyguard, Léon, for help - and discovers a secret he'd do anything not to reveal...

A Question by Torchlight
A story of mystery and romance...

The approach of Hogmanay in Edinburgh means a new year and new resolutions. Lizzie and Léon have put their year of danger behind them. But something is still troubling Léon, and Lizzie fears the worst...

ABOUT THE AUTHOR -

Helena Fairfax is a British author who was born in Uganda and came to England as a child. She's grown used to the cold now, and these days she lives in an old Victorian mill town in the north of England, right next door to the windswept Yorkshire moors. She walks this romantic landscape every day with her rescue dog, finding it the perfect place to dream up her heroes and her happy endings.
Helena's novels have been shortlisted for several awards, including the Exeter Novel Prize, the Global Ebook Awards, the I Heart Indie Awards, and the UK's Romantic Novelists' Association New Writers' Scheme Award.

MY THOUGHTS -
It was nice reading this in the three short stories (or sections). They were all a continuation of the same characters but different situation/story line. These were all very quick, easy reads - the middle one being the longest and the last being the shortest.

The first one was my favorite! I would really give that one 5 stars (and the others 3.5 - 4 stars). Palace of Deception almost reminded me of The Princess diaries a little. Only instead of learning how to and preparing to act and look like the real princess - in this story Lizzie is an actress and is standing in for the real princess and will have to learn how to be her so no one knows she is a fake. It was all very exciting, original and kind of sweet and romantic. Very well done!
The middle story - The Scottish Diamond - started out good, then got a little slow for me, but then picked back up and I ended up loving it. It got very exciting, a lot of action.
And the last story - A Question by Torchlight - was very short but was also very sweet!  :-)

Great character development, again, especially in the first story. I really loved Lizzie!
And they almost had a fairy tale quality to them. Which was nice, who doesn't love a great fairy tale!?

Definitely worth picking up and giving a try!

I voluntarily posted this review after receiving a copy of this book from the author, Helena Fairfax -  Thank you! 

Pick up this set from Amazon for only .99 (make sure you double check the pricing) - HERE