| Title | : | Grand Design (The Hope Chest #3) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0821769030 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780821769034 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Mass Market Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 314 |
| Publication | : | First published August 1, 2001 |
Restoring old paintings for Hope Springs' Historical Society isn't exactly what frustrated artist Cynda Madison wants from her career. And yet, she has no idea just how challenging her job will become when she begins work on the damaged portrait of handsome Prince Dimitri Karakov. Moved when she learns that he was tragically killed at the Chesterfield, Cynda decides to investigate his death. Then she finds the painting's tarnished nameplate in an old hope chest, and is instantly swept back in time to 1887, where she meets the prince himself - very much alive and disturbingly attractive. Cynda knows she must prevent Dimitri's death to return to her own life...but can she prevent herself from falling in love?
Grand Design (The Hope Chest #3) Reviews
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Cynda Madison is an artist. Struggling to sell her own art she works restoring others. It's in Hope Springs, Virginia she finds herself intensely drawn to the handsome prince, Dimitri Karakov, the subject of her current restoration project. Nearly finished with the restoration, and upset after learning of the prince's untimely death she takes a walk through the ruins of the once famous Chesterfield hotel. On her walk she finds a hope chest. It is filled with several dissimilar items, but it is the damaged brass nameplate that draws her attention. When she touches it, she is transported back to 1889, the glorious Chesterfield hotel, and her handsome prince. Miss Sparrow, the head housekeeper gets her a place to live and a job. She also informs Cynda to get back to her own time in six months at the next solstice, she not only needs to find a way to save Dimitri, but also find the brass nameplate.
I loved this book. Karen's descriptions of Cynda's paintings and how she lost herself in them were fascinating. Cynda's transformation into a nineteenth century woman felt very authentic, as did the internal struggles Dimitri dealt with throughout the story.
Once again, this book is able to stand on its own, but continues to develop the people and places of the Hope Chest Series. I was particularly fond of the tie in to Corrie's restaurant from the previous book.
I got lost in this book and was sad when it ended. My only consolation was I knew the next one, The Thief, was already waiting to be read. -
I can't say I particularly liked the hero at first, but I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would. It actually made me want to find the other books in this series at some point. Perhaps I'm just a sucker for time travel romance.
The hero did grate a little at first, but he grew on me over the course of the book. The heroine was likeable enough - though I sometimes wanted to shake her, you do have to give her a little leeway for finding herself in a time without air conditioning. The supporting characters were by and large enjoyable (I rather liked his brother and would have liked more of him).
It's not without its flaws, but I wasn't expecting much and enjoyed this much more than I anticipated. It's a pretty quick read, so if you like time travel romance, give it a shot!
