19th out of 153 books
—
193 voters
Royal Blood (Her Royal Spyness Mysteries #4)
by
Rhys Bowen (Goodreads Author)
The Royal Spyness series continues with an all-new mystery of "the British monarchy...a wedding in Transylvania...[and] wonderful characters." (#1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris).
Penniless and thirty-fourth in line to the throne, Lady Georgiana Rannoch finds herself in a truly draining state of affairs. To escape her hateful brother, Georgie accepts...more
Penniless and thirty-fourth in line to the throne, Lady Georgiana Rannoch finds herself in a truly draining state of affairs. To escape her hateful brother, Georgie accepts...more
Hardcover, 305 pages
Published
September 7th 2010
by Berkley Hardcover
(first published August 19th 2010)
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#4 in the Royal Spyness series. It's 1932, Lady Georgiana of Rannoch is 22 years old, impoverished, without prospects, and 34th in line of succession to the British throne. Queen Mary asks her to represent the Royal Family at the impending nuptials between Princess Maria Theresa of Romania and Crown Prince Nicholas of Bulgaria. The wedding is to take place in an old Transylvanian castle. Cut off by an avalanche in the dark, dreary castle all manner of events seem as if they could be vampire rela...more
The vogue for vampires has made its way to the Royal Spyness Mysteries in Royal Blood. Lady Georgie is sent to Romania by Queen Mary to attend the wedding of an old school friend, which is fortunate because Georgie’s sweet but clueless brother Binky and demanding sister-in-law Fig have taken up residence in her London home. After arriving in Eastern Europe the wedding party is soon snowed in and spooky goings on begin to happen in the dark corridors and chilly rooms of the ancient Transylvanian...more
Royal Flush was so good that I had wondered whether Rhys Bowen would manage to produce something equal to that yet again, but Royal Blood fulfilled every one of my expectations and more. I still preferred the setting of Georgie’s ancestral home in Scotland over remote Romania, but there were so many fun new aspects here that I didn’t mind in the slightest – I particularly enjoyed Ms. Bowen’s obviously tongue-in-cheek references to vampire mythology. Above all else, there was just as much Darcy i...more
As I promised myself, I read the first four books in the series I discovered late in 2011 about a member of the English royalty, 34th in line to the throne, called to monitor the activities of Wallis Simpson and the Prince of Wales by the Queen and any other number of tasks HM (Her Majesty) identifies. Lady Georgianna, as many others in England in the early 1930’s, is penniless and struggling to find work; despite this, she cannot turn down the Queen’s many requests whatever they might cost her....more
Fourth in the Her Royal Spyness suspense series based in London and revolving around the Lady Georgiana Rannoch, 34th in line to the throne and too poor to afford more than beans and toast.
My Take
This was pathetic. I may not have been particularly impressed with Georgie's detective abilities but I can't believe she is so stupid as to believe that vampires really exist. She has no evidence other than having read Stoker's Dracula and listening to that idiot Deer-Harte.
Oh, please! Count Dragomir...more
My Take
This was pathetic. I may not have been particularly impressed with Georgie's detective abilities but I can't believe she is so stupid as to believe that vampires really exist. She has no evidence other than having read Stoker's Dracula and listening to that idiot Deer-Harte.
Oh, please! Count Dragomir...more
If you were 34th in line to the English throne, somewhat impoverished, and looking for adventure, an invitation to represent the Queen at a wedding in Transylvania would seem the perfect opportunity--or would it? The year is 1932 and Lady Georgiana Rannoch decides she's better off hiring a maid (although she can't afford a truly polished one) to escape her annoying, mooching brother and sister-in-law who are coming for a long visit. What follows is a mystery replete with charm and humor, a sprin...more
I have been enjoying Rhys Bowen's stories about Lady Georgiana, cousin to King George, and think this 4th and most recent book in the series is the best so far. Lady Georgiana goes to Transylvania to be a member of a wedding party, and the topic of vampires is central. I am not generally attracted to vampire stories, but I read this one because of the continuing tale of Lady Georgiana. The story incorporates the traditional idea of vampires (dress, behavior, aversion to garlic, crosses, wooden s...more
The last thing her Ladyship expected to see while peering into the dark, Transylvanian night was some "thing" or some "one" climbing up Bran Castle wall.
Such are the things that tend to happen to poor Lady Georgiana Rannoch. She’s twenty-two, “depressedly” single, and thirty-fourth in line to the British throne. The King is her second cousin, and his wife, Her Majesty Queen Mary, loves to give Georgie little tasks. Most recently, she dispatched Georgie to keep tabs on the Prince of Wales’ new Am...more
Such are the things that tend to happen to poor Lady Georgiana Rannoch. She’s twenty-two, “depressedly” single, and thirty-fourth in line to the British throne. The King is her second cousin, and his wife, Her Majesty Queen Mary, loves to give Georgie little tasks. Most recently, she dispatched Georgie to keep tabs on the Prince of Wales’ new Am...more
Lady Georgiana Rannoch (Georgie to her friends), is again desperate. She has no job, no money, and her sister-in-law Fig has announced that she and Binky (Georgie's brother) will be joining her at Rannoch House in London. Georgie moved to London to avoid living with Fig, and wonders what to do now.
Once again, her relationship to the Queen works in her favour: Georgie is asked to represent the her Family at the wedding of her cousin (and old schoolmate) Princess Maria Theresa in Romania.
Along wit...more
Once again, her relationship to the Queen works in her favour: Georgie is asked to represent the her Family at the wedding of her cousin (and old schoolmate) Princess Maria Theresa in Romania.
Along wit...more
The fourth novel in Bowen's Her Royal Spyness series remains great fun, though the central mystery plot lacks the same excitement raised by the scares in the previous books.
This time, Georgie is snowed in at a castle in Transylvania with her mother, Belinda, two new female characters -- one a battleaxe, the other a quavering ninny -- who more or less belong to the same upstairs crowd, plus a maid named Queenie that she takes on at the suggestion of her cockney grandfather and his neighbor. All t...more
This time, Georgie is snowed in at a castle in Transylvania with her mother, Belinda, two new female characters -- one a battleaxe, the other a quavering ninny -- who more or less belong to the same upstairs crowd, plus a maid named Queenie that she takes on at the suggestion of her cockney grandfather and his neighbor. All t...more
One of my many New Year reading resolutions is to try to vary my reading and try some new genres so I was pleased when this book came my way. Royal Blood is the fourth book in the Royal Spyness Mystery Series and combines two of my favourite genres (historical fiction and romance) with something new for me; crime and mystery and I found it a very enjoyable read.
The story is told in the first person from the point of view of Lady Georgiana, cousin to the King of Engand and 34th in line to the thr...more
The story is told in the first person from the point of view of Lady Georgiana, cousin to the King of Engand and 34th in line to the thr...more
Another delightful murder mystery from Rhys Bowen!
Lady Georgie is the 34th in line for the throne, and soon would be 35th because her sister in law, Fig, is expecting.
On the day she received letter from Fig and her brother that they are coming to London, Lady Georgie also received letter from Her Majesty Queen Mary, requesting her present in the palace.
And we know, invitations from Queen Mary usually resulting in adventures for Lady Georgie. It turns out that the queen wants her to go to Roma...more
Lady Georgie is the 34th in line for the throne, and soon would be 35th because her sister in law, Fig, is expecting.
On the day she received letter from Fig and her brother that they are coming to London, Lady Georgie also received letter from Her Majesty Queen Mary, requesting her present in the palace.
And we know, invitations from Queen Mary usually resulting in adventures for Lady Georgie. It turns out that the queen wants her to go to Roma...more
Lady Georgiana is back in London, living alone in the house in Belgravia with tea and toast and very little else. She receives a letter from her snooty sister-in-law, Fig, asking Georgie to prepare the house for her and Georgie's brother Binky's, arrival in Town for the winter. Georgie is praying for a way to avoid dealing with the two of them when she receives a summons from Queen Mary. Her prayer is answered when Queen Mary sends her to Transylvania to represent the royal family at the wedding...more
Yet another enjoyable book in the Royal Spyness series featuring Ladie Georgiana, a penniless minor British royal, set during the 1930s. In this outing Georgie is asked by the queen to attend a wedding in Transylvania at a creepy castle. The bride to be is a former schoolmate of Georgie's who has asked her to be a bridesmaid. It turns out that her brother is Prince Siegfried (aka "Fishface") - a man who has been suggested by the queen and others as a potential husband. When a guest is poisoned a...more
Oct 26, 2011
Lori McD
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Shelves:
1930s,
chick-lit,
cozy-mystery,
easy-read,
british-lit,
fun-fluff,
pseudo-mystery,
romance,
2011_read
Vampires, wolves, and dead bodies - oh my! In the 4th book of the series, Lady Georgie finds herself in the old castle of Vlad the Impaler (Dracula) as the bridesmaid of an old school chum formerly known as Fattie Matty. Except that Georgie caught Matty (no longer fat) coming from the kitchen with what looked like blood dripping from her chin... and a strange, handsome Slavic man not part of the castle staff or wedding party keeps showing up -- once standing over her bed, looking as if he was go...more
I can’t seem to help myself with this series.
I have no sympathy for Georgiana, an impoverished royal, 34th (soon to be 35th) inline to the throne. I have no pity, no patience for her silly attempts to try to earn money, get “acceptable” work as royal. There is still too much of the fact that she is “royal”; she shouldn’t have to be making her way in the world; she wasn’t prepared for this. The queen and her family should realize her depressed circumstances and help her. Too bad life I hard for...more
I have no sympathy for Georgiana, an impoverished royal, 34th (soon to be 35th) inline to the throne. I have no pity, no patience for her silly attempts to try to earn money, get “acceptable” work as royal. There is still too much of the fact that she is “royal”; she shouldn’t have to be making her way in the world; she wasn’t prepared for this. The queen and her family should realize her depressed circumstances and help her. Too bad life I hard for...more
Feather-light and fun, this series was becoming a bit formulaic so the change in scenery from 1930s London to a creepy Transylvanian castle was refreshing. Having read several of Bowen's "Molly Murphy" series, I see the same pattern in this series - hapless, somewhat clutzy but endearing heroine stumbles through various adventures/mysteries while befriending the most interesting, profligate, sophisticated bohemians who constantly chuckle at her lack of experience and call her "darling" . . . hav...more
Rhys Bowen does not disappoint me with her latest novel in the "A Royal Spyness Mystery" series. In "Royal Blood" not only does Lady Georgiana find she is soon to be 35th in line to the throne from her 34th status, she also finds herself representing the King and Queen in a wedding set at Dracula's castle?
An blood heiress found penniless in the current world-wide depression, Lady Georgie finds it all a bit overwhelming and the thought of getting away from London during a terrible winter might ju...more
An blood heiress found penniless in the current world-wide depression, Lady Georgie finds it all a bit overwhelming and the thought of getting away from London during a terrible winter might ju...more
In this fourth volume of Her Royal Spyness series, Lady Georgiana Rannoch is still facing the same problems of noble poverty, annoying sister-in-law, peskily proposing prince, unconsummated love, and the odd murder. Fortunately, Georgiana is still approaching the problems with her same level-headed politeness, even when the royal wedding she is attending appears to have a vampire poltergeist. Georgiana's adventures remain outrageous and funny, and hardly ever venture into serious sleuthing (seri...more
Sep 04, 2012
Lillian Carl
added it
This is the fourth book in Bowen's charming Her Royal Spyness series, which takes place in the
1930s and features young Lady Georgiana, a distant (and impoverished) relative of King George
V. Georgie is delightful, and her romps through 1930s Europe are more amusing than dark.
In this installment, Queen Mary sends her to represent the British royal family at a wedding
between the Bulgarian and Romanian royal houses at an isolated castle in Transylvania. Vampire
legends play into the story, as doe...more
1930s and features young Lady Georgiana, a distant (and impoverished) relative of King George
V. Georgie is delightful, and her romps through 1930s Europe are more amusing than dark.
In this installment, Queen Mary sends her to represent the British royal family at a wedding
between the Bulgarian and Romanian royal houses at an isolated castle in Transylvania. Vampire
legends play into the story, as doe...more
The delightful Lady Georgina, 34th in line to the throne, is back and freezing in the cold London mansion. Her family has not given her an allowance nor are they willing to pay to maintain the London house. Hungry and cold, they show up in their hapless and judgemental way, try to bully her to make a good match in order to secure a financially secure future.
Desperate, she accepts an expenses paid trip to Transylvannia to represent the King and Queen at a wedding. As is her habit, mishaps, mistep...more
Desperate, she accepts an expenses paid trip to Transylvannia to represent the King and Queen at a wedding. As is her habit, mishaps, mistep...more
Now normally I would not be a big fan of mixing a cozy mystery with the whole vampire thing, but with Georgie right in the mix of things, I was game. Like the three previous books in the series, Royal Blood is a riot of funness to read. Yeah I know funness isn't a word, but it should be.
The mystery itself, the poisoning of the uncouth general, isn't all that interesting to me though. He was a boorish jackass who needed to die, otherwise I would have been annoyed every time he stepped out onto t...more
The mystery itself, the poisoning of the uncouth general, isn't all that interesting to me though. He was a boorish jackass who needed to die, otherwise I would have been annoyed every time he stepped out onto t...more
In this 4th book in the series centering on the misadventures of Lady Georgianna Rannoch, 34th in line for the British throne, and penniless as a church mouse, Georgie is once again rescued from life with her brother and grudging sister-in-law.
The Queen wants Georgie to represent the family at a royal wedding....in Transylvania. She provides train tickets for Georgie and her maid, never suspecting that Georgie is far too broke to even afford a maid. Now she's forced to find one who will not onl...more
The Queen wants Georgie to represent the family at a royal wedding....in Transylvania. She provides train tickets for Georgie and her maid, never suspecting that Georgie is far too broke to even afford a maid. Now she's forced to find one who will not onl...more
Kinda love this series. Queen Mary sends Georgie to a royal wedding in Transylvania as the representative of the English crown (tho Georgiana is 34th in line)...supposedly because the bride to be specifically requested her presence. Loved the send-up of the only-the-Brits-know-best chaperone, Georgiana's ongoing...romantic adventures, and the quite decently done depiction of 1930s aristocratic behavior. Her lady's maid is delicious. But I think my favorite part of this book--as with any Royal Sp...more
This is the Royal Spyness Mystery series set in England before WWII. The series appears to be light mystery, with much comic relief about the antics of the royalty. Duty trumps any personal yearnings. Lady Georgiana Rannoch stands at 34th in the line to the throne, a seemingly minor character. In this escapade, Georgiana goes to Transylvania as a bridesmaid for a schoolmate, as snow and murder intrudes upon the orchestrated event. The story presents a sad look at the duties of royalty and the gr...more
As usually happens I see a book a the library by a new to me author and then I realize halfway through the book I've started a series by reading the most recent book. That being said, this book stands on it's own. Previous events are mentioned but do not in any way affect the story.
I enjoyed this Royal Blood a lot. What's not to like about a wedding in Transylvania? The possibility of vampires and werewolves? A castle? Bed hopping royals? A story set right after the stock market crash in the 19...more
I enjoyed this Royal Blood a lot. What's not to like about a wedding in Transylvania? The possibility of vampires and werewolves? A castle? Bed hopping royals? A story set right after the stock market crash in the 19...more
In the latest installment of Rhys Bowen's "Her Royal Spyness" series, featuring Lady Georgiana, cousin to the Royal Family, Georgie travels to Transylvania to represent the Royals at the wedding of the daughter of the Romanian King and the son of the Bulgarian King. (I may have that backwards.) She and her maid must stay in the castle originally owned by Count Vlad -- the original vampire--and of course, she starts wondering if there are such things as vampires. Handsome Darcy shows up, of cours...more
This light mystery is a romp through Transylvania with the spectre of vampires and werewolves amid plans for a royal wedding. Yes, it is silly, but it is also tonic for those of us who need a pick-me-up or are a bit bogged down by so many dreary, angst-ridden contemporary novels.
I turned to this confection after discarding a Booker Prize nominee. I really, really would like to read some serious, uplifting, contemporary Literature (yes, let's give it a Big L) but until I find that magical holy gr...more
I turned to this confection after discarding a Booker Prize nominee. I really, really would like to read some serious, uplifting, contemporary Literature (yes, let's give it a Big L) but until I find that magical holy gr...more
Not my favourite of the Her Royal Spyness series to date. I felt that the author shoehorned a couple of the characters into the castle in Transylvania a rather contrived manner (Georgie's mother, Belinda) and then didn't even do anything with them once they were there. And the vampire thread seemed out of place for this series. One mention, given the setting was Transylvania, would have been fine, but it was brought up again and again, rather weakly. For all that George was supposed to have conv...more
Lady Georgianna has as always been asked to do her duty as a member of the royal family (all be it a distant member.) This time it is to attend the wedding of a Prince and Princess on the continent (Bulgaria and Romania). The princess is an old school friend that has asked specifically for Lady Georgie to be a member of her bridal party. Georgie needs to take on a maid to take the trip with her and needless to say at the very last minute she takes on Queenie who by no means lives up to any stada...more
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"I'm a mystery author, winner of both Agatha and Anthony awards for my Molly Murphy mysteries, set in 1902 New York City.
I also write the bestselling Royal Spyness series, about the British royal family in the 1930s. It's lighter, sexier, funnier, wicked satire. It was voted by readers as best mystery series this year.
I am also known for my Constable Evans books, set in North Wales, and for my aw...more
More about Rhys Bowen...
I also write the bestselling Royal Spyness series, about the British royal family in the 1930s. It's lighter, sexier, funnier, wicked satire. It was voted by readers as best mystery series this year.
I am also known for my Constable Evans books, set in North Wales, and for my aw...more
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Jan 02, 2011 11:43pm