Newly married Julia Elliston is ready to live a happy life with her new husband. However, problems from her past continue to resurface from Macy to her father, and it seems that she will never find any peace. As secrets unravel and Macy continues his relentless pursuit of her, Julia will have to fight with everything in her if she wants to stay with her loving husband and away from the evils that would destroy her.

PRICE OF PRIVILEGE is a quick-paced novel with a strong voice. This is the third in a series, and having not read the others, some parts are confusing. However, Jessica Dotta does an excellent job of keeping the reader mostly up to date on everything, and Julia's first person narration easily and smoothly sucks you in from the first chapter.

With Julia's honest narration guiding the story, the plot points fall one after the other, leaving you nearly done with the novel before you realize how long you've been sitting there reading. As the plot points progress, Julia and Edward's relationship develops beautifully. Newly married (and during historical times), they are getting to know each other in new ways and learning to adapt in surprisingly intimate ways. They feel real and true, never seeming like a fairy tale romance where everything is fine but still brimming full of growing love and connection.

As much as I enjoy the characters and plot, some parts of the story are a touch over dramatic. Sometimes I felt myself wanting to skim over the more repeated and occasionally long winded dramatic passages and dialogue, but this only happened a handful of times. It didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of the story.

For readers looking for a historical and religious romance, PRICE OF PRIVILEGE is the perfect choice. Though Jessica Dotta does a marvelous job at background information, it's clear the story would be more thoroughly enjoyed with reading the previous novels. All in all, PRICE OF PRIVILEGE is an enjoyable and heart-pumping read!

Book Summary

Having finally discovered the truth of her birthright, Julia Elliston is determined to outwit Chance Macy at his own game. Holding a secret he’d kill to keep, however, is proving more difficult than she imagined.

Just when Julia thinks she’s managed to untangle herself from Macy’s clutches, he changes tactics with a risky ploy. As the scandal of the century breaks loose, drawing rooms all over London whisper what so far newspapers have not dared to print: Macy’s lost bride is none other than Lord Pierson’s daughter—and one of the most controversial cases of marital law ever seen comes before Victorian courts.

Though Julia knows Macy’s version of events is another masterful manipulation, public opinion is swaying in his favor. Caught in a web of deceit and lies, armed only with a fledgling faith, Julia must face her fiercest trial yet.