Book Review: A Gilded Lady by Elizabeth Camden

Elizabeth Camden is on my “Must Read” author list, which is why I review her books so often. Her Hope of Glory series continues with the second book, A Gilded Lady.

Caroline Delacroix comes from a monied background, a society background. She has no need to work, but she took a job in the White House as secretary to President McKinley’s wife, Ida. Not only does she enjoy working for the difficult woman, she has an ulterior motive—freeing her twin brother, Luke, from a Cuban prison through a presidential pardon.

Nathaniel Trask hunts down counterfeiters…until his boss appoints him head of the Secret Service detail to protect the president. His answer?

Absolutely not. I’ll never work as a bodyguard. You know that.

Um… Yeah. That worked out as planned. But it did put him in the company of Caroline.

I absolutely adored this story, more than The Spice King, actually. Caroline was a combination of class, compassion, and courage. In many ways, Nathaniel was single-minded, highly competent, and driven.

An added bonus was the historical tidbits regarding the McKinleys and the administration. Of course, I knew of the assassination, but not of the couple’s history and Ida McKinley’s issues. So, I did a little digging on the side. That’s why I enjoy Ms. Camden’s books. Her topics instill a desire to know more.

In this book, we get the explanation of Luke’s story, which I won’t go into. Spoilers and all. I can only say I’m ready.

Have you seen that if you put The Spice King and A Gilded Lady together, the covers came from one large photo (see Book One’s Gray Delacroix’s elbow?). With Luke’s story yet to come, I couldn’t wait to see the rest of that photo. 🙂 Then I noticed it’s already up for preorder on Amazon! So, here’s your look at Luke (with Caroline’s reflection in the mirror).

I give A Gilded Lady a well-deserved 5 stars!