Review: The Princess of Nowhere by Prince Lorenzo Borghese

The Princess of Nowhere by Prince Lorenzo Borghese
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ (Enjoyable read)
 
Book Source: Given to me by Amy of Passages to The Past
Genre: Historical Fiction

Setting: Early 1800’s. Pauline’s husband, Emmanuel, has just passed away and now her ambitious brother, Napoleon Bonaparte, wants her to marry Prince Camillo Borghese for his own political reasons.

Synopsis: Recently widowed, Pauline is asked by her brother to take in her young cousin, Sophie, in order to provide her with a better life than what her father can give her. At first Sophie is shy and reserved around her vivacious cousin. However, it doesn’t take long for Sophie to see Pauline as a goddess who she begins to idolize.

Prince Camillo Borghese knew since childhood that his bride required the approval of the pope and would be chosen for him not by him. This was true until he laid eyes on the flirtatious Pauline. Within their first meeting they both were in awe of each other, although, Camillo had his reservations in marrying her due to her scandalous reputation. Pauline was still supposed to be in mourning for her first husband, but they couldn’t wait to be with one another. So they were soon married in secret, despite Napoleon’s relentless objection.

Even though they were both passionately in love with one another, their marriage was no fairytale. Pauline was wild and eccentric and did not like being told what and what not to do by anyone, especially by her husband. Camillo was very conventional and adamant in staying true to tradition. It was no shock when Paulina started to rebel by having affairs with other men and spending outrageous sums of money. Camillo only put up with her unseemly behavior for so long out of love. They later went their separate ways and lived separate lives for many years until something brought them back together one last time.

Review: I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed Lorenzo Borghese’s book. With him being a distant heir to the Borghese family and this being his first novel I thought this book would be full of bias and that I would be let down. Let me just say that that was not the case. I found this story to be charming, erotic, and amusing.

The characterization was perfection. It was apparent that Lorenzo did his research and really built the characters from the inside out. Paulina was so eccentric and wild that I just couldn’t help but envying her at times. Don’t get me wrong I don’t envy her being able to go out and have affairs with other men but what I do envy is her confidence and poise. Prince Camillo is the dark and handsome prince that every girl dreams about. Yes he was a little prude in the beginning but he did come out of his shell bit by bit. Now Sophie was a bit odd. At first she sort of gave me the creeps by always sneaking around and practically worshiping Pauline, however, I began to understand her better as the story progressed.

As witnessed through the eyes of Pauline’s young cousin and surrogate daughter, this book is full of scandal, passion, and humor. I loved the historical aspect of this book and getting to know Pauline and Camillo Borghese. I would recommend this book to any historical fiction enthusiast.