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April and May Kindle Edition

3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 112 ratings

Love knows no limits…

When they met in London in 1799, Rose Charteris and Tom Hawkesleigh fell instantly in love. But disapproving families and misunderstandings came between them, and the romance was over as quickly as it started.

Five years later, Tom is working for the Turkish ambassador in Constantinople and he runs into Rose once again when they cross paths in the ambassador’s quarters. Now a widow, and a fiercely independent woman, circumstances mean that Rose has no choice but to work with Tom on a top secret and dangerous document for the Sultan. Work in Constantinople becomes increasingly perilous, with spies from all sides desperate to find out what is planned.

Even back in London, danger is not far away. Rose also has the burden of finding her place in high Georgian society, as well as trying to decide between the increasing charms of both Tom and ambassador Kerim Pasha.

Will Rose be able to evade the increasing threat to her well-being that her work has led to? And will she succumb to her desires and give Tom back her heart? Spanning the magical lands of Constantinople and the traditional streets of London,
April and May is a heart-warming tale of a love that knows no boundaries.

Praise for Beth Elliott:


“Beth Elliott's books are witty, engaging and totally entertaining” –
Nicola Cornick, USA Today bestselling author

Always keen to travel,
Beth took a degree in Modern Languages in preparation for a life of adventure. Her first job was in France, where she met her Turkish husband, another keen traveller. After some years lecturing at Ataturk University in eastern Turkey, they became languages teachers in England. Inspired by the novels of Jane Austen, Beth set her own Regency Tales in the Napoleonic era, featuring adventure, intrigue and romance. Thanks to the years in Turkey, some tales include exotic settings and events. Nowadays Beth’s travelling is mostly done via the characters in her stories. According to an official review, her novels are “full of enjoyable moments”.

You can find out more on her website www.regencytales.co.uk

Editorial Reviews

Review

Constantinople in 1804 is not a setting I have come across before. Realistically, we only see what Rose and her party sees but it still sets the scene admirably.
Rachel Hyde, MyShelf
--MyShelf.com 2010

From the Author

This story begins in Constantinople with a secret mission but the danger follows the chief characters to London. A fast paced plot, an exotic setting, a strong-willed heroine and handsome suitors. Enjoy!
Why Constantinople? Dip into any book about the history of this glorious city and you'll find it was always abuzz with diplomacy and intrigue - a perfect setting for an adventure story. And its exotic glories make it perfect for romance.

It's the first of three Regency tales I'm writing using Constantinople as a setting.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01L27SL4Q
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lume Books (August 25, 2016)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 25, 2016
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.3 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 202 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 112 ratings

About the author

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Beth Elliott
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Beth Elliott always loved tales of long ago and far away, but soon the world of Jane Austen became her favorite place to go for company and pleasure. No wonder she sets her own stories in the era of Napoleon.

Beth's Regency Tales are stories of intrigue, adventure and romance, with a few real people in among the cast of characters, who find themselves caught up in events rather outside their normal lives. She hasn't yet put Napoleon in a story, but he's on the waiting list. On the principle of ladies first, especially in the Regency era, Lady Hester Stanhope played a small but vital role in 'Scandalous Lady.'

From her own experience of life in Turkey, Beth likes to add a touch of exotic to some of her stories, especially the series about the Montailhac brothers. But adventure and romance can just as easily occur in London, Bath or Brighton.

For more details and photos, see her blog, https://Regencytales.blogspot.com

and her website, - https://www.regencytales.co.uk/

Her stories are also available as ebooks and in Large Print editions

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
112 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2016
    Rose was desperately in love with young Tom, but due to interference from both families, each thinks the other has forsaken them. Rose has been pushed into a marriage with no love. Four years later in a land far away, the young widow again encounters the only man she has ever loved. Through adventure, intrigue, danger, and espionage, April and May chronicles the struggles this young couple endure to find love again.
    I would definitely give Beth Elliot two thumbs up!
  • Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2016
    A fun regency romance with an unusual twist, this story features a heroine who, although reared in the gentility, finds herself cut off by both her late husband's family, who kept her dowry but have no room for the young widow, and her own father, who disposed of his responsibilities to her, in his own view, when he married her to his godson, who seemed to rank higher in his concerns than his own daughter. Rose and her younger, unmarried sister Helena, have both been taken in by a kind and childless aunt and uncle, and travel with them to Egypt and other exotic places following their passion for antiquarian studies. While Helena joins eagerly in trying to crack the linguistic code of the newly discovered Rosetta Stone, Rose uses her more than ordinary artistic talent to draw the artifacts her uncle finds and, atypically for a gently-reared Regency-era lady, is thus able to earn her own income and not be dependent on her neglectful father or the charity of Sir Philip and Lady Westacote.

    Fleeing danger in Egypt, the ladies arrive in Constantinople seeking help from the British ambassador, only to be greeted by his assistant in the person of Rose's first and lost love, forbidden to her by her father not for any lack of good family and social standing, but owing to the interference of her sister-in-law. Tom's prospects as a landless second son have greatly improved due to his diligent Army and Foreign Office work, but he and Rose, having been forbidden any communication for five years by their respective families, both harbor sad memories and fears of rejection, and Rose, after a short but loveless marriage, values her hard-won independence.

    The big question: can the erstwhile lovers see past their injured pride and broken hearts to happiness, or will they once again lose each other. Will the harridan sister-in-law interfere once again, or will she learn the limits of her own controlling bitterness? Read all about it in this entertaining, fast-reading novel.
  • Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2017
    I've better liked some of Elliot's other work . This one starts well enough, but feels somewhat padded and formulaic as it goes on. I'll not keep it - but will try other work by this author. ..we all have our "off" days.
  • Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2017
    A delightful sweet Regency tale with a good story line. All the characters are well portrayed.
    Well written with well researched background!
  • Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2016
    I enjoyed this book. It was a pleasant intriguing historical romance with a happy ending . I so enjoy those.
  • Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2016
    When I was a boy, the local library refused to give adult tickets to anyone under the age of twelve. My grandmother came to the rescue by lending me hers. In exchange for being able to borrow all the moderately wicked stuff I could lay hands on, I only had to keep her fed with romantic fiction. Being a conscientious boy, I made sure to read everything before borrowing it for her. This gave me a taste for romantic fiction – especially historical romantic fiction – that has never entirely left me.

    Therefore, I enjoyed the first chapter of Beth Elliott’s April and May. We are at a ball in London in 1799. Rose Graham is young and silly and in love with dashing Tom Hawkesleigh. He, of course, has designs on her that are not wholly honourable. He takes her into a quiet room and makes an advance she is more than inclined to welcome.

    Sadly –

    “How dare you conduct yourselves in such a disgusting manner?”
    Her sister-in-law Augusta has caught them just in time. Tom is ejected in disgrace. Rose is told she will never see him again:

    “After such a disgrace, that is impossible. You cannot be trusted, and he is only a younger son.”
    Not a bad opening, and I expected the next chapter to move to Bath, with a foppish Lord or two and a villainous rake. Instead, however, we move straight to 1804, and are in Constantinople. Tom is a senior intelligence officer at the Embassy there. He is deep in negotiations with Kerim Pasha, who wants British help to modernise the Ottoman armed forces. Everything must take place in secret. Though some kind of modernisation is essential if the Empire is not to be pulled apart, the forces of conservatism are strong in Constantinople. Worse, the French still have ambitions in the Near East, and will do anything to stop an agreement with Britain.

    Into this comes Rose – now Rose Charteris, but a widow. She had been in Egypt with some relatives, trying to make sense of the hieroglyphs. A bandit raid has left her in urgent need of help. Kerim Pasha takes one look at her, and is very eager to help. Tom is jealous and protective, but uncertain of his own continuing feelings.

    From here, we move back to London, where the cast reassembles for what becomes a tight thriller – high politics, deception, attempted abduction, attempted murder. If you want to know more, I suggest you should find out for yourself.

    What did I enjoy about this novel? I have mentioned the plot already. But there is also a talent for describing places. My imagination has been filled for over a decade now with Constantinople, and I go to Turkey every year. In the relevant chapters of this book, I could smell the City and feel the warm bath of its climate. London is unexpectedly dark and mysterious. The sub-plot about the Egyptian hieroglyphs is convincing. This is primarily a romantic novel, and, if that is what you like, you will find everything you want. At the same time, it has touches of Patrick O’Brien and a steely quality that should make it of general interest.

    My only complaint is that I am not aware of a sequel. The politics alone make the story worth continuing – perhaps a trip to Egypt and a chase by French agents beside the pyramids. Also, if sketchily drawn, some of the characters are worth developing – Lady Westacote, for example. If I found Max a little dull, he would make a good murder victim in the ruins of Ephesus. Even horrid Augusta has potential. She could be abducted in Cairo by Bedouins, and go native in someone’s harem.

    And so, my overall judgement is – give us more. A writer’s fictional world is like a child. If you go to the trouble of creating one – and doing it as well as Beth Elliott has done – you are only at the beginning of your duty. The closing kiss should not be the end of this story.

    Richard Blake’s new novel Crown of Empire was published in London in April 2016.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2016
    This is a delightfully old fashioned romance with adventure thrown in. Young Rose and Tom fell in love, only to be cruelly separated by fate and unpleasant relatives. They meet in Constantinople a few years later -- she is now a widow and he is a diplomat and spy. Love still is not easy for this unlucky couple, but their journey is engaging and sweet. The details of the changing ways of the old empire and the delicate diplomacy, along with information about Egyptology, give depth to the story without bogging it down. A little more interaction between the leads would have added to the sizzle. Too much was going on in their minds, rather than being shown through actions. Lovely symmetry in the ending and a well deserved comeuppance for one certain shrew.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2016
    Really enjoyed this one. Love discovering a new author. Likeable heroine and interesting setting--Constantinople in early 1800s.

Top reviews from other countries

  • lesley whitfield
    5.0 out of 5 stars One to recommend
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 20, 2018
    I have read other books by Beth Elliott and thoroughly enjoyed them. This one did not disappoint. The setting and the twists in the story line made for a really good read. A considerable amount of research had gone into the book and I could not give it anything other than 5* If you want to escape and enjoy a wonderful read then I can recommend this book.
  • NannyVal
    3.0 out of 5 stars Ok
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 28, 2017
    Easy read, with many twists and turns. Always thought out come would be as it was but still enjoyed book.
  • Mildert
    4.0 out of 5 stars Romance and Artefacts
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 3, 2017
    A pleasant Regency romance interestingly set against the backdrop of the Napoleanic wars and the English and French squabbling over North Africa and pillaging artefacts. Exactly what you require in the genre, romance with some history for good measure. A touch about women's independence and the value of education too.
  • smj
    5.0 out of 5 stars good to read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 1, 2021
    really enjoyed this book
  • Ali C.
    5.0 out of 5 stars A good read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 31, 2016
    Enjoyable

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