A Gilded Lady by Elizabeth Camden

About the Book
Caroline Delacroix is at the pinnacle of Washington high society in her role as secretary to the first lady of the United States. But beneath the faade of her beauty, glamorous wardrobe, and dazzling personality, she's hiding a terrible secret. If she cannot untangle a web of foreign espionage, her brother will face execution for treason.
Nathaniel Trask is the newly appointed head of the president's Secret Service team. He is immediately suspicious of Caroline despite his overwhelming attraction to her quick wit and undeniable charm. Desperate to keep the president protected, Nathaniel must battle to keep his focus fully on his job as the threat to the president rises.

Amid the glamorous pageantry of Gilded Age Washington, DC, Caroline and Nathaniel will face adventure, danger, and heartbreak in a race against time that will span the continent and the depth of human emotion.

My Thoughts
This series is fast becoming my favorite of Camden’s works and I am not mad about it!
After meeting Caroline in book one of this series I knew she’d be a heroine to admire and that it was going to take a very special man to capture her heart. I was right on both accounts!
Caroline was an expertly crafted character, she was confident and charming without being arrogant or obnoxious. And while she’d had a bit of a wild side growing up she had learned how to temper it, making her a lady of poise and grace who wasn’t afraid to break rules if the situation called for it!
Nathaniel was the exact opposite of Caroline, a rule-follower to the bitter end he came across as hard and unyielding. But Caroline saw through that to the amazing dedicated man he was and I loved watching her coax him out of his professional wall. The two of them were a study in opposites attract and they balanced each other so well! I loved watching their relationship slowly unfold!
One of my favorite things about Camden’s writing is all the historical detail she incorporates! She takes bits of history that often are overlooked, especially in fiction, and brings them to light in a completely brilliant way that leaves you knowing so much more than you did at the start without ever bogging the reader down in the details. It is all organically woven into the story and I applaud her greatly for that! I loved getting an inside look at life in the White House 120 years ago and I was shocked by how lackadaisical security was! I’m so glad that has changed and extreme measures are taken now to protect the First Family! It was interesting to watch Nathaniel implement his security ideas which seemed so over the top to the staff then but would be taken as the bare minimum now!
It was also fascinating to read about how things were handled following the president’s assassination and the swearing in of Roosevelt. I hadn’t really considered how the changing of staff would go in that situation.
We also got to read more about Luke, who, when we left him in book one, was being held in Cuba for charges of treason. I loved getting more of his story and I cannot wait to read even more when his book comes out!

In short I loved this book and definitely recommend it! And while you could probably read this series as standalones there are continuing threads throughout that make more sense when read as a whole!

Meet the Author
Elizabeth Camden is best known for her historical novels set in Gilded Age America. Before she was a writer, she was an academic librarian. Her novels have won the RITA and Christy Award and have appeared on the CBA bestsellers list. She lives in Orlando, Florida, with her husband, who graciously tolerates her intimidating stockpile of books. Learn more at www.elizabethcamden.com.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.