Title: The Prince of Almond Manor
Author: Gregory Jonathan Scott
Genre: Historical
Length: Novel (271 pages)
ISBN: 978-0991467488
Publisher: Gregory Jonathan Scott Books, LLC (30 Nov 2019)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: 💖💖💖💖💖 5 Hearts
Reviewer: Prime
Blurb: A genuine romance—a companionship misunderstood—one of earnest affection that could be torn apart by those around them?
Can a relationship between two men from opposite sides of the social order overcome the odds and survive at a time of an old-style declaration of living?
In mid eighteen hundred, the largest almond plantation south of the Mason Dixon line was home to Deklan Royal, however, deep down, it didn’t feel like a home. He sensed a part of him was missing, an emotional desire he’d been keeping hidden since a very young age—that was, until he’d come across Oakland, a reserved servant of the Royal Manor and the one man who could change everything for him.
With no warning, a single magical event had set the plantation affair into motion, brought on by a mysterious gentleman who summoned a fairy-tale twist not even Oakland understood.
Enduring parental clashing and blurring promises, Deklan and Oakland find themselves developing a relationship that could result in scorn and even exile. Caught in the center of eminent pressures, Deklan faces discouraging predicaments with his foreboding father, those of which expose a surprising overview of who Oakland is.
With family principles putting up walls between them, the two heart-bound men cling to threads of hope, battling obstacles that matter most—their love for one another and a life of happiness into their very own ever after.
Find out if Deklan risks his wealthy family ties for the chance at love with the man he knows to be the other half of his own soul. If surrounding conflicts outweigh their love and desire, both Deklan and Oakland face revulsion at its strongest.
The Prince of Almond Manor is an interracial historical romance between two men. Erotically written with extreme situations of desire not suitable for readers under the age of eighteen.
Purchase Link: Amazon US | Amazon UK
Review: The Prince of Almond Manor is a historical romance by Gregory Jonathan Scott, who is a new author to me, so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect.
I’ll admit, I was immediately intrigued. The title had me thinking that there could be some possible thriller, mystery or paranormal aspect to the book – not sure why, but I was completely off the mark.
I was even more intrigued when I read the blurb that this is a historical romance. I love historical novels, and historical romances are the only MF romances that I really enjoy reading these days. Now this can always go two ways, mostly because of the historical persecution of the LBGTQI+ community. Authors will ignore all persecution (arguably, while many of the legalities have been resolved the persecution still exists to this day, just not quite on the same puritanical level) and write a historical novel with society functioning with the same opinions as it does now. Or they won’t ignore the persecution but they were make a conceivable way to make these secret romances wonderful. Gregory Jonathan Scott managed to do the latter which is why I really liked this novel.
However, Scott manages to do a double whammy on historical taboos, because not only is this a same sex relationship, it is also interracial relationship with a man shortly after the end of slavery in the American South (I am sure that there could be many discussion about how this has the end of slavery being the absolute end of the persecution of POC, I won’t get into that). How much more interesting things does one need?
The titular Prince of Almond Manor is actually Deklan Royal, whose family has owned and run one of the largest almond plantations in the South. He’s never been fully comfortable in his surrounds but things change when Deklan meets one of the plantation’s black servants, a reserved and observant man by the name of Oakland. This is a really gentle and deep story that leads to love. The guys know just what society thinks of men with their types of sexual proclivities, but their grand romance starts off with a really easy and wonderful friendship. The world is changing around them but no matter what they know that they have to be careful about revealing their desires to anyone but each other.
What I love most about this book is the depth of the characters and depth of the emotions that we observe as a reader as the book goes along. Overall, this is a fantastically written and well-paced historical romance. If you’re not sure about reading a historical gay romance, I think that The Prince of Almond Manor is a good place to start within the genre.
