Well, you guys, here it is, the second book in The Extraordinary Life of Amy Winston. Love’s Betrayal by Liza O’Connor starts where Pure Innocence had ended. If you want a more complete look at where we are, I had Pure Innocence here and, since then, reviewed it. Here’s what I thought about it: Just as the title says, Amy is pure innocence. This is a fun book, one that will leave you with a smile on your face and, maybe, the will to give being nice a shot. It sure works with Amy. Meaning, she goes through all sorts of heartaches and misfortune, but always lands on her feet because of her undying optimism and goodness. Read it, and feel good.
Now, as for Love’s Betrayal, here’s what you need to know and what Liza tells us about Nicolas.
Was Nicolas ever a good man?
Probably not. Nicolas states his father was often harsh with him. The father died long before Amy arrived, so we don’t know if his father was mean or just a good man who constantly tried to make Nicolas a good man, which he was not inclined to be. However, his mother was clearly not a good woman. She is selfish, caring only about herself. She is also a proven liar. I suspect many of Nicolas’ bad habits came from his mother
And while Nicolas does seem to be a decent guy on occasion, given all his less than proper behaviors, I’m thinking he was a scoundrel from birth. One specific event, which we don’t learn about until much later are his attempts to have Amy murdered while she was at school. Do you remember in book one when Amy and Domnika went out looking for Christmas bows and Thomas has blood on his sleeve? He had just killed one of the many assassins that were sent by Nicolas. Turns out the Queen’s best were kept busy protecting her for those years in Switzerland as Nicolas sent men to kill her, so her money would become his.
Only Amy never knew she was ever in danger. The four Kingsmen kept her safe and secure. In my mind, hiring assassins to kill Amy is sufficient to declare Nicolas a horrible man. Still, there were other inexplicable decisions that Amy did know about: such as his failure to fire the housekeeper after she had John Winston poisoned. No, Nicolas was not a good man, despite his pretenses to be one.
Synopsis
When Amy and her friend Domnika arrive in London, she discovers her guardian, Nicolas, is under the thrall of his ‘perfect’ wife. Neither is happy she has come. The only person who seems pleased with her arrival is the handsome valet, Antonio, who turns out to be far more than a servant.
Needing to escape her guardian’s care, Amy and Domnika take refuge at a fellow schoolmate’s home. Antonio leaves Nicolas’ service and becomes one of her many protectors. Unlike the other protectors, he becomes the first of many admirers that vie for her hand.
All the while, Nicolas continues to prove over and over that he is not the fine fellow her uncle had thought.
SALES LINKS
Book 1- Pure Innocence
Book 2 – Love’s Betrayals
Free for KU customers
Excerpt
He’s lying- I can see it in his eyes.
“Domnika has no family or friends in London we can impose upon. However, if you find our company such an imposition, then I promise we will only stay a few weeks and then with a letter from you to the manager of the winery, we’ll go on to my estate in Italy.” Amy tried very hard to hide the pain Nicolas’ words had caused.
“Your estate?” he asked in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“The winery in Italy. It is mine, is it not?”
Uncle John burst into angry curses and threats, all directed at Nicolas.
Lucky Nicolas could not hear him.
“There is a provision for you to have the property in Italy, if that is what you wish. However, I had not considered the matter decided. After all, you might wish to have another property instead, but we will address that when you have reached the age of maturity, which is twenty-one, if I recall.”
With inhuman force, a book flew across the room and struck Nicolas solidly in the chest.
Amy jumped up and stared at the book and then at Uncle John in shock.
“Do not admit you see me,” Uncle John warned. “He will no doubt have you put away in Bedlam, the damnable scoundrel!”
Amy blinked and returned her focus on Nicolas. “Father Duncan said you put it in my name a year ago, but you would remain guardian until I reached the age of eighteen. That is in six months. It had been my plan to remain here those six months, but given how little my company is wanted, I will gladly go on to my estate now, if you like.”
“Father Duncan was mistaken.”
“Didn’t he witness the signing?”
“He did witness my first attempt to turn the property over to you. Unfortunately, the solicitor I used was not an ethical man and the documents were lost rather than filed. I had new papers drawn, but the age of maturity was changed to twenty-one, I believe.”
“He’s lying!” Uncle John declared. “I can see it in his eyes. Either the papers are not drawn at all or he is lying about your age, but mark my word, Amy, he is lying.”
More About the Author
Liza O’Connor’s favorite books are Pride & Prejudice and Douglas Adams’ four book trilogy, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Go figure…
Raised in the southern mid-section of U.S., Liza escaped to the East Coast once out of college. She’s worked as a journalist, a radio DJ, a security guard, a stock broker, a strategist, and a business solutions consultant to name a few of her many occupations. Again…go figure.
She learned to fly planes, jump out of planes, hang-glide, kayak and scuba dive, to name of few of her ‘let’s kill Liza’ sports. However, her favorite activity is to hike with her dog Jess among the shaved mountains of NJ.
Investigate these sites:
Liza’s Blog and Website Facebook Twitter
MacKade ~ V.V. Strange 
I should have mentioned that when John Winston died from poison, he remained as a ghost to protect Amy. Once he left his body, he saw the true nature of everyone and discovered how dangerous her situation was.
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Liza writes fabulous books. Tweeted.
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She does, thank you, Daryl!
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