When Passion Rules

When Passion Rules by Johanna Lindsey
Johanna Lindsey's novel was initially confusing since the location is the fictional kingdom of Lubinia which is somewhere East of Austria but the novel is set twenty years after the Napoleonic Wars. Luckily the plot was intriguing enough to make up for the borderline fantasy location. Alana (the main female character) is brought up to think she's nothing special, although extremely well educated, only to find out she's actually the abducted princess of Lubinia instead of the assassinated in the cradle princess. She and her former assassin turned guardian travel to Lubinia from London to prove her identity and prevent a civil war, except the main male character, Christopher Becker, the captain of the palace guards imprisons her as an impostor. Drama ensues as Alana and Christopher bicker their way through assassination attempts on Alana's life while trying to prove that Alana is or isn't the missing princess. The twists in the plot make this novel a fast and entertaining read even if the location is too fanciful for me and the use of contemporary language makes random and jarring appearances and the title is cliche.