Half a Step Away from Love

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

In the scheming world of palace intrigue, Inessa Antego is in her element. Being the first lady-in-waiting to the Duke's sister, she won't stop at anything to please her mistress. Cancel an unwanted wedding? Easy. Show a secret lover out of the Duchess' bedchamber? Not a problem. Steal a portrait which compromizes the Duke? All you need is ask. Never mind she does it all with a little help from the palace ghosts. It's true that ghosts' friendship comes with strings attached, but what's a few favors between friends?The only problem is, Inessa has to play her scheming game against Lord Cameron Estley. Who is smart, clever and painfully handsome. Can she successfully juggle her lady's interests and those of her own heart? Especially considering that hate is only half a step away from love?

Information

Status
Hiatus
Year
2016
Author
Warchan

Tags

FANTASYDRAMAHISTORICALSUPERNATURALROMANCE SUBPLOT

Royal Road Stats

Rating
4.1/ 5.0
Followers
51
Views
24,632

Chapters(17 total)

Reviews

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Community Reviews(2)

  • MaigneRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 4.5
    This is awesome!
    It's like I'm watching a movie series about games on politics,
    both the grammar and the story paint those pictures in my mind
    Me like it
  • StenDuringRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 4.5
    I ran into this one by accident and started reading just to see if it was some kind of misguided satire. No. Apart from some mild mislabling concerning the tags, this is exacly what it says it is.
    Valid as of chapter sixteen.
    Here we have a mischiveously told little gem, so very unlike most of what can be found on RRL. With a female protagonist to boot.
    The story is told from the first person point of view, in the voice of the cheeky Inessa, lady in waiting for ducchess Mireya. Inessa is a young woman with a beautiful and brilliant head firmly screwed on to her body, and she uses it ruthlessly to help her duchess out of one tricky problem after another.
    The story is also told right, the way first person stories should be told. It's only ever one first person narrator. No magic POV-shifts where the reader becomes me, myself and I with several different minds.
    Add a wide array of well rounded side characters, including the main antagonist, who also doubles as Inessa's love interest. He has a head just as brilliant as she, and to further add to the quality of the story, from time to time he outsmarts her in the most humiliating way possible. No invincible OP MC here.
    The 'historical' tag should go. The setting is mosty in a palace in a faux European kingdom. The supposed time period is a bit unclear, but somewhere between late 18th century to late 19th century is my guess. Anyway, magic is a known entity, as well as a pantheon of gods, which immediately outrules 'historical'.
    Notably a bit lighter on the romance aspect than the cover would have you believe. The heroine is very much brilliant brains and very little starstruck with love.
    I'd also prefer to see the 'comedy' tag added, because the story is generously sprinkled with a witty humour that sometimes winks at you and deliberately regresses into outright slapstick.
    Chapters are long. The sixteen here take us well past two main story-arcs, past a third, outside the palace, and ends that one cleanly.
    So for the dis