In each of the first two books of the series, I had third point-of-view character who was the heroine’s lady’s maid. I obviously needed another third character to give us that below-stairs view in this books . . . but I wanted to shake it up a bit. So instead of getting to know the heroine’s maid, I decided we’d get to know the villain’s.

I loved introducing Kira Belova, who introduces us in turn to the mysterious Russian buyer of the diamonds that we’ve heard mentioned since book 1. Well let me just tell you, Andrei Varrenikov is quite the piece of work. And Kira is his mistress (though we never see them in any such situations, don’t worry!). Once the prima ballerina with the famous Ballet Russe, a knee injury has left her broken and desperate to cling to the life she’d worked for. Willing to do anything to keep her pretty Parisian flat and the facade of wealth she’d gained through Andrei.

Even spy for him. Even though it means posing as a maid–a servant’s position her family had worked generations to escape from.

Through Kira, we get a glimpse into Russia before the Bolshevik Revolution. A hint of a very different culture than the English one we’ve otherwise seen. And, I hope, a few surprises. =) It’s also thanks to Kira that we get the 3 scenes in the book set somewhere other than the Cotswolds–PARIS!

Photo of the Eiffel Tower taken by my daughter, by the way. And we crossed right over the Place d’Iena and saw signs for the Guimet, the museum mentioned there! How cool is that?!

Now. Today begins the Celebrate Lit Blog Tour for A Lady Unrivaled, which means lots of chances to get some opinions about the book and enter my giveaway that’s exclusively for Celebrate Lit!

Included in this giveaway is a tin of tea from England. But not just from England. From HRH Prince Charles’s Highgrove Shop–a shop attached to his Cotswold estate, where he’s an avid organic farmer/gardener. (All proceeds from the store go to a charity.) So this isn’t just any tea, this is prince-approved tea. 😉

Here’s the Celebrate Lit line up!