Book Review | The Spice King Historical Novel

If you are looking for a great read with a little herbal, culinary, politics, history, romance and intrigue this is one of my favorite new reads. Elizabeth Camden  has a historical note in the end about the search, led by David Fairchild, a plant explorer, to find diverse seeds to provide a reliable food supply. This story revolves around the struggle to offer pure food products and the political implications of profit over health.

The Spice King is book number one in the series Hope and Glory by historical author Elizabeth Camden. An avid fan of history, I relished this setting of 1900 in Washington D.C. and surrounding areas. I learned about the early days of regulating the food industry and the beginning of the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.

"Gray Delacroix has dedicated his life to building his very successful global spice empire, but it has come at a cost. Resolved to salvage his family before it spirals out of control, he returns to his ancestral home to save his brother and sister before it's too late. As a junior botanist for the Smithsonian, Annabelle Larkin has been charged with the impossible task of gaining access to the notoriously private Delacroix plant collection. If she fails, she will be out of a job and the family farm in Kansas will go under. She has no idea that in gaining entrance to the Delacroix world, she will unwittingly step into a web of dangerous political intrigue far beyond her experience. Unable to deny her attraction to the reclusive business tycoon, Annabelle will be forced to choose between her heart and loyalty to her country. Can Gray and Annabelle find a way through the storm of scandal without destroying the family Gray is fighting to save? "