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The Emperor's Conspiracy is a brilliantly written Historical Fiction with a dash of romance. Not only did I love the entire novel, I was completely entranced by the amazing plot, rich details and striking characters that sucked me right into nineteenth-century London until the very last words.

This story is about Charlotte Raven, who once was a poor chimney sweep until Lady Catherine Howe took her in after Charlotte became trapped in her chimney. Charlotte never lost her ties to the streets thought She continued seeing her childhood friend and ex-lover Luke Bracken who grew to be a bitter and ruthless crime lord, even so Charlotte could never really get it over her heart to shake herself lose from him, nor he from her. They shared a tight bond.
When Charlotte meets Lord Edward Durham, a secret agent for the Crown, she immediately feels attracted to him, which surprises her more than anything, since she has never allowed any man close to her after Luke.
Through events she finds herself in the middle of a conspiracy that threatens England. Charlotte has to walk between both world to find out what really is going on. That's where things really start to get dangerous. Murder, intrigue, danger and passion follows.

I was hooked instantly by Michelle Diener's writing.So wonderful to read. Not to mention fast paced and detailed. I was truly blown away. The story, setting, characters and mystery kept my attention non-stop. I felt compelled to keep on reading and reading. Even into the midle of the night when I knew I should've been sleeping. I kept turning page after page and saying to myself; "Just one more chapter..."

I love complex characters and there were quite a few in The Emperor's Conspiracy. Charlotte was my favorite character. She was an amazing heroine to read about. Beautiful, strong, independent, straight forward, smart and very loyal to her friends. Everything a good heroine needs. I loved her bond with Luke, although one might see their relationship as unhealthy or messy, and yet I loved to see them together in scenes, interacting. Even so, I liked Charlotte and Edward together even more. I loved Edward! He was pretty amazing. Protective, handsome and intellifent. I just fell completely for him. Luke on the other hand was very intense, bitter, fierce, wanting Charlotte for his own, obsessive even. He wanted to much for Charlotte to love him, when she'd never love him in any other way than a friend or family. So, yes, that was pretty sad for him even though I was immensely rooting for Charlotte and Edward. My sympathy for Luke will never go away.
This book is based on real facts and events, which I just love because I'm such a history geek. I totally devoured it all.

The ending of this novel was a little inconclusive as to where her relationship with Edward would go. So I sincerely hope there will be a second instalment. But even with the inconclusive ending, I liked it. Charlotte finally had sort of freed herself from the ghosts of her past. So this was a very good ending in my opnion.
I loved the romance between Charlotte and Edward. It wasn't overdone or anything, even if sometimes it verged more on lust. They made such a good and beautiful couple. They really had the electric attraction. But like I've mentioned before, it was inclusive if they would make it or not. But I do hope so.
I have to say, there are some tough topics in this book that are definitly Rated R. Just a little warning there for the sensitive readers.

So, it's obvious how in love I am with this book. It's a new personal favorite of mine and I'm definitely not hesitating to read the other books by Michelle Diener for she has gaint a new fan with me.
I'd recommend The Emperor's Conspiracy to anyone who loves historical fiction or romance books with a suspense twist to it. Even if you're not a fan of this genre, I would ask you to read it, because this novel is absolutely brilliant.