The review site for lovers of traditional Regency Romance books from Heyer to Smith and beyond
One of my all-time favourite Joan Smith books.
From the book blurb:
Ella Fairmont, as the anonymous Miss Prattle, has taken the Duke of Clare to task regularly in her gossip column. The duke, unsuspecting, includes Ella and her aunt in his week-long country houseparty. He has also included the blue-blooded Lady Honor, the strikingly beautiful Miss Sheridan, and the multi-talented Miss Prentiss. How could one “ordinary” young lady with a sharp tongue compete with three sterling debutantes?
I’ve mentioned before how much I love Mary Balogh’s writing style and it is definitely in full flower here.
From the book blurb:
Grace Howard has every reason to be devoted to Sir Peregrine Lampman. After all, the gallant gentleman rescued her from poverty by making her his bride. Even more nobly, he did not withdraw his affection after she confessed to a youthful folly that had compromised her virtue. But Grace did not tell the whole truth about the handsome lord who betrayed her—and now the one thing she’s kept from Perry threatens to destroy her last chance at true love.
“It being not quite the thing to advertise in the London papers for a wife, Anthony Earheart, Marquess of Staunton, eldest son and heir of the Duke of Withingsby, advertised instead for a governess.” What a great way to start a book about a marriage of convenience! And the book continues to deliver from there. […]
The blurb: Elinor Bascombe, widowed and tied to an impoverished estate, has learned to ask little of life. With no hope of leaving, the years have passed her by. Lord Ryde, exiled abroad after a scandal, has returned to strip his estate and make a new start in America. A chance encounter changes their plans, […]
The blurb: Claudia Milmont has lived most of her joyless life with her grandparents, though her mother enjoys the fringes of society in London. When Claudia’s Aunt Sophie dies, a whole new world opens up for her. Cantankerous Sophie has instructed that her diamonds be buried with her—and Claudia is determined to help her cousin […]
