Review: Delightful historical romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 16, 2012
The second installment in the Summerby series has adventure and mystery.Mary Croyden enjoyed her life just the way it was.  She loved spending time with her father and enjoyed learning all he knew about medicine.  She had a very unusual upbringing, for the last several years she and her father traveled around the countryside practicing medicine.  He kept detailed journals about his travels and the things he learned which seems to be where all the problems have started.  Recently her father was hit by a stray bullet at Waterloo and died leaving her alone.  Mary eventually makes her way to London to visit the solicitor to see what her father's will stated, thinking there is be a small home in Stepney and maybe a little inheritance, she is stunned when she finds out that not only did her father have a title he never used, but there is quite a bit of money that goes with the title.  Her father made her a sole heir and peeress in her own right and as unusual as it may be, she is now the Marchioness of Steepleton.Ryan Summersby has just arrived home from Oxford where he studies medicine. Sir Percy, a friend of the family and former boss is waiting to talk to him.  Percy works for the Foreign Office, Ryan along with his brother-in-law Michael and sister Alexandra all worked for Percy about a year ago on an assignment.  Ryan knows something is up since Percy is only here to see him.  Sir Percy tell Ryan that he made a promise to a good friend several years ago that if anything happened to him he would watch out for his daughter.  His friend must have believed that whatever he was working on would bring danger to his daughter.  The daughter is none other than Mary, the new Marchioness that recently arrived in London.  Sir Percy is asking Ryan for a personal favor to meet her and watch out for her, plus he must do this without telling her.Mary is leading a double life, she wants to stay in London to make friends and enjoy her new freedom and still wants to help people as a surgeon even though no one is supposed to know about it.  Unfortunately there are several that do know about her, Dr Helmsley who worked with her father and knows she is one of the best surgeon's around, the Earl of Woodbridge who happens to be the Master of the Royal College of Surgeons and then apparently some gentlemen that do not like what she is doing, have threatened her and want her father's journals.Ryan and Mary meet at a ball and at first he does not realize she is the one who he needs to protect.  When he finds out, he is please since he likes her as a person.  Ryan is determined to spend time with her and protect her at the same time.  They have a nice start to a romance however things unravel when she feels threaten, he tells her who he really is and then he gets angry when he finds out about her secret life.A very enjoyable story, I liked that Mary is a strong and smart individual that did not want anyone to tell her what to do and that she wanted to do the right thing.  I especially liked when she showed Ryan what working in medicine is really like, as she helps him save a small boy.  I liked seeing previous characters from the first book and look forward to reading William's story.  Ryan was a little annoying when he kept telling her she should not practice medicine however considering the times it is probably what most men would think.  They eventually compromise and grow to love each other even as the threats heat up, Mary is in grave danger and there are few they can trust.  The story is compelling and interesting, the medical information is intriguing.Review also posted at Ramblings From A Chaotic Mind