Review: Not bad, but the ending brought the book down
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 25, 2012
For the most part, this was actually a great and basically clean historical novella. It was written in a very traditional style, with the heroine being a young and innocent debutante experiencing her first Season (the girl makes her come out at the age of eighteen, but I was under the impression that they usually had their Season when they turned seventeen?). As a result of this naivety, she confuses a quick kiss by a fortune hunter as love and part of a courting attempt. It was all a little bit silly from the eyes of a reader, but I thought it did an exceptional job of realistically portraying how many young debutantes might first see things. I also liked that the hero was a shy guy for a change, rather than a rake (as a male reader I like to root for the hero too). I would have given the book five stars, except at the peak of the conflict the heroine's words and actions were simply cruel. Even if she believed she didn't love her husband, she should have tried to at least respect him after agreeing to his marriage proposal. While her behavior probably was still typical of a debutante, it took away from my enjoyment of the story and resolution, as well as from the belief that the characters might actually be in love. In short, I do feel the novella was worth reading to see such a unusual take on the Regency period but I doubt I'll be reading it again.