Review: Refreshing to read about a hero actively pursuing the heroine
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 23, 2014
It's always a pleasure to read a romance where the hero is head-over-heels in love with the heroine and pursuing her with determination.  It seems like there are so many regency romances where the hero is damaged in some way and sworn off marriage or the heroine is not up to snuff for some reason and he has to be convinced that he can't live without her.Simon knows immediately that Cassandra intrigues him.  He insults her the first time they meet, but he later explains he assumed she was a lady and he expected to be rebuffed by his rude proposition.  As he gets to know her, Simon becomes determined to marry her, but he does a bad job of making his honorable intentions clear to Cassandra. He tells his sister, his friend Harry and even asks her grandfather permission to address her, but Cassandra is in the dark.  This, on top of pressure from Cassandra's grandfather leads to the big misunderstanding towards the end of the book, which is cleared up fairly quickly.In addition to the romance between Cassandra and Simon, Cassandra has a whole other storyline going on. She discovers very early in the book that her parents are not her biological family and her grandfather is an Earl.  He wants to claim her as his family and has plans for her.  This plot is very nicely interwoven with her romance with Simon.I've read this book several times and have read all four books in the series.  It's interesting that another reviewer said her favorites were books 1 & 3, because my favorites were books 2 & 4.  I'll admit I tend to like regency stories that include wealthy "Cits" (merchant class characters), but also I appreciate the sincerity of the heroes in both books.  Simon's sister gives him some great advice in this book and he follows it closely since he'll do anything to win Cassandra's heart.  I love that such an arrogant lord can humble himself enough to listen to his sister, ask for her help and to be sensitive to the heroine's needs.