Review: Superior Regency romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 12, 2014
This is a very well written Regency romance with much to recommend it. The period voice is immaculate, with the dialogue and narration feeling utterly authentic. The characters behave like people of their time and the plot is engaging and plausible.Hugh is a charming hero, methodical, loyal and tenderhearted. The book is written in the style of a traditional Regency, in which the story is typically told exclusively from the heroine's point of view with the reader left to deduce the hero's feelings from his words and actions, which the heroine does not always understand. This structure, combined with the fact that Theo is so handsome, capable and charming, makes him less accessible than Hugh.Hugh is rather awestruck by Theo and falls headlong in love with him, but presumably Theo's feelings are more complicated given the necessary duplicity of his spying mission. I can appreciate that the story is more suspenseful because the reader is in the dark about Theo's role, but I would have liked to experience more of Theo's struggle with his conscience and find out what attracts him to Hugh.Perhaps it's contrary of me to love the authentic Regency feel of this book yet be disappointed that Theo behaves like a man of his time who doesn't feel the need to verbalise his emotions at length. But that is why I gave the book only four stars. When I read romance I like to feel all the pain and the joy of both main characters.For many people this will be a five star read because it is technically excellent and engrossing. Even the stock characters and situations that abound in Regency romance are rendered in an entertaining way. Hugh's amusing family members and society's constant focus on marrying well provide a suitable backdrop for the central romance. I would certainly read more of Sarah Granger's work; it's a cut above most of what passes for historical romance these days.