Review: Very Cute Story with Great H/h
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 30, 2014
I enjoyed reading this story and thought the primary characters were somewhat interesting.  I have a weakness for the Guardian/Ward historical romance novels so decided to purchase this one and become familiar with this writer.In this story, Lord Michael Durham's deceased father had suffered from a case of assumed madness.  Of course in those days, little was known about the mind and the causes that led one to have mental issues.  Therefore, it was widely held that the offspring of these folks, were also susceptible to what was often termed madness.  Although many people in society were aware of Durham's father's issues, he had been dead for some years, so little was made of it.  For Michael, he enjoyed his country home, didn't care much for the London Season and had decided he would never marry lest the same issues which befell his father came upon him.Then, the lovely Elizabeth entered into his well ordered and well thought out life.  He didn't want this ward foisted upon him but it seemed the guardianship of Elizabeth was part and parcel of everything else he inherited from his uncle including his title.  For Elizabeth's part, she was accustomed to running her cousin's estate, had a small dowry and when her cousin's wife pushed her out, the thought foremost in her mind was to persuade her guardian to allow her to spend her dowry on a small estate in the country that she could call her own.  Accustomed to wearing breeches and taking care of the land, entering London Society was quite a chore for Elizabeth.From the moment Michael met his ward, hoyden though she was, he was more than interested in her and found it difficult to hold to his earnest intentions to never court a woman with the intention of marriage.  Even though he was tasked with the job of finding suitable candidates for a potential husband for Elizabeth, he did promise her that if she couldn't agree on a candidate, he would help her purchase a small estate.  Of course, Elizabeth fell hard for Michael but he was warm and then cool, warm and then cool, hot and then cold, because he couldn't bring himself to put her in the position of having to nurse him if madness should descend.  He withheld his reasons for his cool behavior and this brought some angst into the storyline.  It actually became a bit much.  When villains descend with intentions to harm Elizabeth, Michael has to make some hard decisions.  But, he comes through like a champ.