Review: Couldn't put this book down!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 22, 2011
A fire destroys the ducal manor, killing the duke and duchess, after which their four-year-old daughter Amber Johanna is missing. The gardener and his wife find the frightened little girl and keep her safe while madness reigns at the manor. But they keep finding reasons to hang on to her afterwards, such as wondering if she will be well-cared-for by her distant relatives, if someone started the fire on purpose and would kill her too if they knew she still lived, etc. The truth is, they lost a son named Johnny about the same age and Amber fit the bill. They make up a story about taking in an orphaned relative, and because they dress her as a boy and call her Johnny, and because she has lost her memory, no one suspects that she is the missing girl.The new duke has a stepmother that would like to see him dead so that her son could inherit. He has reason to believe that he is not really the true heir because his mother--who was hanged for murdering one of her lovers--conceived another man's child and passed him off as legitimate. He realizes he should not really inherit the dukedom, but his half-brother is only 12 and under the influence of his greedy mother, and thus not able to handle the onerous duties of restoring the burned manor, especially since the previous duke's fortune was left to his missing daughter and cannot be touched until she appears or is presumed dead after 7 years.Johnny becomes great friends with the duke, and is happy pretending to be a boy because she can be with people she loves and do things she enjoys. Her "parents" realize they should confess the truth, but are afraid that the duke's selfish stepmother will mistreat her and/or they themselves will be imprisoned or sent to Bedlam for hiding her in the first place. After Johnny rescues the duke from a fire when she is 11, she remembers her identity, but decides not to say anything because of fear that the duke will be angry at her deception and because she fears for her parents. Even when Amber Johanna is declared dead and the duke inherits her money, she keeps the secret because she wants everything to stay the same. Why does she need money anyway? Life is great the way it is.After her parents' deaths when she is 17, Johnny cannot give up the disguise. However, treachery on the part of the duke's stepmother results in her unveiled as a female, and the duke angrily sends her away to his aunt and cousin, who quickly discover her true identity. At that point, Johnny becomes Johanna, and she must become a lady and an heiress. "Johnny" was supposedly sent off to America while Johanna becomes an instant success in London society.Needless to say, Johanna soon realizes her friendship with the duke is really love, but she has no hope of being loved in return. When he offers marriage, she refuses, believing that he does it only for her inheritance. Of course, the duke has other reasons for wanting her, namely that he can't let any other man have her, and he refuses to give up.In the meantime, the evil stepmother continues her plotting against the two of them, but her plots have the unintended consequence of forcing the two into marriage. All is not well, however, because neither sure of the other's love, and the duke still has grave concerns about his parentage and his fitness to be duke. And his stepmother's plots against them become very treacherous indeed.I loved these characters and found myself anxiously turning the pages to find out what would happen. Truly, this is one of the best books I have read recently, and I will be eagerly checking out this author's past and future works.