Review: Very Well Done
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 6, 2013
I think I might be in love with all of the male characters in this book! Derek is absolutely delicious, readers, give him a chance. His story started out a little slow but be patient with him, there is a point. Harry is so infectious and bright, and Curtis with his dark and stormy nature are perfect foils. Ah, but Worthing, Worthing takes the cake and the entire tea service with it. Yum. I think it patently unfair of an author to have two such men as Derek and Worthing in the same book and ask any sane female to choose. Thankfully she keeps Curtis in leading strings for most of it or I don't know how I would have stood it.That all out of the way, lol, this was a fantastic book! I was initially skeptical because the blurb described it as spanning decades and I thought I was in for either a tortuous read or one so chopped I would barely be able to follow the leaps in plot. Thankfully, neither were the case. This book needs much better marketing, the blurb does not do it justice. The story does span decades, but more in the vein of the Secret Garden. Long stretches of plot deal with the main characters during pivotal points in their lives before settling in to the present day at about the half-way mark. This was an exquisite read. Now that I have read it once, I will go back through and re-read at a slower pace and savor the beginning. I admit to being impatient at the beginning but I was attached to the wrong character and was waiting for him to grow up. I didn't see how the author could bring the heroine together with the man that was being set up as the hero and by the time it made sense I was already deep  into the novel. The characters are all so well done, from the staff (I fell in love with the butler too!) to the female protagonists, they were all so alive. I love Johnny. I loved her final fencing scene and I applaud the author for her realism. I almost wish she had chosen "the better man" as Derek often refers to him because I quite honestly agree, but I understand her choice and I stand by it. Such a good book. You know a book is excellent when you start referring to the characters as real people and discuss the choices they make as if they actually had control over their actions. A salute to the author. Very very highly recommended for all Regency Romance lovers. This book is so good!