Review: Didn't feel real at all
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 05 28, 2013
This is a very short Regency story about a widow and a widower in unusual circumstances.Reggie's wife and Clara's husband betrayed them -- with each other.  When they died (in kind of unclear circumstances), Reggie took Clara under his wing to help her weather the scandal.  Clara is pregnant with her late husband's child, but Reggie can't deny his feelings for her.  All of this takes place before the story even begins, so it is not surprising that the author has difficult working in the back story gracefully.  It's a novella length story that the author tries to dispose of in a couple of paragraphs.Neither of the main characters come across as true products of their time.  Other than a couple of period terms, these two are modern people plopped in a historical situation and that, aside from the unusually rushed feel of the plot, was the main thing that kept me from enjoying the story.  Reggie's attitude and decisions weren't plausible and we didn't have enough time with him to fully believe that he was willing to throw away everything that would have been important to a man of his era.  Clara didn't seem to have a core personality at all.This may be a great author (she certainly seems to have some loyal fans), but I think she needs a longer format to work her magic.