Fifth Daughter
Rejected from birth by her father, who blamed her for her mother's death, Maresa Fairweather grows up without the love of a real family. But she finds a satisfactory substitute in her neighbors, the Bronwells, whose younger son Percy becomes Maresa's best friend and confidant. Unaware that Percy is in love with her, Maresa blossoms into a beautiful young woman with a reputation as a flirt who leaves behind a trail of broken engagements. When Maresa once again finds herself engaged to a man she does not love, this time while she is in Italy visiting her mother's family, she turns to Percy, who is an officer in the British navy, for help in breaking the engagement. Now Percy must decide if he is willing to become involved again with the one woman he is trying to forget. Coffman is particularly good with characterization, including the delightfully stubborn, willful Maresa, while the wild Yorkshire moors and Tuscan countryside settings give this regency historical a refreshingly different flavor.John CharlesCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved