Fiery young “Nell” Belden went to Thorndene Castle to escape a lover, not to find one. She was bound by the strict conventions of England’s Regency to a man she could never love, then bound by the ties of passion to a man she could never marry! For at Thorndene, she discovered a new and startling love, a love that was as intense as it was doomed…
Right out of the gate, I should state this was not a paranormal Reg Rom and her “lover” wasn’t really a ghost. Instead, the “phantom” is an impostor/trespasser that the intrepid heroine sets out to debunk.
The heroine is an orphan, raised by a negligent Aunt and Uncle, and prone to getting herself into scrapes. She is on the marriage mart, and despite being fairly penniless, has managed to snag three fiances. That’s right, she’s been engaged three times. The only “charm” about the third time is that it gets her packed out to the Outer Hebrides…actually, the family estate in Cornwall.
The hero is a war vet who was returned to England with wooden leg and some understandable reservations about rejoining Society.
When these two meet, the sparks fly. Honestly, upon reflection I am not really sure what the attraction was. I believed it while I was reading it, but now I am thinking not so much. Maybe we would have gotten to see more of their interaction or enjoy more of their dialogue it would of felt more legit.
So, it wasn’t a mind blowing epic love story.
It also wasn’t as funny as I thought it would be. I keep hoping to find some play on the gothic like my desert island Northanger Abbey, but this played more like Goosebumps (actually, I have never read any Goosebumps, so I am only guessing).
I think it could’ve been funnier, its just that a lot of time got spent in the third act trying to create false conflict and then reunite the lovers, and that was frankly a bit boring. More time with unlikeable “villain” type characters? No thank you!
However, it was a solid clean Reg Rom with some funny moments and a couple of interesting characters, so while I can’t say I will likely ever re-read, I could see some readers finding a lot to enjoy and even love about the Phantom Lover.
3.75 out of 6 Interesting characters and different plot help keep this entertaining
| Content Rating/Heat Index | |
|---|---|
| Mature Content |   |
| Some adult themes, including gambling | |
| Intimacy | |
| A kiss | |
| Violence | |
| Manly tussle | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Clean | |
