Lady Hathaway must have been mad to invite both of them. The greatest fool in the world knew that one did not ask the Duke and Duchess of Avondale to the same party. The Duchess of Avondale – Belle to her friends – was absolutely finished with her marriage to the Duke. Not only did he tease her about her country ways but she had practically caught him red-handed in an affair with a notorious flirt. Belle had taken off without so much as a by-you-leave. After all, how much could a woman be expected to bear? Following a quiet withdrawal from society life, she consented to go to Lady Hathaway’s party, escorted by a young admirer. Who should she run into but the Duke himself? Oh, what a meeting it was! And that was only the beginning…
Some really funny scenes with an ensemble cast of nutter butters make this estranged husband and wife romance a different and diverting read. I am not big into second chance romances, but Joan Smith is generally a safe bet for a satisfying romance so I gave this a whirl.
The house party setting brings together an unlikely party of characters with intrigues that give way to pure comedy gold. The banter between the H/h kept me turning the page and finishing this shorter novel in no time. There is real tension and question as to whether there will be a traditional HEA, and how Smith gets to that ending is not only funny but heartfelt.
The Duchess was a bit naïve upon her marriage, but since her leaving her husband and subsequent estrangement has smartened up. Meanwhile the Duke keeps his emotional cards pretty close to the vest. The conflict, although based on misunderstandings that a little communication would have resolved, is nonetheless believable and humanizes the two characters that might otherwise be barely relatable.
I had more fun with Lady Hathaway, who is a bit of a flitterbegibbet and has lots of funny thoughts about things, including the Italian opera singer in attendance.
I definitely recommend this as an easy read for mature readers who like a good traditional (read: no sex) romance.
5 out of 6 Ensemble cast and snappy writing make this second chance romance funny and fun
| Content Rating/Heat Index | |
|---|---|
| Mature Content |   |
| Some mature suggestive content | |
| Intimacy | |
| Kisses and love scene off page | |
| Violence | |
| A scuffle | |
| Overall |  |
|---|---|
| Second chance romance with older characters and suggestive content better for more mature readers, yet still clean. | |
I so appreciate your reviews Thank you for your heat index. While I am sure that there was plenty of steam during the early 19th century I prefer to not read about it in graphic detail. Yours reviews are very helpful
Thank you for the kind words, Janet! I am so glad you find this feature useful, and must credit all my wonderful readers who were the inspiration behind it. Please keep sending suggestions for how I can improve this system, or any other details you would like to see in reviews as I am always looking to better serve.
As a reminder to everyone, you can locate “clean” or kisses only Reg Rom by looking under the category PG Rated Hist Ro:https://regrom.com/category/book-review/book-intimacy-level/pg-rated-hist-ro/ I have also indicated this with a PG circle on the Books By Plot Type Page.