Wendy’s brother-in-law, Lord Menrod, was an arrogant, high-handed, albeit dashing tyrant who was no more fit to be the guardian of children than a dancing bear. So Wendy thought. The children in question were orphans, nephew and niece to both Wendy and Menrod. But Lord Menrod was wealthy and Wendy was not. Even so, she decided to fight for custody with every means at her disposal. Feelings ran high on both sides. And then something strange happened. Wendy stopped hating her enemy. Was love in the air?
One of those Smith first person narratives, we have a spinster heroine and a rakish (or at least jerkish) hero who battle over custody of orphaned niece and nephew. There is some unusual lawyering, which was a nice deviation, a buffoonish and rich suitor (who reminds me very much of other portrayals of Cits in Regencies), and two unfunny and kind of bratty children. Both H/h become slightly more likeable over time, but I felt pretty meh about them.
Supporting characters are one of Smith’s strengths, and she doesn’t fail here. What does kill me is the first person narrative, which frankly I don’t think works with the Regency P&P will they/won’t they. Being inside a bossy spinsters head isn’t as funny, frankly, as it should be here. I guess I found Wendy to be timid when she should be bold (in her head).
There is some great H/h snarky banter, as Smith is definitely no slouch in the dialogue department. There are also some satellite romances which are entertaining as they unfold.
Not one of Smith’s bests, it was still a short read which offers enough of all the beloved qualities of a Regency to read if you find a cheap copy.
3.75 out of 6 First person traditional with familiar conventions
| Content Rating/Heat Index | |
|---|---|
| Mature Content |   |
| Mistresses, sex chatter | |
| Intimacy | |
| Lots of kissing | |
| Violence | |
| Not much | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| More appropriate for older teens | |
