When the unexpected death of Sir Gerald Monteith placed his wife Melanie and daughter Sara in financial trouble, their only hope was to quickly find a husband for Sara. They thought it would be easy, for she was as beautiful as could be. They hoped her beauty would make up for her lack of brains. The problem was, they didn’t know how to look for a man. Then Aunt Martha and cousin Lillian swept into town and took over the search. Lillian, too, was available for marriage. Soon the crafty Aunt Martha discovered that the handsome and wealthy Anthony Fellows was running for Parliament. None of them knew a Tory from a Whig. But that didn’t stop Aunt Martha. Suddenly, the ladies were involved in a spirited campaign. With so many men around campaigning, they reasoned, husbands could not be far away ….
In true traditional Regency style, this is a story with two sets of possible lovers, both great foils for each other. The main focus of the romance are Lillian Watters and Mr. Matthew Hudson, who are smart, witty and delight in teasing each other with bickering banter the whole length of the book. If you like a bit of politics with a courtship made up of foibles and fights, this might be a good match for you.
I found it a bit slow to start, but overall it was a fast and short read with many of the tropes one expects in a traditional Regency. Joan Smith is a solid Regency writer, and although this wasn’t one of my favorites, it still was enjoyable.
A few of the characters are beautiful dumb dumbs, including Sara Monteith and Anthony Fellows. Its not uncommon to have the sort of uneducated, uncouth character in a Regency and indeed they made me alternate between cringing and giggling.
Lillian is a likeable heroine, smart yet young, a bit headstrong, and skilled at the political maneuvering she sees. Matthew is also likeable, albeit a little slick with the said political maneuvering. But he is funny, and you are meant to think he has excellent taste because he seems almost immediately drawn to Lillian.
Most of the book is trying to make Fellows into a successful Whig candidate against his own bumbles. There are some clever turns that are surprising, and all in all this was a delightful, lighthearted book with a courtship made of banter and light touches.
Kissing happens at the end, with a proposal, and although generally this is safe for most readers there are mentions of crime, prostitution and adultery.
I probably wouldn’t reread this one, but I liked it well enough to recommend to readers on the hunt for a traditional kisses only Regency with friendly and terse banter between the MCs.
4.5 out of 6 Banter and intrigue make a interesting set up for a provincial Regency romance story
| Content Rating/Heat Index | |
|---|---|
| Mature Content |   |
| Prostitution, thieves and extramarital affairs make an appearance, although not graphically | |
| Intimacy | |
| End of book kissing | |
| Violence | |
| Some brief mentions of dust ups | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Good for most readers who prefer kisses only | |
