A Difficult Disguise (Alphabet Regency Romance) by Kasey Michaels Series: Alphabet Regency Romance #15
Published by Kasey Michaels on May 16, 2012
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Historical / Regency
Pages: 134
Format: eBook
Buy on Amazon
A Kasey Michaels Alphabet Regency Romance Classic.
"Using wit and romance with a master's skill, Kasey Michaels aims for the heart and never misses." -- Nora Roberts
Everyone has read the plot involving a beautiful young runaway debutante masquerading as boy. But in A Difficult Disguise, Rosalie Darley, taking the name Billy, does her hiding in plain sight, working in the stables at the estate of her unknowing guardian, Fletcher Belden.Ah, but is Fletcher really that blind, or is he playing a game of his own?
I generally like Kasey Michaels‘ Alphabet Series, and this was no exception. Although the romance was perhaps a bit clumsy, this was a quick and easy read with some funny banter.
It also features a favorite plot trope of the Regency, where the heroine is disguised as a man (boy in this case). Hiding out as a groom in absentee Fletcher Belden’s estate, “Billy” is immediately suspicious when a man shows up and orders her about. Sparks fly, as they do for the rest of the novel, between the two MCs who both seem to love a verbal sparring.
This is generally a kisses only book, although there are mentions of intimacy and one scene where characters interrupt others in flagrante, but it’s not described in great detail. There are also mentions of mistresses and a few other mature themes, but generally this would be acceptable for most kisses only reader. The one piece I struggled with and questioned providing a CW is how the author deals with her MC having feelings for the “young lad” (aka heroine in disguise). The reader knows her identity, and while I think Michaels wants to set up the attraction between the two as unstoppable, some of the text around this comes across as borderline offensive. I don’t know if homophobic is really the right term. I grappled with this a lot, trying to figure out how to articulate what gave me the ick. Especially because I have seen this plot and similar hand wringing of the hero in other books. It might have been another character describing same sex relationship in hysterical tones, at the end of the day, more than the confusion of the MCs. In any case, if this is a sensitive issue for you this might be a book to skip.
At the end of the day, I wasn’t super invested in the romance mostly because the hero hard for me to figure out. And Billy/Rosalie also came across as a 90s type of Regency heroine, getting in to scrapes a ton but also treated like a naive creature to laugh at.
Criticism aside, this was an enjoyable read that is a couple of days investment in reading, likely forgettable, but nonetheless entertaining particularly if you love stories about a heroine masquerading as a man.
