Louisa Carnell and her brother Valentine have grown up in the shadow of their tyrannical father, who devoted his energy to controlling their lives and repressing their spirits. So when he finally dies, the Carnell siblings are ready to come out of their shells and experience life. They re-establish contact with some distant cousins (who had been estranged from the family when their father was alive) and eventually go off to visit them in London. However, their ignorance of the world soon leads them into some fairly big trouble: Valentine becomes attached to a married woman, and Louisa has to navigate her way among various suitors who might hope to win her fortune rather than her love.
Despite — or perhaps because of — my fanatical devotion to Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer, I’m almost always disappointed by books that attempt to mimic their plots and style. The copies are almost never as good as the originals, and why read something inferior when you could have the real thing? But Jude Morgan is a writer of Regency-era historical fiction whose books I truly enjoy, and this book is no exception. I loved Louisa as a heroine because she is both romantic and level-headed. It was also nice to read a book that featured a close sibling relationship. I enjoyed the compelling storyline, witty dialogue, and satisfying romance. In short, definitely recommended to fans of fiction set in this time period!
I enjoy historical romance as well. Love the idea of the sibling relationship, and Louisa sounds great!
Nice review,
Ninja Girl
I’d definitely recommend this book to you, then! Not sure I’d call it a romance, though…there is a love story in it, but no heaving bosoms or anything like that. š
This book sounds wonderful. I’ve bought two of Jude Morgan’s books already and they’re sitting on my shelf waiting to be read. They all get such strong recommendations I want to read them. I don’t know what is taking me so long!
It’s a really good read! I definitely recommend giving Morgan a try — he’s lighter than you’d think.
Jude Morgan is on my auto-read list. I just wish he had more novels in this era! I’ve already made my way through most of them!