In the first chapter, the reader is introduced to a family’s anniversary tradition, leading into the tale of how the tradition began. The story involves a girl and a boy, Elizabeth Stanton and Robert Bradford, who torment each other with teasing, pranks and cruelty. As adults, both resist their parents’ efforts to find them good marriages, having fortunes of their own, but when they meet again anonymously the sparks are obvious. Unfortunately, their battles soon begin again, especially as Elizabeth is courted by Robert’s older brother – but when they realize that she is pregnant with Robert’s child, a marriage becomes inevitable. Can they figure out a truce that will allow them both happiness?
The story is quite sweet in places, and Elizabeth and Robert are both likeable characters for a modern reader. It is not for nothing that Elizabeth shares a name with a famous women’s rights advocate – she is tough, independent, and spirited, an excellent sparring partner for Robert. His own intelligence and willingness to listen make him quite appealing, from our perspective.
However, there are some key flaws in the historical accuracy of the book that make it less enjoyable than it could be. While detailed premarital sex scenes are apparently necessary accessories to most modern romance novels, they do not belong in Regency romances. There is no way – none – that any Regency-era man decent and kind enough to make a good husband would ever have sex with a virginal gentlewoman before he married her (or even learned her name!). That is the behavior of cads and villains, never gentlemen.
Nor would a gentleman, finding he had made a young lady pregnant, ever reveal that fact publicly before marrying her. Also, her inheritance is taken from her for not marrying “well” – but she marries the son of an Earl (albeit the second son) with a substantial property of his own, which hardly counts as marrying the footman.
If you want a sweet love story with a erotic buzz, this is not a bad choice – but if you are looking for an actual Regency setting and romantic perspective, read Jane Austen or Georgette Heyer instead.
Reviewed by Catherine Langrehr for IndieReader