Wednesday, December 8, 2010

IMPROPER LADIES by Amanda McCabe

Publisher: Signet Eclipse
Date published: September 7th, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-451-23108-6
Regency Romance
Mass Market Paperback
Reviewed by Dawn
Obtained by Publisher


This is a two-for one book with two stories for readers who enjoy regency romances: The Golden Feather & The Rules of Love.

In The Golden Feather, Caroline Aldrich is finding out that her late husband had quite a secret business-a notorious gaming hall called Golden Feather. Determined to make a life for herself that isn’t in the streets, she has run the gaming hall under an assumed name, Mrs. Archer, and has run it successfully the last several years with no attachments or love life to speak of. That is until Lord Lyndon walks into The Golden Feather and she finds herself falling for the dashing rake.

The Golden Feather was a great story about a spirited beauty who finds herself falling for a dashing rake who is determined to solve the mystery behind the mysterious beauty. Will he find out she is one and the same? I loved the fact this was a nicely well told story that draws the reader in with intriguing characters and light-heartedness. It was a nice change of pace from all the more explicit books I have been reading. Ms. McCabe does an excellent job in keeping the reader’s attention on Caroline and the fact that she is two people in one. The dashing Lord Lyndon is a nice man who is determined to get to know Caroline regardless of who she is but the question that is hidden beneath the words is, can he accept her as she is? Overall, these were nicely told stories that will engage the reader till the end.

The Rules of Love introduces the reader to Rosalind Chase, a headmistress for a girl’s school. She is continually embarrassed by her brother’s antics with Lord Morley and cringes each time she finds his name in the gossip rags and whispered among the ton. When she gives Morley an etiquette book, she finds herself clashing with the rake and in turn falling for the man. Can life get even more complicated?

I really enjoyed this story over the other one as the main characters; Rosalind and Morley are so fun together especially as they clash a few times to cause quite a few sparks to fly. Can these two different people find a way to bridge their differences and see they are falling in love? That’s the question as Rosalind finds herself falling for the maddening man. Ms. McCabe does a superb job in creating characters that resonate with readers and delivers a light-hearted romance to keep them flipping the pages. With each page I was drawn into the world of lords and ladies, the ton and parties. The writing was tight for both stories and this author shows she knows her time period within each book. The books are more PG than explicit so it was a nice change of pace after reading many historical books with rated r scenes.
If you are looking for a well written regency book, then I highly recommend IMPROPER LADIES. This is a new to me author and one that will deliver countless hours of reading pleasure in her latest release. I am looking forward to seeing what else she has to offer in her backlist.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

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