Carol Arens

Clementine Maccooish rescues a man from drowning only to find that he's in fact her bethroded. Heath Cavill had no real reason to be out at that time and she is determined to find out why and to deal with the distraction that he is. She knows he has secrets and she would like to find thm out before they wed. However his secrets are dangerous and will complicate their lives.

The ways they deal with prejudice and snobbery were great fun and I liked the relationship between the two and how she wanted more than just being a wife. The end was sweet… (mais)

Good book. Ginny is a beautiful young woman who is extremely shy. Not only is she uncomfortable in social situations, she actively resists participating in them. She is understandably cynical about the attention she does receive, noting that nobody looks past her face to the woman inside. Ginny spends her free time writing stories in her journal. Her Aunt Adelia is determined to see her married and conspires with her best friend, Violet, Lady Hawkwood, to match Ginny with Violet's widowed son, Phillip.

Ginny looks forward to the upcoming house party at Hawkwood, not because of Phillip but to see his younger brother William again. Ginny and William met when they were twelve and sixteen, shortly after each had lost a beloved parent. They snuck away from the others and spent time together talking about their losses, exploring, watching ducks, and sheltering in a cave from a storm. Ginny never forgot William and how easy it was to talk to him.

William and Phillip are very close, and he wants nothing more than to see Phillip happy again. William is a bit of a rogue who enjoys flirting with the ladies but has no plans to marry anytime soon. He knows the pain that both Phillip and his mother experienced at the loss of their spouses and doesn't want to risk that for himself. William gladly agrees to his mother's request to help entertain the various young ladies at the house party. He also agrees to help Phillip sort out those young ladies who best suit him.

From the moment Ginny arrives at Hawkwood, it is clear that her aunt and Lady Violet intend to throw her and Phillip together at every opportunity. Ginny agrees to see if they suit but makes no promises otherwise. The real draw for her is seeing William again. Neither one has forgotten each other, and the day they spent together, but are unsure if the other feels the same. Interactions between them are a little tentative until they admit the connection is still there. I loved the scenes of them together as they catch up on the changes in their lives.

Ginny knows she should concentrate on Phillip. She finds him almost as easy to be with as William, but something is missing. There are some excellent scenes of Ginny and Phillip together, especially when Phillip asks her some very pointed questions. I ached for William because he loves both Ginny and Phillip. He won't do anything to come between them, but it gets harder each day to think of them together. His misery overwhelmed him the night of the ball, and he knew he had to get away. I loved the conversation between Ginny and Phillip that sent them searching for William and Ginny's decision to set out independently.

I loved seeing Ginny overcome her fear of storms and William finally admit his feelings to her. I liked seeing their story come full circle with their shelter in the cave that night. The story ended with a couple of fun twists, from their trip to Gretna Green to who they found there. I loved the exchange of letters between Violet and Adelia that ended the book with love and laughter.

The secondary characters were terrific parts of the story. Violet invited a variety of young ladies to the house party, even though she didn't intend for any of them to win Phillip's heart. Lady Della was incredibly annoying. I liked Elizabeth and how she and Ginny became friends. I wasn't sure about Lady Kirkwynd at the beginning, but she grew on me. I liked her a lot by the end and would love to see her get her own book.… (mais)