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Index Interviews: Karen Swenson Articles: Where Do You Get Your Ideas...? (Part I) You've Finished Writing the Play: Now What? (Part II) An Inside Look At... george jr. Upcoming Events Calendar Book Reviews Reader Mail Return to This Issue's Index Return to Homepage Subscribe
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Romance Book ReviewsPage Two of TwoA Royal Connection by Margaret SummervilleSignet Regency Romance, April, 1998.Paperback, 224 pages. ISBN: 0451194837. Ordering information: Amazon.com. | Amazon.co.uk 
Lady Selena Paget has waited all her life to come out in London
society; it sounded like such fun. Unfortunately, the reality of
the social whirl is nothing like Lady Selena imagined it! The
suitors are deadly dull and she finds the tight social strictures
placed upon young ladies of the London ton immensely irritating.
Then one day she meets the infamous rake Lord Heathfield who is a
notorious rival of her overprotective brother, the Duke of Melford.
To make matters more complicated, Lord Heathfield's cousin, Prince
Maximilian of Brunconia arrives in London hoping to win the heart of
England's Princess Charlotte. Soon, Lady Selena is plunged into
romantic and political intrigue involving a shady aristocrat and
his sister who also hail from the tiny country of Brunconia and who
may have been involved in the theft of that tiny country's royal
treasures. As Selena works to solve the Brunconian mystery and to
quash her feelings for the dashing Lord Heathfield, events conspire
to force Selena to confront her feelings even in the face of violent
opposition to the match from her brother, the Duke.
A Royal Connection is a charming, clever and lighthearted romp through the upper strata of London society. The mystery of the Brunconian crown jewels is intriguing and the descriptions of the machinations surrounding royal matchmaking are detailed and amusing. The hero, Lord Heathfield, is strong-willed yet dashing and likeable. A wonderful escape from the modern world. The Unlikely Angel by Nadine MillerSignet Regency Romance, April, 1998.Paperback, 224 pages. ISBN: 0451194675. Ordering information: Amazon.com. | Amazon.co.uk 
Tess Thornhill is the daughter of a rich London
merchant. Shunning her luxurious lifestyle and
considered an old maid at 25, Tess has devoted her
life to helping those less fortunate than herself in
London's worst slums by running the Laura Wentwood
for Abandoned Children, many of whose occupants are
castoffs of London's most notorious rakes and their
conquests. When her landlord raises the rent Tess marches
forth to do battle with Justin Anthony Warre, Viscount
Sanderfield, whom she envisions as a seducer of poor
servant girls who cares only for his own selfish pleasures.
Arriving on the Viscount's doorstep, she finds him to be
totally unlike what she was expecting. Born with a club
foot, forced to work around his own disability all his life,
the Viscount is strong, quiet and actually willing to listen
to her pleas for the abandoned children -- one of whom
was sired by his own reprobate brother. Viscount
Sanderfield, home from a long foreign sojourn to claim
his rightful title as the next Duke of Sanderfield, is
intrigued by "Terrible Tess" who, although highborn,
spends all her time helping the poor and trying to assist
her would-be suitor Drew Wentworth (a reformer with
political aspirations) run for office on a platform of
welfare and child labor law reform. Soon both Tess and
Lord Warre find themselves attracted to each other despite
all their differences. Thrust into political intrigue and a
romantic triangle both Tess and Justin must fight to find
true love -- and a way of life they can both embrace.
Nadine Miller has created a fascinating and unique Regency romance with a conscience. Painstakingly researched, The Unlikely Angel provides a shocking glimpse into the life of London's lower strata of society. Child labor, prostitution and theft are common in the slums which are a world removed from the elegance of the ton. Tess and Justin are believable, flawed human characters who overcome the obstacles put before them. An excellent romance that will entertain while making you think. Click Here For Romance Reviews Page One Return to Book Reviews Index ** To visit the archives of romance novels reviewed in The IWJ, please click here. |