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Rating: 
Summary: Decent but thin
Review: Chesney's usual wit and style is slightly subdued in this novel. The heroine, Lucinda, shows the most spunk and character as a child when Captain Chamfrey kidnaps her in an attempt to get her father to pay his gambling debts. The abduction, naturally, does not go as planned. Her father forces Chamfrey into an unwanted betrothal with the then little girl. Time passes, her abusive father dies (under mysterious circumstances), Lucinda's grandmother takes the now beautiful young woman to London for a season. Unfortunately, Lucinda becomes rather placid as an adult, taking very little action of her own accord. She runs into Chamfrey, now a marquess, but is frightened that his forceful personality might lead him to be as abusive as her father was. He finds her fascinating and lovely, then discovers who she is and that she's engaged to be married to another man. Chamfrey falls in love with her, Lucinda finds herself drawn to him, but her grandmother, determined to protect Lucinda from the unwanted betrothal, tries to block Chamfrey's courtship. The plot in this one gets a bit too tangled and a bit too dark (with several murders) to sustain the lighthearted romance. I am not certain, but I would guess this to be one of Chesney's earlier efforts. I find that her other novels generally have much more humor, warmth, and character development in them. This is a decent read if you have a few hours to kill, but don't judge Chesney's other works by this one.
Rating:
Summary: Decent but thin
Review: Chesney's usual wit and style is slightly subdued in this novel. The heroine, Lucinda, shows the most spunk and character as a child when Captain Chamfrey kidnaps her in an attempt to get her father to pay his gambling debts. The abduction, naturally, does not go as planned. Her father forces Chamfrey into an unwanted betrothal with the then little girl. Time passes, her abusive father dies (under mysterious circumstances), Lucinda's grandmother takes the now beautiful young woman to London for a season. Unfortunately, Lucinda becomes rather placid as an adult, taking very little action of her own accord. She runs into Chamfrey, now a marquess, but is frightened that his forceful personality might lead him to be as abusive as her father was. He finds her fascinating and lovely, then discovers who she is and that she's engaged to be married to another man. Chamfrey falls in love with her, Lucinda finds herself drawn to him, but her grandmother, determined to protect Lucinda from the unwanted betrothal, tries to block Chamfrey's courtship. The plot in this one gets a bit too tangled and a bit too dark (with several murders) to sustain the lighthearted romance. I am not certain, but I would guess this to be one of Chesney's earlier efforts. I find that her other novels generally have much more humor, warmth, and character development in them. This is a decent read if you have a few hours to kill, but don't judge Chesney's other works by this one.
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