Lord Harry's Daughter (Signet Regency Romance)

Rating:
Summary: Fun Reading
Review: This is a fun story with plenty of twists and turns. The characters are fairly real and do not become trite with being forced into the genre. This has all the ingredients for a good, curl-up to relax, light-hearted tale. Definitely a keeper. Sophia has spirit but is not outside the realm of possibility while Adair fits the traditional, strong male but with a good sense of humour. Ms. Richardson keeps her reputation well intact.

Rating:
Summary: when opposites attract
Review: While "Lord Harry's Daughter" is not a light hearted comedy of manners, it is still a wonderful read. Of a slightly more serious nature, this novel is about the two principal characters, Major Mark Adair and Sophia Featherstonaugh, both products of their rather sad family lives, and of one particular intrigue that takes place in the middle of the Napoleonic Wars.

Sophia Featherstonaugh has learnt the hard way what it is to have a feckless and reckless personality in her life. Life with her father, Lord Harry Featherstonaugh, had been quite hellish. The result of which Sophia has learnt to be more controlled and precise in her emotions and actions. This makes her the very opposite of Major Mark Adair. Reacting against his stern and restrictive father, Adair has developed a reputation for being a dashing and fearless officer. And when Sophia and Adair first meet, sparks fly. Sophia sees in Adair shades of her father, while Sophia reminds Adair of his disapproving father. However the war, and Adair's spying activities throw Sophia and Adair together and the two begin to form a friendship, that is until Adair falls under the spell of the beautiful Condessa de Gonsalvo y Coruna. Will this new infatuation of Adair's affect Adair's and Sophia's friendship?

Sophia Featherstonaugh made this novel really enjoyable for me. She's intelligent, gracious, talented and brave. In fact there's a chapter where Adair and Sophia engage in a battle of the sexes, and Sophia actually wins the battle! The great thing is that Evelyn Richardson allows for Sophia to win this battle in a way that is credible and makes sense! And while I found Adair to be pretty much the typical male hero, I liked that Richardson allowed for the romance betwen the two to unfold slowly and realistically.

"Lord Harry's Daughter" may not be the typical Regency romance novel, but it is a really good read.