TEST
can see it right now, some unsuspecting reader of Regency Romances picks up A Hired Hero, sees the sweet cover of a smiling man in his shirtsleeves cradling a woman to his chest while a horse stands in the background, and starts to read, expecting a sweet country idyll.
What she is going to get is a full-throttle adventure with coach wrecks, shootings, stabbings, fist fights, spys, mistaken identities and musings on the place of women in Regency society. I am a self-confessed action book junkie and thoroughly enjoyed this one. The story was exciting, the characters were vivid and it had some secondary characters who were just as vivid as the main ones and I want to see them again, please.
Lady Caroline Talbott is the only child of the Duke of Cheviot. Her father serves in the government and is expecting a packet of secret papers vital to the fight against Napoleon. The messenger carrying the papers is shot and ends up on the Duke’s doorstep. The Duke is in London so Caroline, who is as brave and resourceful a heroine as I have ever seen, disguises herself and takes off for London to deliver the papers to her father.
The coachman is killed, and the coach wrecks. Although she is injured, Caroline makes her way to the Earl of Davenport’s estate. The Earl is a pariah in Society – his rakehell ways were too much for it, but unknown to Caroline the current Earl is not Charles the rake who has died, but his twin brother Julian. She offers him a thousand pounds to get her to London and he accepts – he needs the money badly.
The rest of the book is full of chases, and escapes where Caroline proves herself to be strong and brave and not a bit stupid. She saves Julian, Julian saves her. They each find out who the other really is and fall deeply in love. The course of love is rocky for them indeed, since they are both laden with baggage, but its final resolution is very sweet and satisfying.
The secondary characters are marvelous, including Caroline’s father, who loves her dearly and is proud of her, but is unable to express his pride in her, Caroline’s cousin Lucien, the heir to the Duke, who is a loyal friend and brother to her, and especially Jeremy Leighton – a friend of Julian’s who is a gifted artist and resourceful man. I would especially love to see Lucien and Jeremy again.
If you are one of those people who like Regencies, but would like to try something different, you will enjoy A Hired Hero. If it had been longer, it would have made a fine historical romance, but as a Regency/adventure story, it stands on its own merits.
Grade: B+
Book Type: Regency Romance
Sensuality: Subtle
Review Date: 12/05/99
Publication Date: 1999
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Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.