"Lucas, you must return
home."
Twenty two year old Lucas Bywood abandons his Grand Tour in
response to those words from his father. Everything is not well at home and he
finds himself in a bit of a fix. A little warning that his father had made
tentative arrangements for his marriage would have been nice but Luke really
wishes it had been anyone other than the young lady chosen. After all, Phoebe
Ramsey had always been an annoyance and any time they had spent together had
resulted in physical injuries for one of them.
Just when Luke thinks he's escaped that particular future, he
finds himself courting a young woman he doesn’t want, a furious best friend who
wants a duel to satisfy honor, and the responsibility of finding who and why
someone had caused an accident for his mother.
I
loved poor Lucas. This book was written in first person. This second son was
ordered home, and once he arrived it seemed like everyone was against him. No
matter what he did, it was never right in the eyes of most of his family.
Notice I said most. There was some family dynamics that got me to wondering if
there was a conspiracy not only against Lucas, or Luke, but also against his
strongest ally, his mother. There was his fiance he abhorred, his friend that
left me wondering about him and his sister-in-law I would have loved to
strangle--right along with her husband, Luke's brother.
The
characters were well-written, and I felt as if I was Lucas. I empathized with
him from beginning to end. The story moved at a fast pace with Lucas being hit
with something new to deal with every time he turned around. There was a sweet
romantic interest that was not really resolved, which left me wondering if there is a sequel in the works, another romance that was (thankfully!), but the story
was almost more of a who-done-it than a suspenseful romance.
This
was an enjoyable book to read, one I didn’t want to put down until I reached
the end. I recommend it to anyone who loves a good regency story, especially
one that is full of action and character-driven.
For as long as she can remember, Bethany Swafford
has loved reading books. That love of words extended to writing as she grew
older and when it became more difficult to find a ‘clean’ book, she determined
to write her own. Among her favorite authors is Jane Austen, Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle, and Georgette Heyer.
When she doesn’t have pen to paper (or fingertips
to laptop keyboard), she can generally be found with a book in hand. In her
spare time, Bethany reviews books for a book site called More Than A Review.
Connect with the Author here:
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