Dear Lady Truelove,
My ward is driving me crazy. I have to marry her off and
get her out of my life. There's just one problem...
When Jonathan Deverill promised a dying friend he'd be
guardian to the man's daughter, he envisioned a girl in pigtails and pinafores,
a child he could leave behind in some finishing school. Problem is, his ward is
actually a fully-grown, defiant beauty whose longing for romance threatens to
make his guardianship a living hell.
New York heiress Marjorie McGann wants a London season
and a titled husband who can help her spend the Yankee millions she's
inherited, and she thinks her new British guardian is the perfect person to
help her find him. But Jonathan has no intention of letting his friend's
fortune be squandered. Under his watchful, protective eye, Marjorie finds
romance hard to come by . . . until one fateful night when her own guardian's
devastating kisses makes her wonder if the greatest romance of all might be
right in front of her.
Fun book about two people who seem to be opposites, but
are more alike than they know. I thoroughly enjoyed watching these two people
drive each other crazy on their path to happily-ever-after. Though I haven't
read the earlier books in the series, this one works well as a stand-alone.
There are hints of the earlier stories, enough to fill in the blanks without
bogging down the story with recaps. It was also motivation to read the previous
books as soon as possible.
Marjorie is a young woman who is ready to take on a new
life. She was dumped in boarding school at the age of seven by her father who
promised to come back for her. Infrequent letters promised it would be
"soon" but the years passed. She dreamed of having what her friends
had - a London season, a titled husband, children, and a beautiful home of her
own. She's saddened by the passing of her father, but more determined than ever
to pursue the life she wants. A stuffy English guardian with plans to leave her
at school until it's convenient for him to take her to London is not in her
plans.
At the age of eighteen, Jonathan was disinherited by his
father, leaving him to make his way in the world alone. After ten years in
America doing many things, he and his business partner struck it rich in Idaho.
Though extremely rich, Jonathan has just seen his best friend and partner die a
terrible death from consumption (tuberculosis). Before Billy died, he begged
Jonathan to take care of his "little girl." Of course, he promised to
do so, expecting to find a child that he can leave in school.
Jonathan received quite a shock when Billy's "little
girl" turned out to be a beautiful twenty-year-old woman. Not only is Marjorie
not a child, she has no intention of being left behind and makes that perfectly
clear. The sparks flew between Jonathan and Marjorie from the start, each intent
on having their own way. Marjorie is an intelligent and determined young woman,
and I was not surprised to see her take her destiny into her own hands. Jonathan's
plans were completely upended when he found Marjorie onboard the ship to
London. He and Marjorie butt heads as his protectiveness runs up against her
determination to pursue the life she wants. That protectiveness goes a little
overboard, though he did have reason to be concerned.
I enjoyed the development of the relationship between
Marjorie and Jonathan. The sparks of attraction were there from the beginning,
with Jonathan realizing that he could be in deep trouble. Lusting after the
daughter of his best friend was not appropriate, and his attempts to fight it became
more and more difficult. Marjorie started out pretty naïve, unwilling to
believe the trouble she could make for herself. I could feel her frustration at
the restrictions she faced on the ship, but she was also smart enough that she
learned from it. Things got even livelier once they were in London and joined
forces with Jonathan's sisters. I loved the way that they upended his plans,
forcing him to stay in London.
Thrown into each other's company regularly, the
attraction between Jonathan and Marjorie continues to build. Neither of them knows
quite how to handle it. Jonathan has no interest in settling down. Even after
all of his success, he still feels that he is searching for something which
keeps him on the move. His growing feelings for Marjorie cause him to take a
good look at himself and what he really wants for his future. I loved seeing
him accept his feelings and look for the way to make his new dreams happen. I
ached for him when Marjorie allowed her fears to push him away. Those fears
made her look at her future with tunnel vision, refusing to face the truth
about her true desires. Advice from an unexpected source opened her eyes. I
loved Marjorie's big moment at the end and seeing her open her heart to the
possibilities.
The secondary characters helped things along quite nicely
and were lots of fun themselves. Marjorie's new friend and ostensible
"chaperone" was quite a character. I leaned a little bit toward
Jonathan's belief that she was a fraud. There were a couple of scenes on the
ship that reinforced that idea, and yet I felt that there was more to her. She
was a good foil for the Countess of Stansbury, who was very different from the
Baroness. Though the Countess was a royal pain for Marjorie, she did provide a
good look at what Marjorie would face when she reached London. Jonathan's
sisters and their husbands were great. Jonathan's trepidation overseeing them
for the first time in ten years was understandable, especially his sister
Clara. I liked that she made him sweat a little before forgiving him. I loved
the two sisters and their immediate support of Marjorie, as well as their
refusal to let Jonathan bail on them.
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