Bestselling author Sabrina Jeffries's enticing new series introduces the spirited graduates of Mrs. Harris's School for Young Ladies — unconventional heiresses who are more than matches for society's most irresistible rogues....
"Be careful, Amelia — you know how reckless you can be!"
— Mrs. Charlotte Harris, headmistress
Lady Amelia Plume has many admirers — it's too bad they're all fortune hunters and fops who can't provide the exotic adventures she seeks. But the ballrooms of Mayfair have become much more appealing since the arrival of Major Lucas Winter, an American with a dark past and a dangerous air. Lucas is brash, arrogant — and scandalously tempting. Every thrilling kiss sparks hotter desire, yet Amelia suspects that Lucas has a hidden motive in wooing her. And she intends to discover it, by any means necessary....
This is the first book in current series by Sabrina Jeffries which will feature young ladies who have attended Miss Harris' school that has been nicknamed The School for Heiresses. I do like this as a set up for a series - much better than having a series with a brother, three sisters and two cousins or whatever! It gives the author a chance to write stories about completely different characters, and really only have the loosest of connections between them, without losing the cohesiveness of the series. The School for Heiresses anthology that I read earlier this year demonstrated this flexibility really well.
Lady Amelia Plume is desperate for adventure, but when it comes along in the form of Major Lucas Winter, could it be more adventure than she can cope with? I did like this book, but as I sit here trying to figure out why, I'm not sure I can say why.
We'll start with a couple of things - initially I really liked the interactions between Amelia and Lucas. Their repartee was witty, and yet still manages to be serious and fun at the same time. I liked Lucas' tortured past which used a little known episode of English-American history as the basis (well not for him, just the way it's written), and his reactions to certain situations made perfect sense!
I didn't mind Amelia either. She seemed quite intelligent, although she could turn on the giggly society maiden at will when necessary as well!
I liked the set up that was done for at least one more book down the track, although I am hopeful that Mrs Harris gets to fall in love with her faithful letter writer/source of information! Can I just say I have been waiting for the book that is next in this series for me since I read the Royal Brotherhood books. Saying so is completely irrelevant to this review, but that's okay!
But...and there is a but....I am not 100% sure about a couple of things that happened in this book! Firstly, there was the whole obsessive suitor routine. It kind of built up for a little bit, and then was solved. Other than ensuring that our hero and heroine got from point A to point B, that whole aspect of the plot was kind of unnecessary. The second one was one of the major scenes in the book towards the end of it between Lucas and Amelia that was very intense, but maybe a bit too cold and calculated on both sides for most of the scene that I am not sure was really necessary.
If it wasn't for those two scenes I would probably have given this 4.5/5 but instead I am marking it down to 4.
I am definitely looking forward to the next book though...wait...I already said that!
Rating 4/5
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