No Regrets by Michele Ann Young

She couldn't believe he'd be attracted to a body like hers...

Voluptuous and large, Caroline Torrington feels dowdy and unattractive beside the slim beauties of her day. Little does she know that Lord Lucas Foxhaven thinks her curves are breathtaking, and can barely keep his hands off her. But he won't allow himself to betray her trust in their marriage of convenience - and misunderstanding. Every time he pulls away, Caro thinks he's disgusted by her. But when Caro becomes involved in a scandal and is kidnapped, Lucas must come to her rescue, and they realize that their mutual attraction and lifelong love make theirs a true marriage of the heart.

I actually finished this book a couple of weeks ago, but I have been trying to compose my thoughts enough to write a review ever since. I am not sure that I am there yet, but we will give it ago.

The novel opens with a scene which I found really enjoyable - a grand gesture which would cause shock waves throughout society, but from such a promising start, it seemed as though the story either varied between pretty standard romance fare (liberal doses of a big misunderstanding with no communication between the two main characters) and then trying to fit so much into the storyline, with Caro running off to Paris, and a kidnapping amongst other things.

In terms of the characters, Lucas is once again a rake who is not necessarily a true rake - he has a big secret that he keeps from his wife. She assumes that he doesn't want her, and that he must therefore have a mistress. In reality, he, of course, has a heart of gold!

As for Caro, there are the odd comments throughout the story about how she had to use her glasses and how she wasn't slim, but to be honest I never got any picture that Caro was all that large. After all, Lucas didn't seem to have any trouble lifting her at various points in the story. This would have been a major point of difference! Maybe it's just that I want some hope that someone my size could actually meet someone!

Whilst it may appear that everything that I have written is somewhat disparaging towards the book, I would say that there is nothing truly terrible in the book. It is readable, and the characters are likable enough. Where other writers can take a story that we have read many times before and write it so well that we still love it, the author here has had a few interesting ideas but not quite been able to sustain the momentum throughout the book.

I will say that I did find the idea of the heroine travelling to Paris something that I have never read before, and quite an interesting twist.

In the end this was an average read. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Sourcebooks for sending me a review copy of this book.

Rating 3.5/5