regency

Ms. Britton does it again in this romantic and witty tale of a Duke forced to live as a commoner for a month in order to keep his inheritance and a smart and sassy 'commoner' who is not so common at all. Rein Montgomery is dismayed to learn that, in order to keep his inheritance, his uncle the former Duke of Wroxly, has set up a scheme that he must live as a commoner for a month and survive by his wits alone. Literally dropped from his carriage in the middle of St. Giles, the recklessly wicked duke is immediately set upon and knocked senseless...by a kite! The kite's owner, a Miss Anna Brooks is a market maid by day, and an inventor in her spare time. She is anything but common, from her unnatural beauty, to her sassy wit, and the very unfeminine-like pursuit of actually using her brain! She is a smart girl, brought low by circumstances, and yet still manages to keep her spirits and values. This unlikely pair soon find themselves falling in love-with each other, while trying to survive everyday life in St. Giles, win a competition, and run for their very lives. They then have to overcome their own issues of self confidence and the extreme difference of their stations in life to see if love really can conquer all. I definitely recommend this book, and if you haven't read any of Ms. Britton's others, get to the bookstore and pick them up! This one is destined for my keeper shelf, right next to her others! Thank you, Pamela, for a wonderful and entertaining romantic tale!! I can't wait for your others!

Also recommended: (...)

It truly is! Ms. Britton has penned another surefire winner!

There is something about this writer's style and voice that makes me an unabashed fan of her work. Her prose is delightfully fresh and imbued with a wonderful touch of puckish humor. (You can see her smile between the lines)

I've read many Regency based novels, as I'm sure many of you have, and found an insipid sameness spreading within the genre. Rakes and naïve virgins, marriage of convenience, etc. But that's the beauty of Britton's work - its originality.

I could go into the storyline but its been posted here and so I won't go into details. (Besides, you'll be reading it soon enough :-)

As the story goes, it's one of a market girl and a dissolute rake, falling in love in the streets of London. Yes streets. Not the glittering halls of the fashionable ton and not a penny between them. You have a pair so diametrically opposite to each other that it seems impossible to imagine a happily ever after. Anna's a hopeful sail maker, a believer in fairytales and Rein, beyond requisite wit, has little but money and title to commend himself. Add to that, the story takes place within a short time frame, 30 days to be exact. It's not a lot of time to make the relationship realistically grow but under Britton's careful pen, she makes it work. She takes on a herculean task and makes me a believer. I'm moved to tears and other times, I laugh out loud. I want and I do believe they will be together. Forever.

The Scandal, to answer another reviewers question, is that someone will pass on such a beautiful story because they were swayed by the jaded few.

First off let me just say that I love her writing style - it is fun and witty and very entertaining. I was really getting into it until the hero thinks about being beat up when he was young for being stupid and that his father thought he was stupid and yes we learn through his actions that he is indeed not the brightest bulb out there. First off he burns the notes that could have been possible clues and he can't understand half the things that Anna is talking about. He just reminded me of a big dumb puppy dog. I think if she left out the part that Rein wasn't very smart this book would have been 5 stars since he would have turned out to be a charming hero I can't understand why she felt the need to make her character dumb. I just can't imagine a smart girl like Anna truly being happy in the long run with Rein. Also why was this book called scandal? We never see the character do anything scandalous.