Another spectacular romance from an exceptional author!
I have yet to pick up a Lisa Kleypas novel that I didn't adore and this one was no different. The characters were splendid and the author's insight to the period shone through in her descriptions of carriages, medicine and other details that helped bring the pages to life.
Rhys Winterborne is a wealthy businessman - the owner of a huge London department store. He quickly becomes enamored with the sweet and innocent Lady Helen Ravenel as she tends to him after a train accident. The two become engaged, but a misunderstanding and other people's interference leave Rhys believing that Helen no longer wants him. So he is dumbfounded when she daringly shows up at his office alone, insisting that she still intends to be his. Fearing that he may lose her - that her brother might no longer agree to their union - Rhys suggests a scandalous plan intended to seal both their fates.
Shy and uncertain, Helen pushed Rhys away when he tried to kiss her. But not because she doesn't want him, as he and everyone else assumes, but rather because she finds him intimidating and far too handsome for her. Intent on having her way, she allows him to compromise her in order to assure marriage. But her family insists that a hasty wedding will lead to scandal and that there's no need for it unless there are signs of conception. Compromised and not yet wed, Helen soon starts to worry for her future as she discovers that her past will prevent Rhys from wanting anything to do with her.
Opposites certainly do attract in this riveting tale about endless love between a ruthless entrepreneur and a gently bred lady. I found both characters utterly delightful and I loved that they tried to do the right thing, supporting each other all the way to their happily ever after. A brilliantly written historical romance that I would highly recommend.
