DANCE FOR A DIAMOND

Author: Melinda Hammond ISBN: 070978978 11/2005 HISTORICAL Publisher: ROBERT HALE BOOKS
Time Period: Regency 1814-1815 England

Antonia Venn describes herself as a very average sort of female, of average height, average colouring, a poor little dab of a girl and certainly nothing to win the heart of a man of fortune or fashion. In a bid for independence and at a time when the waltz was born, she decides to open a dancing school in Bath, despite the misgivings of her family. And it is here that she is persuaded to take on the beautiful Isabella Burstock as a pupil. However, this decision puts Antonia on a collision course with the young heiress' autocratic brother... So begins this entertaining Regency romance, which will enchant all readers of the genre.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Once again, Melinda Hammond writes a heartwarming, Austen-ish style historical romance, one which is sure to please any reader who enjoys the more gentle, yet entertaining love stories written in that special style and prose that English authors seem to have mastered.

The story begins when wounded veteran, Lord Lawrence Oakford, discovers that his supposed fiance, Lady Pamela, is now engaged to someone else. Seeking to appease his anger in an upper class brothel, he becomes paired with a young woman, Antonia, who's fallen on hard times. Gifting her with the expensive engagement ring he'd bought for his ex-fiancee, he lets her go without touching her, telling her to pawn the ring and use it to fulfill her dreams of opening a dancing school.

A year later, the two once again meet as Antonia accepts Sir Lawrence's spirited sister, Isabella, as one of her dance pupils. At first, she recognizes him, but he doesn't recognize her. But when he suddenly does remember her, he assumes she's used the money from his diamond to establish herself and open her dancing school. Thinking her of the lower classes, his aristocratic bearing and haughtiness at first vexes Antonia, who refuses to give any information to the exasperating gentleman about her background. But as things progress and Antonia's handsome brother comes to stay, her life and relationship with Sir Lawrence begins to get a bit more complicated.

As the title says, this book is about the dance, but not just the dance between Sir Lawrence and Antonia as they spar and trade verbal volleys and tiptoe around each other. It's also about dancing, literally, from the minuet and galliard to the quadrille and waltz. Ms. Hammond has certainly done her homework in that department. While DANCE WITH A DIAMOND isn't all that original in plot, the characters are interesting and the dialogue engaging, with Ms. Hammond's writing style and prose fluent and well-paced.

DANCE FOR A DIAMOND is definitely no diamond in the rough; it's a multi-faceted and polished diamond of the first water. For those historical romance readers who love an engaging, old-fashioned regency with English toned dialogue, DANCE FOR A DIAMOND should fit the bill quite nicely.

Nancy Davis