LADY MERRY'S DASHING CHAMPION

Author: Jeane Westin ISBN: 0451221923 8/2007 HISTORICAL Publisher: NAL/SIGNET ECLIPSE
Time Period: 1667 Restoration England

In Restoration England, smart and determined Meriel St. Thomas, orphaned ward and lowly servant, is thrust into a game of international intrigue... and the adventure of a lifetime. . . . It seems Meriel—called Merry—looks exactly like the wife of Lord Giles, Earl of Warborough, whose legendary heroism has long sent a thrill down Merry's spine. Giles's cold, unfaithful wife is known to be a spy for the Dutch. Coerced by the king's spymaster, Merry takes the traitor's place as a double agent—with the aim of delivering false intelligence to the waiting Dutch. But Merry's dangerous mission only fans the flames of her smoldering desire for Giles—even as Giles is overtaken by passion for a "wife" who's suddenly become all he ever wanted....

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Packed with intrigue and deception, LADY MERRY'S DASHING CHAMPION is determined and serious, and quite reminiscent of the early, fiery romance books put out by Virginia Henley. (It comes complete with the word "cod", for those of you that remember/know that purple prose.) It is also detailed and to-the-point, so do not look for any flowery poetry. In actuality, it is not a romantic work in my mind, although it features some romance between the hero and heroine. It is more apt to be described as one servant's adventure into the peerage, and subterfuge thereafter.

I enjoy reading about all the excess, unfaithfulness, and spying during those troubled times in England. Westin does a nice job of describing such things and an even better job at describing the people. It is rather like Hollywood today... but not so clean.

Shannon Johnson