THE WAYWARD DEBUTANTE

Author: Sarah Elliott ISBN: 0373294840 3/2008 HISTORICAL Publisher: HARLEQUIN
Time Period: 1818 London

She Tempted Fate, Then Fate Tempted Her… It was utterly scandalous for a young lady to attend the London theater unchaperoned. She could easily have been mistaken for a woman of easy virtue. Yet Eleanor Sinclair loathed stuffy ballrooms packed with fretful mothers and husband-hunting girls. Craving escape, she donned a wig and disappeared into the night. There she caught the eye of James Bentley, a handsome devil with a wry wit. He played a game of seduction that imperiled Eleanor's disguise—and tempted her to forsake all honor…

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

THE WAYWARD DEBUTANTE by Sarah Elliott is a wonderfully refreshing look at life among the English aristocracy-through the eyes of an intelligent, headstrong, determined woman.

Eleanor Sinclair shows herself as a woman before her time right from the very first pages of this story. She longs to be a playwright, or an actress, but knows that neither of these is an option open to her in the sometimes stuffy world she has been born into. So, she does the next best thing she can think of doing to get herself as close to the stage as possible. She hides a wig up inside the arm of her cloak, leaves the house and walks down the street, hood on head, as if it's a perfectly ordinary thing for her to be doing. When she's sure no one is watching, she dons the wig and heads for the theater unaccompanied-something that Eleanor's quickly beating heart knows is a very extraordinary thing for a woman to do.

I enjoyed every bit of this charming story. Of course, Eleanor's foray into the theater cannot go undetected. She catches the attention of a handsome man and soon the pair is thrown together. James is smart, has a biting sense of humor and seems a perfect match for Eleanor. Ms. Elliott's depiction of the couple's rocky road to happiness is very entertaining, although there were times when I felt sorry for Eleanor. She spent a lot of time believing James didn't care for her, and I wanted to whisper in her ear that all would be well. After all, this is a romance, isn't it? The end is a happy one, and supremely satisfying.

THE WAYWARD DEBUTANTE is a feel-good romance that's sure to leave its readers smiling. I know I was grinning as I closed this book! Well done!

Kay James