Lucetta Plum, a friend of Harriet and Millie, is an actress who has worked hard to be an independent woman, well as much as is possible in the regency era. While she technically resides with Abigail Hart, she keeps up a steady income and even has received a nice inheritance... which is actually going to cause her some serious problems.  As her fame starts to attract attention, that attention comes as both good and bad... Lucetta is soon running from one specific fan who is overly infatuated and demanding.  Of course, Abigail is more than happy to assist Lucetta and suggests hiding out at her grandson's castle... 

Bram Haverstein, Abigail's grandson, is a complex man who has a compassionate heart for those who are desperate for a second chance in life.  He has put together a wonderfully eclectic staff of misfits in his very own castle.  While he is from a wealthy family, he has dreams of his own, dreams he isn't ready to share with others. As a result, he is more than comfortable to live fairly secluded in his castle. So when Abigail shows up with the famous Lucetta Plum his somewhat secluded life is subjected to intruders he didn't know he always wanted. 

The issues become complicated as Bram's private life starts to cause suspension and Lucetta's stage life leaks into the picture. 

For me, Bram made this story worth reading. He is the exact gentleman one would expect to find in a Regency-era romance, yet there is a side to him that is surprising too. He wants to provide and help those around him, yet he can get sucked into his imaginative thinking entirely and loose track of time... if I say more I'll give away the whole plot twist...  Needless to say, when he is in a scene it captured my attention simply because he was a well-developed character.

I also felt like Turano's humor showed through in a much more acceptable light in this story.  I had been told she wrote humor well, and while I could get a small taste for it in the previous story, this book lived up to what I had originally hoped for.  There are some silly plot twists that will certainly make you smile, if not laugh out loud at the ridiculousness of it.

Maybe it's this genre, but the heroine of the story is just too predictable for me.  A woman who wants to be strong and independent in a time when women were barely seen as people, yet in the midst of her attempts to be strong she forgets that she still needs to be loved.  The dichotomy of it was a little much.  Yes, she is a wonderfully strong female lead who knows what she wants.  Then at the same time, she feels like there is a part of her that isn't seen because if she shows it she will be seen as weak.

As far as that goes, while there are small humorous twists, the whole plot is easy to see coming.  This book fits exactly in the clean romance genre, especially for regency-era stories.  In fact, I would even call this a modern romantic comedy set in the regency era.  The issue I always have with these stories is that the main character desperately wants something, and if she/he would only ask, it would be so much easier. Instead, the character stubbornly tries to do everything on their own, flat out refusing the help of others in a way that comes across as childish if not downright ignorant.

I can give this book a three heart rating - it was good, and at times quite enjoyable.  As far as actually reading it again, well it's not quite my favorite genre. 

I would highly suggest this to fans of the classic romance novel (like Wuthering Heights) and even those who love all romantic comedies (I'm thinking fans of Notting Hill...).  This is a completely clean romance and while there are small instances of violence, and threatening behavior, the book is very typically Christian romance.   As far as ages... I'm thinking if you are reading classic romance novels, this can fit right in. 

Wondering Questions to Consider