Another Review at MyShelf.Com

Publisher: Avon/Harper Collins
Release Date: Dec 2003
ISBN: 0060514051
Awards:  
Format Reviewed: Paperback
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Genre: Regency romance
Reviewed: 2004
Reviewer: Barbara Buhrer
Reviewer Notes:
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How to Treat A Lady
By Karen Hawkins


     Chase St. John is running from his past. He is being fleeced by a supposed friend for an accident while he was drunk. He is fleeing rather than tarnish his family's name. He is attacked by highwaymen, and found by Harriet Ward.

       The Wards owe a final payment on their family farm and the bank manager is trying to take the farm and marry Harriet. To forestall the bank's foreclosure, Harriet's mother invents a fake fiancé, a sea captain returning with a chest of gold. When the "captain" fails to appear, the bank threatens foreclosure.

      Chase, to protect his family's name, feigns amnesia. Harriet and her family persuade him to pose as the "captain" until they are able to shear their sheep, market the wool, and make the final payment. Chase becomes involved in their struggle to shear their sheep, finding a new meaning and purpose to his selfish and spoiled life. He finds himself falling in love with the independent Harriet, and must resolve his past with his family and his blackmailer before he can find happiness with Harriet.

      This is a charming story of a beleaguered family rescued from ruin by an unexpected visitor. The warmth and closeness of the Ward family instills in Chase St. John a new meaning and hope for the future. The romance between Chase and Harriet builds slowly and is a delight to watch. The Ward family, Harriet's siblings and her mother, are a pleasant group with their humor and steadiness in the face of possible disaster. The bank manager is a man you can only love to hate. The episodes of the sheep shearing are hilarious.