To any romance-starved Brit this is manna from heaven. This is also probably the most akin to Georgetter Heyer you can get, with a generous splash of humor, lashings of romance and just the right light touch that the period requires. Add to this a sound underpinning of historical knowledge, and you have the genuine article. There is more about the relationship between Annabel and her Earl than sisterly gossip in here, but I can still see the Louisa M Alcott influences, making it more than just a straight romance. Ms James is adroit at creating characters that fit the bill as typical Regency heroes and heroines in some ways, but then she has made them people in their own right beyond that and, thus, they rise above being mere stereotypes. If, like this reviewer, you are not fond of chest-beating alpha males and heroines who either swoon and cry or behave like brats, then this is definitely for you; I actually liked her characters. Although I am a romance fan, I often don’t like the people in the books, but here it is hard not to, as they are nice people. Publishing with a mainstream cover and amongst other midlist titles, this book is more than likely to be read by people who normally eschew anything that looks like a bodice ripper (ie most of the British public), so bravo for Harper Collins. With Jane Austen on the TV drawing large audiences, this is just the type of book to raise the status of the Regency romance and interest a wider public in the better type of romance. Highly enjoyable... when is the third book coming out?!