Pretty and popular, Miss Clare Westmore knows exactly what (or rather, who) she wants: the next Duke of Harrington. But when she twists her ankle on the eve of the Season’s most touted event, Clare is left standing in the wallflower line watching her best friend dance away with her duke.
Dr. Daniel Merial is tempted to deliver more than a diagnosis to London’s most unlikely wallflower, but he doesn’t have time for distractions, even one so delectable. Besides, she’s clearly got her sights on more promising prey. So why can’t he stop thinking about her?
All Clare wants to do is return to the dance floor. But as her former friends try to knock her permanently out of place, she realizes with horror she is falling for her doctor instead of her duke. When her ankle finally heals and she faces her old life again, will she throw herself back into the game?
Or will her time in the wallflower line have given her a glimpse of who she was really meant to be?
McQuiston puts to good use her medical background in crafting a tale of a half-gypsy, doctor who falls in love with a daughter of a viscount. This book was a nice break from the typical, upper echelon society hero and the wallflower heroine.
The hero, Dr. Daniel Merial, is developing an ingenious dispensing device for ether and along the way trying to earn a few extra dollars playing physician to members of the ton. He has no time for females, but finds himself drawn to the gorgeous Claire Westmore. Daniel is a nerd, a true lover of medicine and fully career-focused. I liked how McQuiston gives him someone to unravel his senses and detached nature.
Claire, is a smart girl pretending to be stupid. She’s risen to the top of the debutantes and has a duke’s heir in her sights, until she twists her ankle. The reward for her mistake includes being subjected to malicious rumors and meeting a doctor who interests her as much as he infuriates her. This heroine is essentially a bluestocking in debutante clothes. Her motivations and goals are typical of most historical romance heroines, but over the course of the story she learns very quickly that her goals won’t make her truly happy.
The plot and pacing were a fresh surprise. I found that I turned the pages as much for the story, but to see which direction McQuiston would pursue. Often times when reading romance I can usually tell what happens next, so when I find an author who surprises me I’ll read her over and over again. So far McQuiston’s historicals are anything but the same-old-same-old.
Secondary characters in Claire’s siblings, the evil debutantes she’d been friends with, and Daniel’s widowed, lustful landlady were a delight and I wonder who will be the next target in her upcoming book, A Spinsters Guide to Scandalous Behavior… regardless I’m on board for the read.
Overall, this is a good story and reminds me of how Historical Romance as a whole genre keeps getting better and better. I look forward to reading more from this author. For readers who enjoy Kate Noble or Lecia Cornwall
Reviewed by Landra
Heat Level: Hot
