2.5 starsCressida is beautiful and wealthy with all of London at her feet. True, she's no longer a young miss in her first season but she enjoys the attentions of the gentlemen just the same. She has agreed to sponsor the come out of her companion's relative, Kitty though the girl seems to be one of those boring, biddable young girls. Seven years ago however, Cressida wasn't so sophisticated. She was a young girl living with her elderly great-aunt in Tonbridge when she met Captain Deverell Rossiter, a young soldier. She knew right away from the first dance that he was the one she wanted to marry. She was prepared to follow the drum to be with him. Then they quarreled and broke their engagement. She hasn't seen him since until now. Rossiter has returned to London a wealthy and much heralded man. He's the toast of London and Cressida is furious. She wants nothing to do with him yet they keep encountering each other. Captain Rossiter even goes so far as to flirt with Kitty! He has two rivals for Kitty: Rossiter's friend Captain Miles Harries, a young man wet behind the ears and The Honorable Drew Addison, the next Beau Brummel; while Cressida has relationship problems of her own. There's not a whole lot of plot in this novel until almost the end. That part comes out of nowhere and doesn't fit with the rest of the story. The characters keep trying to explain why but I found their excuse weak. It didn't suit the character. It came right out of a gothic romance. This certainly isn't a romance. There's no romance or courtship in it at all. Cressida spends the novel second guessing what she thinks Rossiter is going to say and then trying to hurt him with a scathing remark. We don't know much about him or his motivations but he doesn't seem to deserve her scorn. Cressida's behavior makes her a very unlikeable heroine. Her change of heart comes too late and too suddenly to be sincere and make the reader feel sympathy for her. It feels like that plot element was forced in to the story to make the romance work. None of the secondary characters are well developed. Kitty never emerges as a co-heroine. Only Miles gets much page time and he seems like a very kind young man who is in over his head. I really liked how the story pokes gentle fun at romance novels in general. There's some other humorous moments and Cressida's companion is one of those garrulous women dropped in for comedic effect. Regency fashion lovers will love the detailed descriptions of Cressida's clothes. This isn't the best Clare Darcy novel but I would recommend her books to Georgette Heyer fans.
