"Two super Regency from one of the best"

Ah, sigh...such a pleasure to read excellent Multi-POV that lets all the characters of the book come to life. US has this enforced single Point of View thing going the last ten years. That is fine for those who like it. Guess what, not all of us do. I love knowing all the characters in the book and find that missing so much in American writers today. Heath is British and the comforting Brit style of POV usage made me smile. Heath has this down to a pat and it's so enjoyable to read this wonderful style again.

These are two excellent Heath books in one! MY LADY DOMINO finds Miss Adele Russell living in reduced circumstances. She was once the only daughter of a rich Bath banker and engaged to the devilishly handsome David Latimer, Earl of Blaisdon. The evil Duke Bellingham conspired with her father's clerk to rob the bank blind. When her father was ready to expose them, the secretary set a fire and killed her father, destroying her home. Adele was left to deal with the scandal when her father was accused to stealing the money. No one ever stopped to ask where it went. No one listened when she tried to expose the men who killed her father. Especially absent from supporting her in this time of troubles is her fiancé. David Latimer barely had the courtesy to send a Dear John note before decamping Bath.

Broken hearted, Adele now lives with her former governess. The governess runs a fashionable store in Bath and Adele works there as a clerk. Life goes along well, it rather dull until news that David Latimer has returned. Adele is distressed everyone is saying he is going to marry the daughter of the Duke of Bellingham.

As the night of the masquerade at the Bellingham manor arrives, Adele takes the risk. She alters her mother's gown and slips into the mansion, just to live in the manner she once had. David Latimer dances with her, but he doesn't recognize her as his former love. Hurt, she dances with the son of the Duke, which sets off a chain of events that nearly destroys all their lives.

It's a skillfully woven tale, that touches the heart and done with a beautiful use of multiple-POV. Wish American readers would once again embrace this beautiful style. It's just so "full", instead of paint-by-numbers it's a masterpiece of light and shadow.

In the second full book, A COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISE, it's about choices within oneself. Caroline Hexham's father was the black sheep of the Hexham family. He was a good man who married for love. As such, Caroline has been shunned by the powerful Hexham family her whole life. She is tried of life as a country mouse, so when her uncle dies, and his solicitor requests Caroline's presence in London, she jumps at the chance. On the journey she travels with Sir Henry Seymour, an aid and spymaster under Wellington.

Caroline is attracted to the handsome man, but has a lot on her plate at the moment. In a fit, her uncle gave the family manor in London to Caroline as long as she meets several stipulations. It's obvious to Caroline, she is being used as a prod against her cousin, but she seizes the chance to turn it into a thriving hotel for the elite.

There is romance abound, a temperamental French cook and a plot to assassinate Wellington. All done with Heath's charm and detailed style.

Two wonderful books for the price of one! A great treat.

Reviewed by DeborahAnne MacGillivray
Posted October 31, 2005

Summary

Two delightful Regencies...one delightful volume!

My Lady Domino

One year ago, Miss Adele Russell would have been an honored guest at the Bellingham's grand masquerade. But that was before the disgrace and death of her father, which left her penniless—and her broken engagement to Lord David Latimer, which left her humiliated. Now, when an invitation to the event of the season ends up in her hands, Adele throws caution to the wind—bringing her back into contact with the man who cast her heart aside.

A Commercial Enterprise

Miss Caroline Lexham knew tongues would wag when she turned the elegant London mansion she inherited into an aristocratic hotel. But she didn't suspect she'd be risking far more than a fleeting breath of scandal. A cousin's betrayal and a rival's scheme nearly brought her reputation—and her establishment into ruin—but it was the opinion of the handsome and dashing Sir Henry Seymour that truly broke her heart.