"Fine Regency romance"

An orphan, Gemma Smith has wondered who she really is for a long time and who is paying the bills for her to stay at Miss Maysham's Academy for Select Young Ladies. On her twenty-first birthday, her solicitor sends her a letter that informs her that her brother is Lord Gabriel Sinclair. She goes to meet him, but he is not in London when she arrives, but Gemma becomes good friends with Louisa Crookshank who knows Gabriel.

Gemma continues to seek information. She meets navy officer (retired) Matthew Fallon who seeks his missing sister sent to a foundling home when their mother died and he was at sea. As they agree to team up on their respective searches they fall in love, but neither knows what to expect once they learn the truth.

Though the above paragraphs concentrate on Gemma's tale, to a lesser degree Louise's story is also told; both are well done and complement one another. The cast is solid and the duel story lines are fun to follow especially the amateur sleuthing of Gemma, who went from feeling alone to being loved. Regency romance fans will also want to read BEAUTY IN BLACK, the first appearances of Gemma and Louisa.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted January 28, 2005

Summary

Who is Miss Gemma Smith? No one wishes to know more than the orphaned Gemma herself. One day, a fateful letter sends her to London where she meets former naval officer Matthew Fallon--who is searching for the sister he lost. So far apart in other ways, the two are soon drawn together by their desperate quests for their lost loved ones--and the blossoming of undeniable passion.