"Charming tale full of strong characters..."
Boston, 1798 Orphaned at an early age, nineteen-year old Corinnanna
Towers lives with her Aunt Charlotte who certainly treats
her as a very poor relation, providing her with hand-me-
down gowns and treating her harshly. Her only consolation
is her kind and considerate cousin, Katie, who is engaged
to be married to a man she does not love. Once Katie is
married, Corinna will have to find another place to live,
for living with Aunt Charlotte without Katie would be
unbearable. On the way home from buying a wedding gift for
her cousin, Corinna is the victim of a good drenching in
mud by a speeding coach. The rogue driving the vehicle in
question happens to be businessman Stuart Grant and he is
not sorry at all. He mistakes Corinna to be a mere serving
wench and treats her as such. Enraged by her encounter
with the rake, Corinna hurries home hoping to get cleaned
up before her Aunt has a chance to reprimand her. However,
she cannot forget the arrogant man and is even more shocked
to find he is none other than the stepbrother of the man
Katie is supposed to marry. Of course things don't get any
better when Corinna causes a scene in church and thereby
aids Katie in eloping with the man of her dreams. Aunt
Charlotte is enraged and treats Corinna badly. When Stuart
shows up to speak with her, Corinna is convinced she's in
for more cutting remarks. Imagine her surprise when he
instead proposes that she act as his betrothed for a short
while and also promises to make it beneficial to her. Being wealthy and having more than your share of good looks
is not always a good thing. At least it's not for Stuart
Grant. He's tired of keeping old match-making mamas from
practically forcing their daughters on him. It's tiresome
and a complete waste of time -- important time he could
spend doing business. He finds himself greatly intrigued
by Corinna for she is the first woman he's met who didn't
practically fall at his feet or pursue him with marriage in
mind. Noticing how she is being treated in a degrading
manner by her Aunt and not liking it one bit, Stuart
realizes a pretend engagement with Corinna could turn out
to be mutually beneficial for both of them. Mistakenly
thinking the situation would merely be A MATTER OF
CONVENIENCE, Stuart instead finds that Corinna's proximity
is too great a temptation for him. Gabriella Anderson's A MATTER OF CONVENIENCE is the first
book in the Destiny Coin trilogy. Ms. Anderson writes with
a charming style that draws the reader into the story from
the first page, and keeps them holding on right to the very
end. Although I found the story slightly lacking in
historical flavor for my personal tastes, I still enjoyed
getting to know Stuart and Corinna and watching them
realize how A MATTER OF CONVENIENCE becomes a matter of the
heart. A MATTER OF CONVENIENCE boasts strong characterizations and
engaging dialogue that promises to entertain and satiate
fans of romance. I recommend A MATTER OF CONVENIENCE to
all historical romance lovers and look forward to Ms.
Anderson's second book in the Destiny Coin trilogy. Elena Channing
Reviewed by Leena Hyat
Courtesy Heart Rate Reviews
Posted June 22, 2001
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