Belles Beau [Paperback]

This romance has no dastardly villians, no spies, no magic or time travel, no murders or thefts, and not even an elopement. The hero and heroine are utterly conventional, well bred, and not witty. That being said, I have to admire Ms. Buck for taking on such a task as writing a book in which so little happens and making it pleasing and a least somewhat plausible.

Suitable for young readers.

Adam Ashdon, conscious that he is the last of his line, has returned to London to find a bride before war breaks out again on the continent. On convalescent leave a year ago in Bath he met a young lady whose image has stayed before him in the intervening months. He intends to leave London for Bath to meet her again and further his suit. To his surprise, he finds her galloping her gelding across Hyde Park one morning. Delighted to renew the acquaintance, he begins to court her, much to her delight. He never imagines, of course, that it was her twin sister Cassandra he conversed with in Bath, and Belle, our heroine, never dreams that he does not know she has a twin.

Such is the big misunderstanding that drives the plot. As misunderstandings go, it is a realistic one, and is quite well handled by the author - there is never a point at which the characters appear stupid for not realising what is going on, but rather the misunderstanding continues because all parties believe the obvious rather than searching for explanations. One does wish that the hero would make more inquiries when he finds himself puzzled by Belle's seeming memory lapse of their time in Bath, but that he doesn't is quite understandable.

Ms Buck's style is clear and competent, though there are patches where the reader feels she is treading water to fill space. Belle's inferiority complex, which is based on her perception of her sister's perfection and her treatment by their aunt and uncle, is never resolved or even confronted, which is a disturbing factor in the book, realistic though it might be. Overall, Ms Buck has created a very young, very insecure heroine here, which is refreshing in light of all the feisty bluestockings Regency readers have had of late. Our hero is less well-developed - the plot causes him to disappear from the narrative for some pages, which hampers our understanding of his character.

"Belle's Beau" is very much a 3 star book - well worth reading if you like Ms Buck's work, but by no means her best effort. It is a lighter Regency, and a very good sequel to "Cassandra's Deception".