This was a good weekend for finding books on my Kindle. Malin and Mrs. Julien have done the lord’s work in convincing me to move past whatever reluctance I had about reading Loretta Chase. Miss Wonderful is my third Chase this year. I must say, she writes a great heroine and some excellent banter.
Alistair Carsington is the third of five sons. His father has announced Alistair must find a way to support himself, or marry an heiress, within 6 months because he is expensive to keep. Mirabel Oldridge is the spinster daughter of a large landowner in Derbyshire. Mirabel runs the estate for her father while he obsesses about things botanical.
After a number of disastrous forays in romance, Alistair is reluctant to marry. He and his longtime friend seek their fortunes in a canal venture. Mirabel Oldridge is vehemently opposed to a canal, which would run through, or alongside her property. The combination of opposition and attraction makes for a fast paced and fun read. Alistair is a dandy and finds Mirabel’s fashion choices offensive.
Miss Oldridge wore a grey silk gown designed, apparently, by a strict Presbyterian minister for his grandmother.
It turns out, after banter, flirtation, and a great deal of disrobing, that clothes are a shield and a weapon that they each use against social expectations.
There is some entirely unnecessary external drama. With the conflict over the canal, I don’t see why a separate villain was needed.
It is a romance, so everything works out. By the time we get to the end of the book, the HEA is entirely believable.