I don’t know what happened. I’ve been reading this series entirely out of order, and entirely not on purpose, but fortunately this series doesn’t punish you too much if you take a circuitous route through.
Plot: Catherine’s dad is dying. He should know, he’s a doctor. Her mom had died a few years prior, and her dad is deeply anxious about her future. So despite her desire to stay close to him, she agrees to take some of the minuscule funds they have and do a season in London – hopefully securing her future before he passes on. Things are off to a pretty bad start, given that her chaperone seems to have limited interest in actually chaperoning or introducing her to eligible bachelors. Fortunately, a troublemaking progressive Lord is also staying at the Grand Palace on the Thames while his townhouse is restored following a dispute with his mistress that resulted in it being engulfed in flames. And he can’t seem to resist trying to help. Shenanigans ensue.
Plot-wise, this is probably one of the weakest books in the series. So much relies on the reader just shrugging and going with something because it’s fiction, rather than the fleshed out plot I usually expect from Long. Characterization-wise too, the characters are archetypes with One Thing and that’s mostly it. But the dialogue. My god it’s droll. It’s Long at her Longest – to a point where I barely noticed the flatness of either the plot or the characterization until I was actually sitting down to write this review. My suggestion? Make sure to read this, but read it when you just want some attractive people to spar verbally. It’ll be just what the doctor ordered.