I've truly enjoyed all of LLG's works that I've read thus far, and I plan to read more. Her late Victorian/Edwardian settings make it possible for her to create female characters who are believably more modern than the standard Regency miss, and Annabel Mae Wheaton is a perfect example. She was born poor in Mississippi, but her late father left her stupendously wealthy from his gold mines in Alaska. She moves to New York expecting to enter Society, but Society wants nothing to do with her. When an impoverished English earl proposes marriage, she sees an opportunity to force her way into the upper class and ensure that her young sister never has to face the insults that have come Annabel's way.

Annabel is smart, strong, determined, and optimistic, even as she contemplates marriage to a man she doesn't love and who does not love her. I liked her a lot. When her wedding is ruined by the drunken ravings of the rakish Duke of Scarborough, she cleverly figures out a way to minimize the attendant scandal and force the duke to make amends. Of course, she falls in love with him, and when he begins pushing eligible bachelors in front of her, she takes drastic action.

Christian, the duke, is an engaging character, but I didn't "fall in love" with him myself. This is definitely Annabel's book.

I must say, though, that when the scene switches from London to Scarborough, the action feels rushed. I would have enjoyed seeing more development of the characters' feelings and motivations. And the ending is downright abrupt.

And now a word about Annabel's accent. I though it was fine that she used American slang and expressions, but stop it with the droppin' of the endin' "g"s. It was distracting and done inconsistently; she would drop the 'g' off of three words in a paragraph and leave it on in two other words. I'm a Southerner native born, and have dropped plenty of 'g's, but it just doesn't work on the written page. ( )

I didn't read the other books in this series. I don't feel I missed anything by reading out of order.

I enjoyed the setting and unconventional heroine. With the flood of regencies on the market, its refreshing to read about something different. ( )

I still like the second book in this series the best so far, but this one was still a good read. I have to admit I'd probably have liked it better if I hadn't listened to the audio--I really wasn't crazy about the southern accent that the narrator gave Annabel. Plotwise, I would have liked to have seen more details about Christian's first marriage--it felt like we saw way more of Annabel's disastrous early love life and never got a solid enough grasp on his. Time was definitely spent on it, but it still felt uneven. In the end, though, it wasn't enough to really affect my enjoyment of the novel...just made it seem a bit out of balance.

Is it a coincidence that this novel was released so close to the premiere of season two of Downton Abbey? The theme of rich American heiresses bailing out the bankrupt ton seemed awfully familiar.... :-) ( )

This was the best book in this series. It was the most enjoyable historical romance that I've read this year. ( )

Not my favorite Laura Lee Guhrke romance, but it had it's moments. Set in 1909, half of which is on board a large steam ship en route from New York to London. Annabelle Wheatley, an American heiress with humble beginnings and no pedigree whatsoever is determined to marry well and get herself a title in the bargain. So what if she doesn't love her fiance? Marrying him will make her legitimate in the eyes of society - until her uncle hires the rakish scapegrace Duke of Scarborough to talk her out of it. Unfortunately, they get drunk one night on moonshine in the backseat of her Ford motor car while in storage (shades of Titanic). Let's just say, it gets complicated. The wedding does not go off as planned weeks later, and she winds up having to marry the Duke instead! But, is it worth it if love isn't involved? Will these two ever realize they really are in love with each other after all? ( )