Harry Marlow is a soldier returned from the hardships of the Crimean War and stationed at Brighton. On the beach, he meets a young woman, Charlotte Cotton, and the two gradually become friends. Charlotte is being kept by a retired Colonel, but Harry becomes more and more enmeshed in her life regardless of the impact on his career.

This was an interesting book. I don't read a lot of Victorian romances, and the era is certainly different from Regency or Medieval romance stories. I found it a little slow in places because of some repetition; the reader is told over and over that Charlotte is a fallen woman, for example. I liked that Harry comes to understand what his father and brother have been preaching to him about fallen women through his relationship with Charlotte. I also liked that Charlotte comes to learn that her sacrifice was really for naught; she grows up as she understands that what happened to her was not her fault.

Harry's family are a fascinating bunch of people. Not having read the previous books, I was confused by names and titles, but it really doesn't matter to this book and mirrors some of Charlotte's confusion. Charlotte uses the nickname 'Charlie' through much of the book which just a personal quirk, but I thought was too modern. Still, I enjoyed this story; I was given the book as an ARC for an honest review. ( )