This Regency was amusing. The heroine is innocent but quite intelligent. The hero is sharp-tongued but learns compassion because he is emotionally attached to the heroine. I liked both the main characters. I liked the story as well.

All-in-all, this is another fun Regency. If you like steamy Regencies, you'll most likely enjoy this. ( )

This was a fun romance novel with stubborn and inquisitive leads that constantly butt heads as the plot threw one mystery after another at them. Imagine if Fred and Daphne from Scooby Doo were in a regency romance novel, and Fred was more emo. That's what this book is. There's plenty of intrigue and unmasking of villains both small and large. There are balls and creepy towers. Best of all, in my mind, is the action at the end that brings the romance to a climactic end. This is definitely an entertaining read if you like historical-mystery-romances.

Prudence starts out as your typical nerdy heroine who dresses like a pillow and is only interested in having "intellectual" conversations about spectral phenomena (be warned, she uses this phrase a lot, and it's very irritating). While Prudence struggles to encounter a real ghost, she is quite intuitive, making the various situations she finds herself in quite entertaining. I was worried that she was going to be TSTL, but she quite quickly proves herself to be both level-headed and resourceful. She stands up to the hero when he's being a tool; she knows her own worth, and she's not afraid to pursue her interests, even when they make her an object of curiosity in high society. Honestly, she's inspiring and very likable.

Another thing to note is the supporting cast is quite stellar. Not everyone is kind and good, and it really adds flavor to the setting. I'm so sick of romance novels where every single person is good. Any conflict feels so contrived, and the setup so sickly sweet that I can't immerse myself into the book. Not so here. There are shades in London and shades to the lead characters. Neither are perfect, and they both make mistakes and both grow from them. Notably, the hero evolves more than others because he starts off as such a tool.

The romantic lead Sebastian is consumed by ennui, which is why he plays private investigator on his wealthy neighbors. It's the mystery that he's investigating - a series of murders that point to his own family as guilty - that is the driving the story. At first, he's only amused by Prudence, and when he proposes a convenient marriage to her, he thinks it'll be a calm union where Prudence waits at home and occasionally weighs in on his investigations. Very quickly, he finds that he's instead chasing her all over London as she conducts her own investigations. Inevitably, the two become intertwined in each other's cases.

At first, I found Sebastian to be very rude and oppressive. He dictated what Prudence was allowed to wear, where she was allowed to go, and whom she was allowed to meet. I took a strong dislike to him for a good section of the book. However, Prudence never once capitulated to him, and Sebastian eventually learned that he needed to adapt. Once he did this, he became a hero to root for, but it was a journey getting there.

I think it's important to note that Sebastian didn't become more accepting because he was transformed by love, at least not in part. He grew because he realized he needed to if he was going to keep Prudence at his side. This book is a product of its time, and it shows. Yet, it's still delightful.
If you're willing to put up with a chauvinistic hero for a good portion of the book, then I highly recommend this installment by Amanda Quick. ( )

really good and interesting. villain was e-ville and hero and heroine were heroic. ( )

Perfect holiday reading - light but entertaining, an engaging and quirky heroine, and with just enough spice to keep you reading. ( )

3.5 stars rounded up. The heroine was consistently naive which I don't really care for, but was otherwise intelligent. And the hero's seducing language toward locks he was picking was ridiculous in a bad way. And there was a long exposition in the end to wrap up the mystery even though we already knew most of it by then, so I wasn't a fan of that either. But, I liked how the hero appreciated genuine qualities about the heroine, they bonded over their shared curiosity to solve puzzles and things, and overall I just liked them and enjoyed watching their relationship develop. ( )