Haunting Flame
Janice BennettHistorical romance
Available from Cerridwen Press
ISBN: 9781419925528
May 2010
| Tony Lambeth is not the same man who left for the Peninsular Campaign. He was wounded and walks with a limp. He feels like less of a man and has too many responsibilities since the death of is wastrel of a brother. The estate is in debt, the farms need repair, and his brother's widow spends money like water and seems to have no idea that there isn't a lot left. Tony needs a wife. He promised his friend Oliver that he would look after his sister Callie and has not kept his word. Callie is alone in the world and is working as a companion to a cantankerous dragon of a woman. She has grown into a lovely and enticing woman and he feels unworthy of her. She just wants to bring back the laughing young man that she has always idolized. She moves into the family home and promptly makes the acquaintance of the family ghost who is determined to show her something, hopefully the legendary missing fortune of both Tony and Callie's families.
I loved this story. It is everything a Regency romance should be. Tony is handsome and troubled and suffering from an injury inflicted in the war against Napoleon. Callie is poor but determined to make the best of things. She has a bit of a temper but is a very sweet person overall. She has been impoverished and left homeless by the death of her only brother, but has managed to find respectable employment. She is determined to only marry for love. The plot is fast moving and the ghosts add a wonderful touch of a past romance. I loved the idea of a treasure hunt with clues provided by ghosts who lived a hundred years before. The subplot of Felix and Marianne's almost hopeless romance was very good also. The author has captured the spirit of the era perfectly and the combination of sympathetic characters and an engrossing plot make this a new favorite of mine.
Overall rating:
Reviewer: Maura Frankman |
