Golden Girl

I really enjoyed this book. Anthony was a wonderful hero; he was kind and thoughtful, which is somewhat at odds with the usual ‘beautiful’ men in a regency novel. They would generally come across pigheaded or arrogant. While in general he comes across quite delightful. I thought Sarah was a heroine to be proud of. She was independent yet loving, kind and intelligent to boot. I love it when the heroine has a passion as she does with her painting, and will not compromise it for anything. I thought their relationship was realistic and enthralling. It wasn’t all based on lust and passion, but they were friends and companions, not to say there wasn’t any excitement in their relationship! This was my first Joan Wolf novel, and I will be definitely hunting out more of her books to read :-)

Joan Wolf is a great writer. She takes the standard marriage of convenience plot and twists it into a truly interesting read. This was a bit of a departure for Joan because she actually let you see who the villian was, but I liked that. Her strength is in her characters and the bad guy's character was as well developed as the rest. I especially liked how the 2 main characters didn't fall in love at first sight. It was a gradual thing. Truly a winner.

I enjoyed this book. I found both the hero and heroine to be sympathetic and I enjoyed the twist on the "who is murdering the heroine" plot in that she doesn't become paranoid suspecting the hero. However, to be fair the story does seem like the melding of Wolf's previous Regencies "The American Duchess" and hmm... I can't quite remember the name--it was Double or Duel Deception or something like that. The original novels had more sponteneity but this one retained the likability and emotional stability of the characters. In the end it is an enjoyable (though perhaps uninspired) read.

I don't know why other readers didn't like this book--I thought it charming, and is one of my top two favorites of her Regency romances. Her third party narration was very well done, and I enjoyed hearing what the hero was thinking.

I've enjoyed Joan Wolf's regencies since I was a teenager. It's hard to describe, but her writing style has an aura of calm and rationality that makes the unfolding of the romance seem inevitable. In other words, they are real and more touching than more overwrought romances. Adrian's and Sarah's romance feels like a rain soaking into a bed of rosebuds. Adrian's the aristocrat who gives off an aura of noblesse oblige; Sarah, painter and merchant's granddaughter, is obviously meant to be a duchess despite her lowly birth. A beautiful romance.