Marrying the Major

Nearly eleven years after the beginning we bump into a bit more mature Emma Fitzwilliam, one who is decidely opinioniated. She knows how to get what she wants When she realizes that the Major who is visiting Richard and Jamie was the light hearted young man of her childhood she is shocked to see the changes in him. Major Hugo Stratton is scarred and recuperating from his wounds. He is quiet and withdrawn because Forster was trying to ruin his reputation. He is not a very good prospect for marriage. Could he still perform his husbandly duties? Emma is very afraid of the emotions that the very touch of Hugo arrouses in her. She has no knowledge of desires and she does desire Hugo. Then Kit Stratton shows up at the horse race and blows it all to ..... Neither she nor Kit wants to marry each other. Kit has a plan but Hugo must present it to Emma - but she refuses to known as a "jilt". Ah, boy, Hugo shows some sense and offers his hand in marriage. Which she accepts. So much more to the story and is really worth reading - this is the second in the trilogy with Richard and Jamie's story first in A PENNILESS PROPECT and Kit's story follows in RAKE'S REWARD [but the price of the first one is outrageous] HIGHLY RECOMMENDED -- definitely a keeper.

When Hugo Stratton left England for the Penninsular Campaign, Emma Fitzwilliam was a young hoyden, more at ease climbing trees and playing rough than being the proper lady. In the years since, however, Emma has become the epitome of womanhood, from her polite conversation to her manner of dress. The toast of Society, Emma is still unmarried at age 23, wary of fortune-hunters who merely want to acquire her fortune. Once her childhood acquaintance returns from war, however, she finds herself aflame with desire for him.Hugo Stratton is bitter and weak from his wounds. When a friend found him in Europe, he was barely alive and had been dreadfully wounded. He is not the man Emma remembers so fondly from childhood, for Hugo has lost most of his teasing ways and has become a jaded man. His fondest wish is to retire to the country and stay far away from society, but Emma is determined to draw him from his self-imposed exile and help him regain his strength, humor, and abilities. Hugo has feelings for Emma, but he knows he can never have her - until fate presents him a golden opportunity he simply cannot refuse.One of the biggest positives of this book is the strong cast of secondary characters. In many romance novels, secondary characters are rarely mentioned and are even more rarely fleshed out to any degree. This is not the case in Marrying the Major - there is a delightfully complete cast of secondaries, including Emma's meddling aunt, Emma's friends and neighbors Richard and Jamie, the Dowager (Richard's mother), Hugo's younger brother Kit, and Emma's indulgent father. Richard and Jamie are the most prominent in the story, offering support, advice, and a glimpse of wedded bliss. For those who are interested, Richard and Jamie's story appears in a book entitled "A Penniless Prospect," by the same author.I have two minor criticisms of the book, the first being some of the underdeveloped sub-plots. Hugo's fued with someone from his past, for example, was woefully underdeveloped and left me with a "huh?" at the conclusion of that sub-plot. Some of the sub-plots seemed like mere filler. My second minor criticism is the amount of time that lapses in the book before any real romance starts. The first half of the book is dedicated to events and situations leading up to the romance that will eventually develop, but I thought too much time was spent on events that could have been dealt with in a chapter or two. Still, the book is a good one, and I'd probably read it again. It was an enjoyable read, with solid history interwoven with a blossoming romance, and I did end up reading it straight through! I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

Having never read anything by this author before, I was pleasantly surprised by the well-written, well-rounded characters; good use of historical accuracy; good plot & nice tension between the hero & heroine...all in all, a very good read. I read it straight through to the end, in fact! One tiny correction to the other review: it's the Duke of York, not Prinny, that the heroine meets.