Irish Earl's Ruse

Connor O'Neill was a black-haired Irishman, with captivating sky-blue eyes. He was a schoolgirl's fantasy - if a schoolgirl were into rogues or pirates. . . To Susannah Somerset, he was nothing but a prickly confrontation. He was infuriating! Still, he was her grandmother's temporary head trainer and as the head trainer, Connor O'Neill ruled and controlled the stable yard. There was no question this extremely attractive Irishman was very capable of control. Lady Susannah Somerset was simply stunning. As the daughter of a duke, she could be arrogant and haughty - she was neither. Yet, this feisty beauty filled out her tightfitting breeches better than . . . What's more, Lady Susannah Somerset could ride . . . a racehorse! Marvelously, Lady Susannah could control . . . a racehorse! No doubt her e x c e p t i o n a l l y long legs enabled that perfect riding control. Although Connor O'Neill was under his cloak of disguise, he was a man and Lady Susannah Somerset was a perfect woman. A perfect woman with one insurmountable flaw, she was English! Lady Susannah Somerset, daughter of the Duke of Beaufort, was of the English ruling class that had plundered his Ireland for so long. As the Earl of Iveagh, Connor O'Neill could not betray his people. He would not marry a member of those that, for centuries, had oppressed his own. And so goes Emma Lange's THE IRISH EARL'S RUSE. Lange writes a gentle story surrounding the English/Irish opposition. GENTLE? Yes, for Emma Lange does not wrap this Regency story in anything too heavy! However, she does surround her story with the plaguing English/Irish dilemma. And although, Ms. Lange writes a good read, her story did falter. Nothing seemed to jump out and pull . . . and I wanted that! Usually, Emma Lange delivers a one-two punch. Disappointingly, at the end of THE IRISH EARL'S RUSE, I was still standing! Grade: B- (a pleasant romance story, with a very concerned and current topic wisely held in check!) MaryGrace Meloche.

Emma Lange has fast become one of my favorite Regency authors. Her research is always good (her degree is in European studies) and her characters never fail to captivate. This book is about Susannah, the daughtor of a duke, and Connor O'Neill, her grandmother's horse trainer who happens to be an earl going incognito for reasons of his own that have nothing to do with Susannah. One of the things I enjoyed the most about this book (and most of Lange's efforts) is that although there is some friction between the characters neither the hero or the heroine languish about saying to themselves "I hate him/her!" when they actually realize they feel quite the opposite. The tale is very sweet and the subplot involving Irish rebels is also quite well done. A good choice for any Regency fan.