The Naked Baron

Basic Plot: Grace and the Baron see each other across a crowded dance floor and he decides he wants to marry her, but her father was once jilted by the Baron's mother and he hates the family and even influenced her aunt Kate to marry a much older man to keep her from marrying the Baron's Uncle Alex. Alex has always loved Kate and they sleep together and she gets pregnant and they have their love story. It's pretty straight-forward. Grace's father tries to force her to marry the man he chooses for her and drags her away from the Baron and she has to decide if she loves the Baron enough to disappoint her father. I'm not sure I get why some of the other's were less than fond of this. Yes, the love stories are a bit superficial. For example, both the older and younger sets of lovers had only met a few times before deciding to love each other. In fact, for the Baron and Grace, he experienced love/lust at first sight. I didn't really ind it since none of the characters were particularly strident, amoral, or annoying. No, there isn't much drama involved in this story and that's one of my favorite things about the story. I also liked that the heroine is tall and statuesque instead of being either tall and slim, short and slim, or short and curvy. I can't think of any other similarly built romance heroines. I think Coulter had one years ago. I kinda liked that the Baron (his name is escaping me) liked her large breast since so many romances are about making women with smaller breasts feel better. 2 of my sisters have pretty huge chests and I bet they would definitely identify more with Grace than the typical skinny or hourglass heroines. So in the end, this book is sort of middle of the road since it does nothing badly and also nothing well. It's proficient, but since it isn't offensive and didn't make me want to throw it across the room, I gave it 4 stars.

At twenty five years of age, Lady Grace Belmont is elated not to be at Blandon where her father is obsessed with marrying her off, but is unhappy to be on display during her first London season as the men stare at her bosom. She knows she is too old, too tall and a bit too plump to have anyone truly interested in her. Grace is especially grateful to her widowed Aunt Kate who is sponsoring and chaperoning her, which keeps Grace away from her father who has been arranging for her a marriage after providing no seasons for his daughter. However David Wilton, Baron Dawson, observes Grace in a garden and thinks she is the loveliest woman he has ever seen. He tries to steal a kiss from her and plans to court her as he wants her like no one ever before. At the same his Uncle Alex Wilton sees his beloved Kate. Years ago when they were younger than Grace is now, he proposed to her but her martinet father gave her to someone else. Alex plans to try again to win Kate's heart, unaware he always owned it. He also wants to insure history does not repeat itself with his nephew and her niece starring in their former roles. With two heated Regency romances, Sally Mackenzie provides her readers with a fun, often amusing, but always entertaining novel. The story line is brisk from the onset as the older couple seeks a second chance at love while hoping to steer their younger relatives to an easy landing in a field of love; only their efforts lead to scandal. Readers will appreciate THE NAKED BARON as humor and heat combine for an engaging historical. Harriet Klausner