Kasey Michaels, A Most Unsuitable Groom

A Most Unsuitable Groom

Kasey Michaels

Harlequin HQN, Apr 2007, $6.99

ISBN 0373771916

In 1813 due to the incompetence of General Proctor, British soldier Spencer Becket expects to die in the upcoming battle with the American army.. He prays that the intelligent Chief Tecumseh survives as he expects the Five Nations will collapse without him and the British will lose again to the colonists. Spencer takes a bullet in his thigh and a rifle butt to his head. He awakens a week later to find his compatriot Clovis Meechum and an angel that he immediately thinks is the devil seeing to him.

In 1814, Spencer continues to recover from his war injuries, but he is home at Beckett Hall in Romney Marsh when his "angel-devil" arrives pregnant. She greets him by congratulating him that he will soon be a father, but he does not remember making love to fiery Mariah Rutledge. The pair quickly marry so that their offspring is born legitimately, but the Becket brood agrees to hide their privateer history from the newcomer. Knowing they do not trust her, Mariah, after the baby is born, learns of an insidious plot to restore the Emperor in Paris so she decides she must act to prove herself to her relatives by preventing the return; Spencer follows the woman he loves.

The fourth Romney Marsh historical romance is a fine Regency, but lacks the humor that made the previous tales see THE DANGEROUS DEBUTANTE, BEWARE OF VIRTUOUS WOMEN and A GENTLEMAN BY ANY OTHER NAME) some of the best the sub-genre has had in the past few years. The storyline is filled with action, especially when Mariah runs away twice and most enjoyable when she and Spencer bicker. Though why she must prove herself to her in-laws by abandoning her baby never comes across as plausible, series fans will enjoy the latest entry in a terrific saga.

Harriet Klausner