In the fine tradition of Regency Romances A Lady’s Point of View by Jacqueline Diamond begins with a simple misunderstanding blown out of proportion due to the unrealistic expectations of the Ton and goes from there. The main focus of the story is the two Linley sisters, Meg (who has lamentably weak eyes) and Angela (the pretty younger sister without a massive dowry). Their widowed mother Mary has brought them to London for the Season in a continued attempt to marry off first Meg and then Angela.

 The first misunderstanding occurs at a ball where poor Meg who is not to wear spectacles in public in fear of further destroying her chances of an advantageous match (for they are NOT wealthy) does not see Beau Brummel and misses his acknowledgement thus slighting a highly influential personage. In order to give Angela a chance to find a match and hopefully save the family for debtor’s prison Meg pens an apology to Brummel and leaves London and there our real story starts.

I do not want to give away too much of the plot but there are some terrific elements, a reclusive Lord with two children… a governess position… the malicious countess… and of course balls, romantic moments, proposals! If you enjoy a good Regency romance SLIGHTLY more current in its romantic moments but by no means garish or explicit (these are true misses after all) then this book is a terrific read for you. 

A Lady’s Point of View

Another traditional romance, Charity is a young maiden set on being… well… helpful. Dissapointed in love by the gentlemen in London who are altogether too predictable for her romantic ideals she is recalled home to her Kentish village where she is seen as a pillar of the community. She lives with her brothers after her parents passed away as did her twin (brother) and a younger brother. Even with a more modest dowry she has often been proposed to both in London and back home. Sadly this staid maiden is seen as the perfect wife and helpmate when all she wants is romance and spontaneity. 

Enter a bereaved local Lady and her artistic brother Tristan who sees Charity as a person of interest. With so much going on in the village, a bereaved widow to urge out the door and into society, brothers to look after and a noble man to yearn for there is all the elements there for a light hearted romance. 

This lovely Alicia Rasley novel is a wonderful period piece with lively characters and a beautiful setting. The countryside is a perfect backdrop for the trials and tribulations of love loss and village fetes. 

Charity Begins at Home

Written by two authors this book is comprised of a series of letters and telegraphs from various people telling the story through correspondence. Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows do an amazing job weaving a story of an island free from the Nazi’s and trying to get back to normal while remembering the past. Check it out HERE.

There is the lady who started it all… the society and triggered so many events through her decisions and actions… she who is missing still at the beginning of the book and remembered and discussed by those her knew her. But by the end of it all you feel like you knew her! 

Yet the main character is another woman, a writer who is, due to the coincidence of a book bought and sold to another from London. And so many more characters and I mean CHARACTERS… both on the island and back in London and by extension Scotland…

I seriously do not want to give away too much… but what I can say is that while I usually do not enjoy this style of storytelling this book held my interest and then some. Each and every character has life… and the settings are amazing. The war is discussed from such a unique position… there is so much more than just the main storyline going on to. And the movement from the current time the book is placed on to the past and back is so smooth. An amazing post war book! 

A GREAT read!