I was always glad to see one of my favourite secondary GH characters, Charles Audley, given his own romance, but on my first reading I wasn't that keen on Barbara. Anyone thinking that the name Grouchy must be a typo (& anyone who reads the Arrow editions of GH's books can certainly be forgiven for that!) It isn't. I'm not a big war story reader at any time, but GH's description of soot blackened faces & horses being shot under riders ring true. That's right folks – I breezed through the Battle of Waterloo! & I thought there was even more history than there was! On this reading, I would put romance, Regency life at around 75%, war story 25%.This read, I simply accepted that I wasn't going to remember every real life character & just went with the flow. I loved the romance, but on subsequent readings I just skimmed through the history & reread Bab's & Charles love story. I wasn't so keen on this book in my younger days & if GR had been around then I would have given it a solid 3.5*, as in found the history a bit indigestible. I will mention that GH was meticulous in her research - at the back of the book is what she calls the "short" bibliography & that runs to two & a half pages! This is her review (linked to with her permission). My good GR friend Hana has covered the historical side of reviewing the book, & I don't feel I can better her comments. Warning there may be spoilers for Regency Buck & Devil's Cub in this review,as GH uses characters from both in this book.
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