I really enjoyed this madcap regency romance by Kasey Michaels. Lord Edward (Ned) and Emily are both wonderful characters. This book is chock full of eccentric characters and will have you laughing out loud at every turn. Emily is in London for the season playing companion to her younger cousin, Georgiana, during her come out. Emily, only twenty years of age and believing herself firmly on the shelf, is, in a word, a dowd! She dresses in awful clothes and wears her hair in a very unbecoming manner. For all that, she is sweet, kindhearted, and intelligent.
Lord Edward, brother and heir to a Marquess, sees beyond Emily's dowdy appearance, and has fallen totally in love with her. Emily, however, hates the very ground his "too handsome" self walks on. In order to get Emily's attention, Ned comes up with this crazy scheme to pretend he's courting Emily's beautiful, if completely stupid cousin, Georgy. Emily, of course, thinks Ned is up to no good with her cousin and is determined to protect the beautiful clunch from him. This is the premise for the story, and a very entertaining story it is!
The dowager Duchess, Emily's aunt, is an absent minded, lovable, idiot, who also needs looking after almost as much as her young daughter. Emily has her hands full with the two nuts. Lord Edward's older brother, the Marquess, Reggie, is eccentric to say the least....he actually probably has some kind of mental disability though I'm not sure which one. He is very childlike and extremely lovable. Ned loves Emily, but he is determined not to marry anyone unless they like and are liked by his brother, Reggie. Ned's crazy scheme to get Emily's attention by annoying the crap out of her gets a jolt when the Duchess announces their engagement in the Gazette after erroneously believing that Ned compromised Emily.
How Ned deals with this unexpected complication, wins his lady love's heart, and finally achieves his HEA makes a very engaging story! Throw in Ned's two best friends, Henry, who fancies himself a poet, and Del, another lovable dolt, and you've got yourself the makings of a full fledged comedic, madcap, regency. If you are in the mood for a lighthearted, laugh out loud, sweet, clean historical romance then you will enjoy reading this book. Enjoy!