The Duchess of Towans offers Elinor Hardy, temporarily down on her luck, free run of the glamorous Cheyne Spa in return for capturing the attentions of an unsuitable pursuer of the Duchess' niece
The plot of this book goes nowhere. The ending is very rushed and the romance is almost a non-romance. I liked Elinor and her stubborn, independent pride. I do not know what I would have done in her situation. I did not like the gentleman Elinor chose in the end. I did not find his character very appealing. I preferred another suitor. I felt like the Duchess took advantage of Elinor and would have dropped her had the plan not succeeded. This is not the best book in the series. It borrows a bit from Georgette Heyer's An Infamous Army. I hoped for more about characters from the previous novels but there was only one brief mention of Gavin.
Vivian did her homework on this regency; the settings are detailed, and language used by the cast of the story felt more authentic. This is an ensemble cast, unusual for a paperback romance, but successfully juggled so all had their 15 minutes of spotlight.