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Miss Fleming #1
Miss Fleming Falls in Love
A Girl. An Earl. A Battle of Wits . . .
Miss Amelia Fleming has a very good reason to hate the Earl of Langley. A year ago, her father drowned in the Thames after losing a fortune to Langley at cards. Now her family is broke, her fiancé has broken their engagement, and the debt still hasn't been paid. Someone has to deal with the earl, but Amelia's brother doesn't have the nerve and her mother has fled to France. It's no business for a gently bred young lady, but the Earl of Langley is about to learn that Amelia Fleming is not your typical young lady . . .
Miss Fleming Falls in Love is a sweet, sparkling Regency romp about a misunderstood nobleman who meets his match in a spirited and unconventional heroine.
Miss Amelia Fleming has a very good reason to hate the Earl of Langley. A year ago, her father drowned in the Thames after losing a fortune to Langley at cards. Now her family is broke, her fiancé has broken their engagement, and the debt still hasn't been paid. Someone has to deal with the earl, but Amelia's brother doesn't have the nerve and her mother has fled to France. It's no business for a gently bred young lady, but the Earl of Langley is about to learn that Amelia Fleming is not your typical young lady . . .
Miss Fleming Falls in Love is a sweet, sparkling Regency romp about a misunderstood nobleman who meets his match in a spirited and unconventional heroine.
324 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2023
840 people are currently reading
902 people want to read
About the author
Emma Melbourne
3 books172 followersEmma Melbourne writes romance with strong heroes, stronger heroines, and happy endings. She is an avid reader and a huge fan of Georgette Heyer. She lives in Toronto with her family.
MISS FLEMING FALLS IN LOVE is Emma's first novel. The sequel, THE MYSTERIOUS MR. OLIVER, was released Sept 2 2023.
The third book in the Miss Fleming series, THE HONOURABLE MR. KINCAID, will be released in 2024.
Visit her website, emmamelbourne.com, and sign up for the mailing list to be notified of new releases.
EmmaMelbourneWrites@gmail.com.
MISS FLEMING FALLS IN LOVE is Emma's first novel. The sequel, THE MYSTERIOUS MR. OLIVER, was released Sept 2 2023.
The third book in the Miss Fleming series, THE HONOURABLE MR. KINCAID, will be released in 2024.
Visit her website, emmamelbourne.com, and sign up for the mailing list to be notified of new releases.
EmmaMelbourneWrites@gmail.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 404 reviews
February 24, 2023
I really enjoyed this fun and yes, witty romance. Suspend all disbelief and just go with it. I like stories about h who care about their families and the strong silent H. Easy reading low angst. 3.9999*
August 4, 2023
4.5 stars ⭐️
I really enjoyed this story. Nice characters and full of humour. Will be reading the next book.
I really enjoyed this story. Nice characters and full of humour. Will be reading the next book.
January 27, 2023
When Amelia's brother refuses to face the Earl of Langly regarding the gambling debt their father left, she decides to do it herself. Langly, intrigued by this business-like young woman, decides to do his best to help the family, including helping along the marriage to a rich merchant she hopes for. But each thing he does to help makes him want to do more - and increases his interest in her. Can they unravel the family's financial difficulties? And will he see what's in front of his face before it's too late?
I had never heard of this author before, but the book was free and I decided to have a look at the sample (too many authors write poorly enough that I never buy a new-to-me author, even free, without looking at the sample). I quickly decided I liked what I was seeing, and ended up putting down the book I had been reading to read this - and found it almost impossible to put down. All too soon, I was finished, but when I went to look for more by the author, I found to my disappointment that this is the author's only book so far. So, after buying the book only this morning, I felt I needed to express how much I enjoyed it.
With an author I'd never heard of and no reviews, I wasn't sure what to expect, but this book definitely exceeded anything I hoped. In hindsight, a couple of things feel a little abrupt, but honestly, I was so caught up in the story that I didn't notice or care. I do suspect that sticklers may (reasonably) object to the lack of consideration of 'the proprieties' at times, but I decided I didn't care. Having said that, nothing untoward actually happens, and the story is clean, with great writing, humour, good character development, some interesting background characters and a satisfying ending. All in all, I look forward to reading more by the author in future - hopefully soon!
I had never heard of this author before, but the book was free and I decided to have a look at the sample (too many authors write poorly enough that I never buy a new-to-me author, even free, without looking at the sample). I quickly decided I liked what I was seeing, and ended up putting down the book I had been reading to read this - and found it almost impossible to put down. All too soon, I was finished, but when I went to look for more by the author, I found to my disappointment that this is the author's only book so far. So, after buying the book only this morning, I felt I needed to express how much I enjoyed it.
With an author I'd never heard of and no reviews, I wasn't sure what to expect, but this book definitely exceeded anything I hoped. In hindsight, a couple of things feel a little abrupt, but honestly, I was so caught up in the story that I didn't notice or care. I do suspect that sticklers may (reasonably) object to the lack of consideration of 'the proprieties' at times, but I decided I didn't care. Having said that, nothing untoward actually happens, and the story is clean, with great writing, humour, good character development, some interesting background characters and a satisfying ending. All in all, I look forward to reading more by the author in future - hopefully soon!
September 15, 2023
I don’t usually mind predictable stories but this was an unfortunate combination of predictable AND boring AND lacking in the romance department. There was potential for some interesting subplots with secondary characters but in the end all of that went largely unexplored.
Also I didn’t see much of the wit so many people are mentioning in their reviews. Was it there when the H/h are making disparaging remarks about the looks of a woman whose only crime appears to be that her dowry caught the attention of the man that jilted the heroine? Even if the woman had deserved the remarks there wasn’t much wit or cleverness in the way they called her ugly.
Also I didn’t see much of the wit so many people are mentioning in their reviews. Was it there when the H/h are making disparaging remarks about the looks of a woman whose only crime appears to be that her dowry caught the attention of the man that jilted the heroine? Even if the woman had deserved the remarks there wasn’t much wit or cleverness in the way they called her ugly.
September 26, 2025
The Termigant
Earl Robert Langley received an unexpected visit from the Viscount who owed him a great deal of money. Unfortunately it wasn’t actually the Viscount in his private office, but the sister wearing her brother’s clothing… quite badly. Amelia Fleming was determined to repay the Earl everything he was owed, as she was certain her brother had no intention of doing so.
Langley found the strong minded lady to be far more interesting than any other lady of his acquaintance, and she kept appearing at his home determined to save her brother from dishonor and debt.
Amelia is prepared to marry someone she doesn’t love to help settle her brother’s debts. That doesn’t sit well with Langley as it appears he may wish to marry her himself. They run each other a merry race and I enjoyed it very much. This was a five star clean romance.
Earl Robert Langley received an unexpected visit from the Viscount who owed him a great deal of money. Unfortunately it wasn’t actually the Viscount in his private office, but the sister wearing her brother’s clothing… quite badly. Amelia Fleming was determined to repay the Earl everything he was owed, as she was certain her brother had no intention of doing so.
Langley found the strong minded lady to be far more interesting than any other lady of his acquaintance, and she kept appearing at his home determined to save her brother from dishonor and debt.
Amelia is prepared to marry someone she doesn’t love to help settle her brother’s debts. That doesn’t sit well with Langley as it appears he may wish to marry her himself. They run each other a merry race and I enjoyed it very much. This was a five star clean romance.
May 6, 2025
I expected to not like these silly characters but they grew on me. I really liked the H who keeps his thoughts to himself. So does the h but their outcomes are very different. She's sweet as is struggling to manage her family, all of whom have no life skills. The H deals well with extended members of her family and falls for her very quickly. A very sweet read.
July 22, 2024
Gotta suspend all disbelief here but oh man was this the perfect Sunday read. Such a cute fluffy regency romance. The banter was top notch, actually, all of the dialogue was great. 4.5 ⭐️ but in rounding up cause I had such a grin on my face reading this
October 18, 2023
Miss Fleming Falls in Love is a debut novel by Emma Melbourne and book 1 in what appears to be a 2 book (so far) Fleming Family series. This was a Kindle freebie to try the author so I did. I tried.
We first meet Miss Amelia Fleming when she calls on Robert, Earl of Langley, disguised as her brother William, Viscount Clivedon, and immediately Robert recognizes her. After losing a fortune through gambling with Langley, Amelia's father ended up taking his own life, leaving an unpaid debt to the Earl that the Clivedon family feels honor-bound to repay. Although Robert offers to forgive the debt, Amelia is determined to see it paid, even if that means sacrificing herself to a loveless marriage that will bring a large marriage settlement.
Fast forward to about halfway into the story, and Robert catches Clivedon gambling in the lowest of lowly gaming hells trying to win anything to go toward paying the debt. With his luck, he only manages to make their financial situation worse and Robert calls William out on it publicly. Naturally, William takes offense and challenges Robert to a duel, but when they draw to shoot, Robert takes a bullet to the shoulder while William runs away like a scared rabbit. Suddenly Amelia is there on the dueling field, in her night dress, to assess Robert's wounds and insists on traveling to his country estate with him. But Amelia, Florence Nightingale that she apparently is, needs a chaperone so they make a quick stop to pick up Langley's sister on their way out of town. Thus begins a feverish recovery for Robert and more ridiculous situations that require the reader to completely suspend belief and forget everything proper that you know of the Regency period.
The high ratings on this book truly mystify me. The writing style was just ok... some wit and banter was there, and the bones for a good story exist, but this was nothing but a complete farce from chapter one and there really wasn't much of a romance. Oh there was potential, but there was so much that was completely improper and/or improbable for the time period, it was laughable and not in a good way. And it really took away from what could have been a good romance. The story felt forced and unnatural from start to finish.
Consider this quote...
"The housekeeper had been inclined to look askance at Amelia, who was still wearing nothing but her thin cotton nightdress, but Diana's claim that Amelia was a close friend gave her respectability."
Excuse me but that line is the dumbest thing I have ever read in a regency romance and I DNFed right then and there. Unfortunately curiosity got the better of me so I came back a few days later to skim the rest. I admit I was secretly waiting for Amelia to harness some crazy Dr. Strange superpowers, because why not? I mean, she learned how to assess and dress gunshot wounds from a midwife, so this girl can do anything! Even take control of you and your household when you are ill and teach your land agent a thing or two about how to run your huge estate after reading a book about crop rotation. Truly, she's a paragon!
To wrap up the story portion of my review, I will say that I enjoyed Robert's diary entries. They were well-written and were the best parts of the book. I liked Robert's friend Kincaid and wanted to read more about him. Maybe he'll feature in another story but sadly I won't be reading it. Amelia's mother was a piece of work. She's horrible... abandoning her children, gallivanting anywhere there is money to be spent, and eventually attracting and marrying Amelia's fiance to boot. Way to go, mom.
Ok. I'm done with story stuff. I mentioned the writing style being just ok, ...it was and it just wasn't for me. Headhopping of thoughts from one paragraph to another happen throughout and the author tells too much rather than showing. There was also a lot of unnatural overuse of names identified in dialogue. (e.g. "What happened Robert?" "Well Adrian..."). The author also uses lots of adverbs. (e.g. ...Amelia exclaimed defensively. ...said William bluntly. ...he said obsequiously.) All those writing mechanics we're taught seemed to have been tossed right out the window.
2 stars from me and I honestly wished I had just DNFed it. The book is advertised as "closed door" but there were no doors to even close. Steam is a 1 for a couple kisses and a mild pet of a revealing neckline.
We first meet Miss Amelia Fleming when she calls on Robert, Earl of Langley, disguised as her brother William, Viscount Clivedon, and immediately Robert recognizes her. After losing a fortune through gambling with Langley, Amelia's father ended up taking his own life, leaving an unpaid debt to the Earl that the Clivedon family feels honor-bound to repay. Although Robert offers to forgive the debt, Amelia is determined to see it paid, even if that means sacrificing herself to a loveless marriage that will bring a large marriage settlement.
Fast forward to about halfway into the story, and Robert catches Clivedon gambling in the lowest of lowly gaming hells trying to win anything to go toward paying the debt. With his luck, he only manages to make their financial situation worse and Robert calls William out on it publicly. Naturally, William takes offense and challenges Robert to a duel, but when they draw to shoot, Robert takes a bullet to the shoulder while William runs away like a scared rabbit. Suddenly Amelia is there on the dueling field, in her night dress, to assess Robert's wounds and insists on traveling to his country estate with him. But Amelia, Florence Nightingale that she apparently is, needs a chaperone so they make a quick stop to pick up Langley's sister on their way out of town. Thus begins a feverish recovery for Robert and more ridiculous situations that require the reader to completely suspend belief and forget everything proper that you know of the Regency period.
The high ratings on this book truly mystify me. The writing style was just ok... some wit and banter was there, and the bones for a good story exist, but this was nothing but a complete farce from chapter one and there really wasn't much of a romance. Oh there was potential, but there was so much that was completely improper and/or improbable for the time period, it was laughable and not in a good way. And it really took away from what could have been a good romance. The story felt forced and unnatural from start to finish.
Consider this quote...
"The housekeeper had been inclined to look askance at Amelia, who was still wearing nothing but her thin cotton nightdress, but Diana's claim that Amelia was a close friend gave her respectability."
Excuse me but that line is the dumbest thing I have ever read in a regency romance and I DNFed right then and there. Unfortunately curiosity got the better of me so I came back a few days later to skim the rest. I admit I was secretly waiting for Amelia to harness some crazy Dr. Strange superpowers, because why not? I mean, she learned how to assess and dress gunshot wounds from a midwife, so this girl can do anything! Even take control of you and your household when you are ill and teach your land agent a thing or two about how to run your huge estate after reading a book about crop rotation. Truly, she's a paragon!
To wrap up the story portion of my review, I will say that I enjoyed Robert's diary entries. They were well-written and were the best parts of the book. I liked Robert's friend Kincaid and wanted to read more about him. Maybe he'll feature in another story but sadly I won't be reading it. Amelia's mother was a piece of work. She's horrible... abandoning her children, gallivanting anywhere there is money to be spent, and eventually attracting and marrying Amelia's fiance to boot. Way to go, mom.
Ok. I'm done with story stuff. I mentioned the writing style being just ok, ...it was and it just wasn't for me. Headhopping of thoughts from one paragraph to another happen throughout and the author tells too much rather than showing. There was also a lot of unnatural overuse of names identified in dialogue. (e.g. "What happened Robert?" "Well Adrian..."). The author also uses lots of adverbs. (e.g. ...Amelia exclaimed defensively. ...said William bluntly. ...he said obsequiously.) All those writing mechanics we're taught seemed to have been tossed right out the window.
2 stars from me and I honestly wished I had just DNFed it. The book is advertised as "closed door" but there were no doors to even close. Steam is a 1 for a couple kisses and a mild pet of a revealing neckline.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 2, 2023
London Sept. 1815 then the countryside March 1816,
going forward. Humor + romance = a good combo.
Gave this kisses-only story 4 stars.
Cliveden (a viscount) lost heavily at cards with Langley
(an earl). Cliveden drowned himself in the Thames.
His heir, William, didn't know how to settle father's
debt with Langley.
Tall, slender, unconventional beauty, Amelia posed
as brother Wm. to visit Robert Stone, Earl Langley @
home to settle this debt. He saw though her disguise.
He noted her intelligence & that she could hold her
own in a conversation. His moniker was "Stoneheart"
& he proved his cold nature. He was 32 & she 20 but
they seemed evenly matched. He learned with time
that she knew farming & estate mgt.
Robert's brother Adrian, got himself into scrapes, as
did William, but Wm. eventually matured. Amelia
reacquainted herself w/ George the merchant who
she found too much of a dandy, too chatty, and
unable to safely guide his horses. She accepted his
proposal b/c her family needed money.
Robert was victim of a mishap. He insisted that Amelia
& his married sister Diane & friend Lucas accompany
him to Kent.
The MCs grew closer. They shared humor, smarts,
chess & were calm in a crisis. Robert showed his
protective side and evolved into a better man.
My only beef? Robert had way too many uninvited
visitors in Kent. His butler did not weed through
these guests, but this added to the humor.
going forward. Humor + romance = a good combo.
Gave this kisses-only story 4 stars.
Cliveden (a viscount) lost heavily at cards with Langley
(an earl). Cliveden drowned himself in the Thames.
His heir, William, didn't know how to settle father's
debt with Langley.
Tall, slender, unconventional beauty, Amelia posed
as brother Wm. to visit Robert Stone, Earl Langley @
home to settle this debt. He saw though her disguise.
He noted her intelligence & that she could hold her
own in a conversation. His moniker was "Stoneheart"
& he proved his cold nature. He was 32 & she 20 but
they seemed evenly matched. He learned with time
that she knew farming & estate mgt.
Robert's brother Adrian, got himself into scrapes, as
did William, but Wm. eventually matured. Amelia
reacquainted herself w/ George the merchant who
she found too much of a dandy, too chatty, and
unable to safely guide his horses. She accepted his
proposal b/c her family needed money.
Robert was victim of a mishap. He insisted that Amelia
& his married sister Diane & friend Lucas accompany
him to Kent.
The MCs grew closer. They shared humor, smarts,
chess & were calm in a crisis. Robert showed his
protective side and evolved into a better man.
My only beef? Robert had way too many uninvited
visitors in Kent. His butler did not weed through
these guests, but this added to the humor.
June 4, 2025
4.5 stars
New author, but I am infinitely charmed! I usually have little patience with romcoms because the humour feels artificial, but not so here! The book is nothing original, but the writing style infused a je-ne-sais-quoi that made for a lovely read. Amelia and Robert were real cool characters, with such smooth wit that made me smile all along. The way they were written, it was so easy to love them and laugh at the sometimes improbable situations they were in. The ideal lightish read!
I am now super interested to read Book 2, The Mysterious Mr. Oliver because I know we'll get more glimpses of Amelia and Robert 🥰.
P.S. I was very gratified that William 😅
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 21, 2025
BLAH
May 9, 2023
Entertaining, funny, witty and romantic.
September 26, 2024
Good writing and some interesting characters created, but the rom-com aspect of this book is just not for me. I love smart, competent characters and for me the rom-com elements undermine characters and my belief in the story.
September 15, 2024
Still smiling…
The amount of wit and humor in this book is amazing. I’ve chuckled and smiled and looked like a fool. Robert was such a stinker but oh so handsome and loveable at the same time. I can’t wait to read more from Emma Melbourne.
The amount of wit and humor in this book is amazing. I’ve chuckled and smiled and looked like a fool. Robert was such a stinker but oh so handsome and loveable at the same time. I can’t wait to read more from Emma Melbourne.
August 5, 2023
I really enjoyed this witty, clean romance story. Such a fun read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 6, 2024
This book had me giggling from A to Z. The author's knack for turning some situations into laugh-out-loud moments is nothing short of genius. It was brilliant! I loved it.
July 7, 2025
A bit bland towards the end, but as a whole this was utterly charming.
October 8, 2023
I didn’t really even get into this book - it had too many things right at the beginning that just threw it off for me- maybe it’s my mood, but it wasn’t really correct with the times and I didn’t feel like it was flowing- she had a witty first interaction with the guy then in her letter to her mother called him arrogant and rude… but he just offered to forgive the debt and made sure she was comfortable on her way home… there wasn’t any indication throughout the whole first interaction that he was rude to her? Just didn’t click and I have too many other books on my tbr list I think I’ll move on
May 2, 2023
A simply adorable story that delivered on its promise to be witty. Give me clever repartee, and I’ll wag my tail gleefully, then roll over on my back for belly rubs. Emma Melbourne is a new Kindle Unlimited author who adds value to my subscription. Can’t wait for Isabelle’s story.
Trivia for No Good Reason
Roll Call of Butler Names in Order of Appearance
Matthews
Marsden
Hargreaves
Trivia for No Good Reason
Roll Call of Butler Names in Order of Appearance
Matthews
Marsden
Hargreaves
May 15, 2023
super cute regency romance
Highly recommend this one. It’s cute and clever and the characters are likable and fun. It pulled me out of my book slump but now I’m not sure I can find much to match it! If you like Georgette Heyer and Christina Dudley, you’ll love this. I know I did!
Highly recommend this one. It’s cute and clever and the characters are likable and fun. It pulled me out of my book slump but now I’m not sure I can find much to match it! If you like Georgette Heyer and Christina Dudley, you’ll love this. I know I did!
August 8, 2023
I stupidly started this before bed and had to finish it before I went to sleep.
A cute and cozy read with a leading lady that isn't useless!
A cute and cozy read with a leading lady that isn't useless!
August 10, 2024
Regency romance set in 1816
Robert Stone, the 32-year-old Earl of Langley, has experienced the London season for the past 10 years, and everything about it bores him. His mother is pressuring him to get married and beget an heir, which he admits to himself is his duty, and he should do it in the relatively near future. Unfortunately, he cannot imagine how any of the frivolous, empty-headed debutantes on the marriage mart could possibly relieve his boredom, or that his future progeny would either. He starts a journal to relieve his boredom, but all he is accomplishing with that project is recording his boredom.
Amelia Fleming never had a season because, two years ago, when she was 18, she became engaged to Percival Brooks, the second son of a baronet, whose country estate borders her family's. A year ago, her father, Viscount Cliveden, who was an addicted gambler, suffered a huge loss to the Earl of Langley that depleted the last dregs of the family coffers. Nothing remained except the entailed country estate, and with no access to any more money to gamble away, he committed suicide by throwing himself into the river. Because Amelia no longer had a dowry, Percy dumped her.
Amelia is the only practical one in the family. She is quite excellent at estate management. She has studied modern farming methods and has increased production on their estate and its tenant farms by 60%. After the death of Amelia's father, her mother, who is a French aristocrat by birth, abandoned her children and went to live with her brother in France. Amelia's 22-year-old brother has been trying to come up with the money their father owes Lord Langley by gambling, but all he is doing is losing more money and adding to their family's debt. He won't let go of the nonsensical superstition that at some point his luck is bound to turn. He is clueless about the laws of probability, and nothing Amelia can say to him about it alters his disastrous course of action. Amelia considers her 17-year-old sister to be too inexperienced and unskilled to be of any use in their dire situation, and their poor-relation, paternal aunt's only contribution is serving as a chaperone for Amelia and her sister.
The inciting incident of this story occurs when Amelia, dressed in the much-too-large clothing of her brother, shows up unannounced at the Earl's London mansion pretending to be her brother. Lord Robert has an incompetent butler, who does not realize that Amelia is not a man, but Robert figures it out instantly. Amelia is there because her brother is too timid to approach Robert and explain that he simply does not have the money to pay off his father's debt. Amelia explains to Robert that, if he will permit it, they can gradually pay off the debt. Instead, Robert offers to forgive their father's gambling debt. Amelia is tempted to accept, but she impulsively decides she must refuse, because it is a debt of honor. She says they will make payments once a year until the debt is paid off.
This book was recommended by one of my Goodreads friends as being quite funny. I noticed that the audiobook version was available on Hoopla, and I checked it out. I found the Meet Cute scene, in particular, to be hilarious because of Robert's sardonic wit. I liked that Amelia is courageously assertive, very smart and filled with integrity, and that Robert is a compassionate and honorable man. In the first part of the book, there is a great deal of comedy due to their repartee. By the middle of the book, though, the story moves away from humor to light drama, and it wasn't quite as much fun.
Overall, this lightweight, no-sex Regency novel was a quick, undemanding read for me. In addition to finding Robert and Amelia sympathetic, I enjoyed the secondary romance between Robert's sister and her husband. The husband did not realize that his wife was in love with him, and she did not know that he loved her.
The audiobook narrator does a good job.
I rate this book as 3.5 stars, which I have rounded to 4 stars.
Robert Stone, the 32-year-old Earl of Langley, has experienced the London season for the past 10 years, and everything about it bores him. His mother is pressuring him to get married and beget an heir, which he admits to himself is his duty, and he should do it in the relatively near future. Unfortunately, he cannot imagine how any of the frivolous, empty-headed debutantes on the marriage mart could possibly relieve his boredom, or that his future progeny would either. He starts a journal to relieve his boredom, but all he is accomplishing with that project is recording his boredom.
Amelia Fleming never had a season because, two years ago, when she was 18, she became engaged to Percival Brooks, the second son of a baronet, whose country estate borders her family's. A year ago, her father, Viscount Cliveden, who was an addicted gambler, suffered a huge loss to the Earl of Langley that depleted the last dregs of the family coffers. Nothing remained except the entailed country estate, and with no access to any more money to gamble away, he committed suicide by throwing himself into the river. Because Amelia no longer had a dowry, Percy dumped her.
Amelia is the only practical one in the family. She is quite excellent at estate management. She has studied modern farming methods and has increased production on their estate and its tenant farms by 60%. After the death of Amelia's father, her mother, who is a French aristocrat by birth, abandoned her children and went to live with her brother in France. Amelia's 22-year-old brother has been trying to come up with the money their father owes Lord Langley by gambling, but all he is doing is losing more money and adding to their family's debt. He won't let go of the nonsensical superstition that at some point his luck is bound to turn. He is clueless about the laws of probability, and nothing Amelia can say to him about it alters his disastrous course of action. Amelia considers her 17-year-old sister to be too inexperienced and unskilled to be of any use in their dire situation, and their poor-relation, paternal aunt's only contribution is serving as a chaperone for Amelia and her sister.
The inciting incident of this story occurs when Amelia, dressed in the much-too-large clothing of her brother, shows up unannounced at the Earl's London mansion pretending to be her brother. Lord Robert has an incompetent butler, who does not realize that Amelia is not a man, but Robert figures it out instantly. Amelia is there because her brother is too timid to approach Robert and explain that he simply does not have the money to pay off his father's debt. Amelia explains to Robert that, if he will permit it, they can gradually pay off the debt. Instead, Robert offers to forgive their father's gambling debt. Amelia is tempted to accept, but she impulsively decides she must refuse, because it is a debt of honor. She says they will make payments once a year until the debt is paid off.
This book was recommended by one of my Goodreads friends as being quite funny. I noticed that the audiobook version was available on Hoopla, and I checked it out. I found the Meet Cute scene, in particular, to be hilarious because of Robert's sardonic wit. I liked that Amelia is courageously assertive, very smart and filled with integrity, and that Robert is a compassionate and honorable man. In the first part of the book, there is a great deal of comedy due to their repartee. By the middle of the book, though, the story moves away from humor to light drama, and it wasn't quite as much fun.
Overall, this lightweight, no-sex Regency novel was a quick, undemanding read for me. In addition to finding Robert and Amelia sympathetic, I enjoyed the secondary romance between Robert's sister and her husband. The husband did not realize that his wife was in love with him, and she did not know that he loved her.
The audiobook narrator does a good job.
I rate this book as 3.5 stars, which I have rounded to 4 stars.
September 5, 2023
(4.5 stars) - Georgette Heyer-flavored happiness!
This is a really impressive effort for a freshman author - it has a few weaknesses that Regency purists might argue, & there were a few points where the humor felt a smidge forced, but she does such an overall great job capturing the spirit of Georgette Heyer that I thoroughly enjoyed it! I'll definitely be reading the next in the series from here!
*Romance level: passionate kisses, but nothing graphic
This is a really impressive effort for a freshman author - it has a few weaknesses that Regency purists might argue, & there were a few points where the humor felt a smidge forced, but she does such an overall great job capturing the spirit of Georgette Heyer that I thoroughly enjoyed it! I'll definitely be reading the next in the series from here!
*Romance level: passionate kisses, but nothing graphic
August 8, 2023
Witty romance
5 stars
Lovely read...the blurb says it's witty and I was sceptical but at moments it was laugh out loud....I hope the author gets more publicity....a new author for me to follow, really entertaining 😀
5 stars
Lovely read...the blurb says it's witty and I was sceptical but at moments it was laugh out loud....I hope the author gets more publicity....a new author for me to follow, really entertaining 😀
Read
December 26, 2024DNF at 33%. Found it annoying to read with the POV changing each paragraph to whoever is in that scene…
September 23, 2024
Have no idea how the rating for this book is so high. The story is very unrealistic, from start to finish. There’s zero romance. The characters are very charismatic though, so there was a lot of potential.
August 3, 2023
ridiculous enjoyable romp
Mild spoiler: I really went back and forth on the stars. I enjoyed this…Romp. It was fun, sexy, witty…BUT goodness gracious the heroine was UNBELIEVABLY inappropriate and sometimes ridiculous, but he just chuckles. One example: She sneaks into a bachelor’s home to steal IOU’s that she has already insisted must be paid and when caught plays chess with the bachelor alone in his study in the middle of the night! And no one seemed to care about her honor…it was the Regency period. Right?!
Mild spoiler: I really went back and forth on the stars. I enjoyed this…Romp. It was fun, sexy, witty…BUT goodness gracious the heroine was UNBELIEVABLY inappropriate and sometimes ridiculous, but he just chuckles. One example: She sneaks into a bachelor’s home to steal IOU’s that she has already insisted must be paid and when caught plays chess with the bachelor alone in his study in the middle of the night! And no one seemed to care about her honor…it was the Regency period. Right?!
December 28, 2024
Refreshing! 4.5 stars. No steam but lots of believable conversation- which I thoroughly enjoyed.
I never knew what our heroine Ameila was going to say or do so I totally understood Langley and his amazement with her. And it made the same old trope feel fresh.
Highlights & Spoilers-
I loved the honesty of their interactions.
Langley raised an eyebrow. “What changed, Miss Fleming?” he asked.
“I’ve had a chance to discuss it with my brother, and we decided that if you’re generous enough to forgive our family’s debt, we should not be ashamed to accept.”
“Miss Fleming, I think you owe me the courtesy of an honest answer.”
She looked down at her shoes before raising her eyes to meet the earl’s. “William lost heavily at cards two days ago,” she said bluntly.
----------
“Have you always been this stubborn?” Langley complained. “Yes,” Amelia said simply. “You should save your breath for the walk.”
I loved the bits of Langley's diary:
"He then requested to speak to Miss Fleming privately, so I put them in my study and listened at the door. Unfortunately the door is very solid, so I missed parts of the conversation, but the gist of it was clear.
Cliveden offered to refuse his consent to her marriage to Garland, which I think is the most sensible thing he has ever said. I had to respect the boy, even if he later called me a funny man and compared me to his gouty great-uncle."
We get the classic trope of the heroine overhearing a conversation (but not in entirety) which makes her hurt and wanting to run away:
“She’s turned my life upside down,” Langley continued. “In short, she’s the most mischievous, meddlesome, maddening female I’ve ever met!”
Outside the door, Amelia decided she had heard enough. She rushed off down the hall, thereby missing Langley’s next sentence.
“I don’t think I can live without her.” Langley raked a hand through his hair with all the confusion of a man in the thrall of a violent emotion for the first time in his life.
Pettigrew smiled sympathetically at his employer. “Good luck, my lord.”
Ameila is very well balanced for having such a irritating and immature mother:
"Amelia was tempted to give the new Mrs. Garland her honest opinion of her performance as a mother, but experience had taught her that it would be futile."
The love declarations were very well done, felt natural:
Amelia sobered at his implication that they had a shared future. “I won’t let you marry me because of some spiteful gossip.”
“It seems I should be worried about my own reputation,” he teased. He moved next to her on the sofa and put his arm around her. “If word gets about that I’m soft-hearted, I’ll be a target for everyone in the ton.” He sighed. “The problem, my darling, isn’t your reputation.”
“It isn’t?”
“No. The problem, Amelia, is that I love you."
There is an epilogue- this was cute:
In short, my wife is a paragon. My only complaint is that I think she reads my diary.
I never knew what our heroine Ameila was going to say or do so I totally understood Langley and his amazement with her. And it made the same old trope feel fresh.
Highlights & Spoilers-
I loved the honesty of their interactions.
Langley raised an eyebrow. “What changed, Miss Fleming?” he asked.
“I’ve had a chance to discuss it with my brother, and we decided that if you’re generous enough to forgive our family’s debt, we should not be ashamed to accept.”
“Miss Fleming, I think you owe me the courtesy of an honest answer.”
She looked down at her shoes before raising her eyes to meet the earl’s. “William lost heavily at cards two days ago,” she said bluntly.
----------
“Have you always been this stubborn?” Langley complained. “Yes,” Amelia said simply. “You should save your breath for the walk.”
I loved the bits of Langley's diary:
"He then requested to speak to Miss Fleming privately, so I put them in my study and listened at the door. Unfortunately the door is very solid, so I missed parts of the conversation, but the gist of it was clear.
Cliveden offered to refuse his consent to her marriage to Garland, which I think is the most sensible thing he has ever said. I had to respect the boy, even if he later called me a funny man and compared me to his gouty great-uncle."
We get the classic trope of the heroine overhearing a conversation (but not in entirety) which makes her hurt and wanting to run away:
“She’s turned my life upside down,” Langley continued. “In short, she’s the most mischievous, meddlesome, maddening female I’ve ever met!”
Outside the door, Amelia decided she had heard enough. She rushed off down the hall, thereby missing Langley’s next sentence.
“I don’t think I can live without her.” Langley raked a hand through his hair with all the confusion of a man in the thrall of a violent emotion for the first time in his life.
Pettigrew smiled sympathetically at his employer. “Good luck, my lord.”
Ameila is very well balanced for having such a irritating and immature mother:
"Amelia was tempted to give the new Mrs. Garland her honest opinion of her performance as a mother, but experience had taught her that it would be futile."
The love declarations were very well done, felt natural:
Amelia sobered at his implication that they had a shared future. “I won’t let you marry me because of some spiteful gossip.”
“It seems I should be worried about my own reputation,” he teased. He moved next to her on the sofa and put his arm around her. “If word gets about that I’m soft-hearted, I’ll be a target for everyone in the ton.” He sighed. “The problem, my darling, isn’t your reputation.”
“It isn’t?”
“No. The problem, Amelia, is that I love you."
There is an epilogue- this was cute:
In short, my wife is a paragon. My only complaint is that I think she reads my diary.
June 22, 2023
What a fun book!!! This is not to be taken seriously. Way to many off the chart polite mistakes for to many couples. The main character named Robert is known for his gruff exterior, and stone face looks. Everyone gets out of his way when he walks into a room, except a red headed, out spoken young lady. She gets under his skin. Her mother is ridiculous, and her father has lost all his money in a game of chance. Leaving his son to come home from college, and take the reigns, but he is immature, and is only throwing good money after bad. The youngest daughter is to young to help, so her sister that would be ready to have a season takes on everyone else’s problems. The problem is they owe a large debt to Robert Langley. It is a light read, but I liked the characters. It seems quite impossible that one young red headed miss could straighten everyone’s life out. It is an adorable tale of love, and mixing everyone up, and recovering from great loss, and growing up, and finding your heart. 4 stars.
March 7, 2025
This is a fun ride. The swift dialogue set a driving pace that swept me along with the story. The quirky humor kept a smile on my face, and I really enjoyed the read.
I will warn, this book is fast and entertaining, but not terribly deep or thought provoking. The style is such that I felt I was watching the story rather than participating in it, so I was more entertained by the characters than invested in them. The final stretch was also perhaps a little cheesy… But not to where I minded.
Definitely recommended to those who enjoy a light regency rom-com.
Content:
There is no foul language or sex, and the violence is minimal. There are some innuendos at the end, and mildly descriptive kissing. There are scenes that pass the bounds of propriety for the time period. One of the characters has a past mistress. There is no mention of faith or God.
I will warn, this book is fast and entertaining, but not terribly deep or thought provoking. The style is such that I felt I was watching the story rather than participating in it, so I was more entertained by the characters than invested in them. The final stretch was also perhaps a little cheesy… But not to where I minded.
Definitely recommended to those who enjoy a light regency rom-com.
Content:
There is no foul language or sex, and the violence is minimal. There are some innuendos at the end, and mildly descriptive kissing. There are scenes that pass the bounds of propriety for the time period. One of the characters has a past mistress. There is no mention of faith or God.
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