Lady Sophia's Lover

I've had a hard time finding new books that I want to read, so I've gone back and reread a few favorites from bygone years.  I have a soft spot for a good historical romance and I have a few favorite authors in the genre. 

After Kleypas's Wallflowers books (more about those later!), Lady Sophia's Lover was the next of her books that I read.  It's the middle book of a trilogy, not that I knew that at the time, but I rather like spunky Lady Sophia Sydney  Sophia is the daughter of a viscount who died when she was young.  She and her younger brother, John, fell on hard times, and the pair ended up separated.  While Sophia went off to work for a maiden aunt, John fell in with some highwaymen and ended up getting arrested and dying on a prison hulk at the hand of a magistrate.

Years after her brother's death, Sophia goes to work for the same magistrate who sentenced her brother to the prison, Sir Ross Cannon.  Sir Ross, at this point in the story, is in charge of the Bow Street Runners, a detective group that serves the Crown.  He's also doing the work of about seven men and is known as the Monk of Bow Street.  He was in search of an assistant in the Bow Street offices, and ends up hiring the lovely Sophia as assistant, but more as a housekeeper at his adjacent residence.  Sophia's plan is to make Sir Ross fall in love with her, then to break his heart as revenge for her brother's death, but when it comes to it, can she really do it?

Sir Ross starts to fall for his beautiful young housekeeper, but he has his eyes set on the jewel for the Bow Street Crown:  Thief-Taker and Thief, Nick Gentry.  Gentry has been a thorn in Sir Ross's side for years, but he can never seem to get enough on the young man to have him arrested and charged.  The story raises a question:  Who is Nick Gentry?

And I'll leave you there!  I wouldn't want to give away the ending.

So, why is Lady Sophia's Lover one of my favorites?  The usual: the characters and the time period and the story.  Sophia and Sir Ross are both characters who have flaws.  They have beliefs that aren't true, and they have emotions that are real.  At the same time, neither is afraid to confront what they believe and change their minds.  I also really love this time period, and I read a lot of books that are set in the early 1800s.  There are so many societal conventions, and it's always fun to see how an author makes their characters act within those, especially the women.  Here, Sophia has gone from a Viscount's daughter to a woman who works, but she still knows the ins and outs of both worlds so we get to see both worlds.  We also get glimpses into the legal world of Regency England.

Go out, read, and enjoy!