Originally published in 1980 as Gwendeline, this… reads like a romance from the 1980s. There’s lots of action and not a lot of character development. I haven’t the faintest idea why publishers are backing up old backlist novels and re-releasing them with a brand new name and new cover, but changing nothing else. Frankly, it feels like a cash grab aimed at the loyal fans of authors who want to own entire collections, and it’s a real let-down.
Jane Ashford has plenty of good historicals, but this isn’t one of them. I have no idea why Gwendeline fell for Lord Merryn, who was autocratic, aloof and lied to her to get her to go along with his own plans, and why he fell for a naive teenager was dubious at best, since she was the living image of her mother who we discover he had a wild crush on. The ick factor was very strong with this one.
The only character I really liked was Lady Merryn, the hero’s mother, a fantastic lady who wrote gothic romances and adored the arts in all forms. I’d have enjoyed a story about her a lot more than this one. Two stars.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for review through NetGalley.