At first, I kept thinking how glad I was that I had gotten this book for free when it was made available for the Kindle a few years ago becuase it starts out very slow like reading some of the old classical literature such as Great Expectations. The characters and setting and plot up through the first three quarters wasn't bad, really, but it was much less exciting than what I generally read. Even with the major part of the plot, I never guessed one or two things would have happened. Some of these characters really got what they deserved, in both good and bad ways depending on the characters in question individually, and that made the book much more pleasant for me. I also didn't expect to want to read the rest of the series, but, again, the ending made me care about the characters and such enough that I want to continue. I won't bore you with a plot summary as I know other reviewers are fond of doing that. If you like historical fiction with a mystery and a bit more thrown in, give this one a shot. There's one thing in particular which some people might not like to see mentioned, depending on their own particular prejudices, or whatever you want to call them, but it made the book much more real to me than it would have otherwise been. I'll leave you to guess, if you care to, find out what that is or to read it on your own to find out. Have at it because I don't think you'll be disappointed if you can just stick with it.

I found this book to be a very emotionally powerful love story, narrated in the first person by Rose Golightly as she arrives at Yorkshire to witness her cousin's wedding. We follow her on her experiences as she meets and falls in love with Richard, Lord Strang. I never expected to feel so strongly connected to the two protagonists in the book. The dialog between Richard and Rose is sizzling. I love the way they cut to the chase and declare their feelings for one another early on the book. Although, Richard has a hard and cold exterior, his warmth comes shining through and he is someone I grew to love as I read more about him, and how he became the way he was.

The writer, Lynne Connolly, spends enough time on the secondary characters in the story to actually make you care about them; they are by no means one dimensional but have layers and depth to them. I found myself smiling at the relationship between Rose's brother, James and his wife Martha; empathizing with Lord Strang's twin brother Gervase, pitying Lady Hareton, and rolling my eyes with exasperation at Rose's beautiful younger sister, Lizzie, several times in the book.

This is the first book I have read in the series and I have to confess that I am quite captivated. I find myself curious to learn more about how the lives of Richard and Rose turned out and am eagerly anticipating the next book in the series. For me, this book is definitely a keeper, and I'd recommend it to anyone who loves a good historical romance-mystery.

Rose Golightly and her family are invited to the grand home of the Earl of Hareton in Yorkshire. They are cousins to the present Earl with Rose's eldest brother James being third in line to the succession. But because the current Earl is young and married and has an equally youthful brother, the likelihood of James inheriting is almost nil. Also invited to the Hareton home in Yorkshire are the Kerres. The Kerre brothers, Richard (Lord Strang) and his brother Gervase are identical twins. And they are accompanied by Richard's fiancee, Julia. They are there because Hareton is hoping to finalize an arranged marriage between his brother and the Kerre's younger sister.

When the two parties arrive at the Hareton estate, however, instead of the grand palace and fun house party they expected, they find a crumbling, decaying mess of a house, the present Earl who is under the sway of a religious fanatic and other dark secrets permeating the house.

From there things go downhill. In the midst of the strange goings on in the house, The Kerres and the Golightlys get to know each other. Richard and Rose fall in love, there is attempted murder, various assaults and mystery to be solved.

I had no expectations about this book. I had never heard of the author before, the book was a free download for my Kindle. I figured I'd read a bit, decide if I like it and if not, simply delete it. But I loved it. I really enjoyed it mainly because it wasn't a predictable romance. It wasn't a romance that I had read a thousand times before.

First, there is the hero, Richard. The time period of the book is the Georgian period -- a time of hoops and wigs and powder and patch. A great credit to the author is that she actually uses the fashion of the time. Rose's first glimpse of Richard is when he is in full peacock glory -- maquillage, powered wig, scarlet embroidered waistcoat. He was super high fashion, all languid tones and graceful movements, lace cuffs and impeccable use of the snuff box. It very much brought to mind Heyer's Duke of Avon in These Old Shades. I adore the fact that she is allowing the hero be a man of his time. In the hands of a more conventional author, she may have been tempted to make him 'masculine' based on modern tropes of masculinity and played down the make-up and wigs or disdaining them. I am so glad she didn't and his make-up and wigs in no way detract from his authority, sexiness and masculinity. As a matter of fact, they are very much a mask in truth that he puts on for society and one that he takes great comfort in.

Second, Rose and Richard fall in love right away. I know some people really have a preference against this, feeling like it is not realistic, but I think the author does a very good job making them believable. It is love at first sight for him and a bit later for her. But they fall in love and acknowledge it. Again, in the hands of another writer, she may have taken the more conventional approach of making them hate each other on sight, or lust for each other but distrust each other or create the "grand misunderstanding." But Connolly does neither of these. Instead Richard and Rose's conflict comes from the convention of their times. He is contracted to marry another woman and he can't just break it off. They want each other and they can't have each other for a very real reason, not a contrived one. And the two of them must face and question the effect of Richard possibly breaching the contract would have on them, their reputations and their families' reputations and finances.

Third, the supporting characters are wonderful. Especially Lizzie and Gervase. Lizzie is Rose's younger more beautiful sister. Rose has always felt in Lizzie's shadow. But the sisters are close and affectionate. Lizzie is ambitious. She wants to go to London, have a season and make a great match. She wants beautiful clothes and she really wants to make a splash. The author could have stopped there and made Lizzie like so many other beautiful younger sisters that populate romance novels. But she didn't. She gave Lizzie quite a bit more depth. She's smart, incisive and is actually much more of a realist and pragmatist than even her pragmatic older sister Rose. Conolly doesn't allow the reader to dismiss Lizzie as just a beautiful younger sister. And likewise she gives Gervase, Richard's twin a compelling backstory and depth as well.

And finally the plot was great fun. At first it seemed almost like a gothic romance, but then the mystery kicks in and then the love story starts rolling and you just sit back and enjoy the ride.

I really, really enjoyed this book. And this free download prompted me to buy the other three books of the Richard & Rose series.

Highly recommend!