Elizabeth Cole really 'drew me in' with her vivid descriptions and wonderful prose.It's a novella, so I accept it is short, but it would not have been harmed in any way to be longer.
The rather sweet cover belies a very sharply written and intelligent story where the two protaganists, Nathan Bancroft, and the wily and beautiful Lady in Pearls herself, Vanessa Phillips, seem at the start to outdo one another before falling for each other.
I like that Nathan doesn't fawn over her like some male characters in the regency world tend to do. He's a smartly drawn character, and Vanessa has likeable and alluring traits that develop nicely when these two are thrown together.
So don't dismiss this as another smaltzy romance. Actually I like the cover a lot but it is the story that is satisfying, even through its brevity.
I was born a long time after 1821, but the descriptions are so vivid I felt I was there. You know the holodeck adventures in Star Trek? It's like you could create the perfect regency setting, and it would look like the characters fit into the world created by Miss Cole.
A short story, and in short, I loved it.
I hope Elizabeth Cole writes more like this one. I'll be happy to go back to 1821.
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