An Unconventional Courtship - Dorothy Mack

MISS LATHAM'S LABORS

For one of her tender years, Miss Cleone Latham had a great number of things to do.

As a grateful poor relation in an aristocratic household, she had to manage affairs so that her great-uncle, Lord Brestwick, would not topple over the abyss of financial ruin.

As a fond cousin, she had to help headstrong Philip Hardwicke escape the dreadful consequences of his folly at the gaming tables.

And as a young lady of good conscience, she had to make the enamored Earl of Altern see the selfish, shallow nature that lay under the surface of her ravishing cousin Emerald Hardwicke.

Of course, lithe only way to save Altern from Emerald's clutches was to take this heart quickening gentleman in hand herself, it was a task that Cleone was happy to undertake. It was, in fact, a labor of love....

This was a very enjoyable traditional regency mainly because of two things, a very sensible heroine and an interesting and determined hero. Although the blurb suggests that Cleone is against her cousin's pursuit of the Earl that is not true. She does feel that her cousin and too young and of a shallow nature but she never tries to steal her beau from her.

In fact what one feels is that she almost too good for her own good and determined to not be in the way of her cousin's happiness.

Of course Altern is not stupid and soon realizes that Cleone is a lot more mature and interesting than her beautiful cousin but to woo her he will have to adopt a strategy not to make one woman feel jilted and to convince the other he really loves her. He was a wonderful hero in that sense that he was determined to marry Cleone no matter what and I was left with a happy feeling in the end.

Grade: 4/5