While waiting for news of her military brother, missing in action, Emily Grantwich finds she has a certain flair for managing her invalid father's estate. His mood is unpleasant and fractious particularly now, during the Melton Mowbray hunting season. This attitude is unsurprising given his injuries have made it impossible for him ever to ride to hounds again. Far from being grateful for her work, he frets that no young woman could possibly be able to keep the estate running, and he fears it will fall into disrepair and debt. All Emily's efforts will be in vain should her brother not return. The estate will go to her foppish and spendthrift cousin Felix, unless she can prove to her father she has the backbone and brains to do what is needed.

Her life becomes even more challenging when the neighboring estate is taken over by a Rake of the first order, Piers Verderan, known among his cronies as the Dark Angel. The land necessary for the new livestock she has invested in has been in contention for many years, and now this infuriating man plans to turn it into a covert for foxes making it fairly useless for her purposes. From the moment she and Piers meet her carefully ordered life takes a turn for the absurd. His overwhelming physical presence makes it exceedingly difficult to retain the clarity of mind necessary to secure her family's future.

Jo Beverley's gentle yet wicked humor reads as well today as it did when EMILY AND THE DARK ANGEL was first published almost 20 years ago. I found myself laughing uproariously at the initial "pudding" scene, and again whenever its double entendre fell afoul of Emily's innocent mind. If you have become a fan of Beverley's book but have missed this one, I promise you will enjoy yourself from first page to last. If you have not yet read her historical romances, this may be a good place to begin, and you may find yourself with a new favorite author.