I've dipped in and out of the Spindle Cover series
(I
seem to have
missed one or two, entirely by accident and this will be
rectified soon), but it's wonderful. Tessa Dare is a
queen of the genre for good reason and someone I think
aspiring Regency authors should study with care. One of
her great gifts is to make a series seem connected, but
not serialized. This allows new folks to meet her
characters in any order they so please without feeling
like they're being excluded from a party. She instead
invites folks to join the tribe she's writing about,
guaranteeing they'll be smitten with each couple,
regardless of the order in which they meet them.
LORD DASHWOOD MISSED OUT is a great place to start with
Dare's writing if you're not familiar with it. It's
classic her, as it were, but as a novella, the time
commitment isn't the highest. There's misunderstandings
and hijinks, sassy dialogue and a hero and heroine who
are perfectly matched...and we know it and they know it,
but
boy are they scared of it.
One of the common frustrations for folks who read
novellas is that all the action happens so quickly; it's
hard to believe it happened at all. Dare circumvents that
in this novel by establishing up front these folks
have a history with a capital H. That history is wrapped
around them and informs every breath they take in each
other's presence. And boy, is it a fun one. I will spoil
nothing, but I will say this: if you like sassafrass
women and dashing gents, are partial to a "trapped in a
snowstorm" trope, and like quick snapshots of joy, then
pick up LORD DASHWOOD MISSED OUT.
Miss Elinora Browning grew up yearning for the handsome,
intelligent lord-next-door...but he left England without
a word of farewell. One night, inspired by a bit too much
sherry, Nora poured out her heartbreak on paper. Lord
Dashwood Missed Out was a love letter to every young lady
who'd been overlooked by gentlemen--and an instant
bestseller. Now she's on her way to speak in Spindle Cove
when snowy weather delays her coach. She's forced to wait
out the storm with the worst possible companion: Lord
Dashwood himself.
And he finally seems to have noticed her.
George Travers, Lord Dashwood, has traveled the globe as
a cartographer. He returned to England with the goal of
marrying and creating an heir-only to find his reputation
shredded by an audacious, vexingly attractive
bluestocking and her poison pen. Lord Dashwood Missed
Out, his arse. Since Nora Browning seems to believe he
overlooked the passion of a lifetime, Dash challenges her
to prove it.
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