The Highwayman’s Daughter

Cora Mardell dresses as a male highwayman, holding up coaches to pay for her ailing, beloved father’s medicine.  One night while robbing two gentlemen she meets the gaze of Jack Blythe, Viscount Halliford, before she humiliates him by cutting off his ponytail.  From that moment, a bond forms between them.  Unfortunately, she also makes an enemy in his spoiled cousin, Rupert, who is embittered and jealous of his cousin’s status as heir.  Jack wants to catch the highwayman, whom he immediately realizes is a female:  not to send her to the gallows, but to help her and pursue the strong attraction he feels for her.  He will soon regret the wager he makes with Rupert, who has every intention of catching Cora and taking the opportunity to ruin his cousin at the same time.  Is love even a possibility between a nobleman and a laborer’s daughter-turned-thief?

“The Highwayman’s Daughter” is a lively Georgian historical romance that will capture the reader’s interest! It has an authentic feel and well-written characters.  Jack is a good-hearted and appealing hero, while Cora is strong and loving, her devotion to her father admirable.  Their romance has some stirring and sigh-worthy moments. Rupert is a villain that readers will despise.  While the romance is endearing and the adventure exciting, the storyline is too melodramatic.  Some crucial plot twists seem highly tenuous and unnecessarily convoluted.  This novel is recommended to readers who enjoy plenty of adventure and a historically authentic feel to their historical romance.

Danielle Hill