Virtue and Valor

REGENCY/SCOTTISH:  Bartholomew Yancy, Earl of Ramsbury and a War Secretary for Prinny, is sent to Scotland and the home of one of his closest friends, Ewan McTavish, to decide if the rumors of an alliance of revolutionaries is real. If it is, he is to figure out how to stop it. Yancy has been almost in love with Ewan’s younger sister, Isobel, for the past year but after a flirtatious evening, she gives him the cut direct. His mission is now twofold: stop any revolution that is brewing, and get his future bride to agree to be just that.

Unlike many historicals, Yancy’s life and position as a titled Peer have purpose. He has a job, and a real one at that. That fact in itself should let readers know the kind of historical romp they will be reading. Not really doing anything by the book, Ms. Cameron still manages to make it believably authentic. It is not bogged down by overblown description, using just enough for readers to place themselves, and though the whodunit isn’t hidden, there is just enough unknown that watching Yancy and Isobel extricate themselves is an enjoyable ride. The romance is secondary to the plot of the clans, and in an unusual twist, Scots-born Roma are introduced. The biggest issue is the misunderstanding that drives the romance part of the plot. Though more likely to be realistic for the times, Isobel is headstrong enough that readers will find it most unsatisfactory that she didn’t just open her mouth and ask. An entertaining treat, where people both are, and aren’t, what they seem to be.

Julie York