Beautiful and feisty Henrietta Barrett has never followed the dictates of society. She manages her elderly guardian's estate, prefers to wear breeches rather than dresses, and answers to the unlikely name of Henry. But when her guardian passes away, her beloved home falls into the hands of a distant cousin.William Dunford, London's most elusive bachelor, is stunned to learn that he's inherited property, a title...and a ward bent on making his first visit his last. Henry is determined to continue running the Cornwall estate without help from the handsome new lord, but Dunford is just as sure he can change things...starting with his wild young ward. But turning Henry into a lady makes her not only the darling of the town, but an irresistible attraction to the man who thought he could never be tempted.
Strangely enough, reading the early JQ books makes me want to reread all her books (okay, perhaps that's not so strange) so I can see how she developed as a writer. I'm already seeing changes from book to book.
My biggest issue at the moment, though, is pacing. I'm never quite sure what the end point is supposed to be: the "I love you"s, the marriage, or something else. It always has me scratching my head (figuratively, anyway), trying to figure out what's going to fill the remaining pages.
I'm almost positive (kind of positive?) I read somewhere that it wasn't until her later books that she really got into plotting, so... that explains it. Every story needs a problem, and if you solve it too soon, readers wonder. Especially when Big Misunderstandings get throw into the mix that makes me go o.O orly?
Pacing issues aside, I'm enjoying my quick jaunt through JQ's early books. Good thing I have more!
