Warner, $6.50, ISBN 0-446-60693-6
Historical Romance, 1999

Anthony Selbourne has inherited an estate from his father that is bankrupt. His father was a profligate gambler who had just put a bullet to his own head after losing hundreds of thousands of pounds in a bet gone awry. In order to restore his family fortunes, he has to do what a man gotta do: marry an heiress.

The heiress in question is merchant’s daughter Sarah Patterson, who is charmed by Anthony’s attentions. She doesn’t know the true reason of his attentions, however, as the men conspired to keep her betrothal agreement to Anthony a secret. For the time being. She finds out eventually, hits the roof in her anger, but hey, they got married anyway. The rest of the book details their adjustment to married life, lessons to learn about each other, and find out who’s the moron trying to kill Sarah.

All sounds nice really, but in truth, I find Golden Girl as bloodless as a vampire’s victim. I’m sure fans of Regency romances will lap this up eagerly, but I find Anthony and Sarah more interested in verbal intercourse than anything physical. They only come to life when they are talking. Their kisses are almost platonic, and their passionate love is told rather than shown.

The suspense is also a total flop – I am never kept in suspense; I’m told whom the villain is the moment this person decides to act. There is little then to sustain my interest, and eventually I’m off to Snoozeville.