The Marrying Season (Legend of St. Dwynwen #3) by Candace Camp

Proper young ladies, with an eye for their reputations, are very careful to maintain them.  In The Marrying Season by Candace Camp, Genevieve Stafford has spent a lifetime maintaining the perfect decorum for any situation.  She is expected to marry well and to maintain her aristocratic bearing.  She has even chosen the perfect husband—rich, well bred, and polite.  Unfortunately, it all goes wrong with a scandalous breech of etiquette that has Genevieve’s fiancée breaking their engagement.

When all hope seems lost, Sir Myles Thorwood, her brother’s childhood friend, offers a marriage of convenience.  It is certainly not a love match, but it will solve some immediate problems.  Unbeknownst to Genevieve, Myles has had feelings for her since she was just an annoying little girl.  Will she ever believe that Myles loves her and did not just marry her out of pity?

 The majority of the plot of this novel concerns the identity of the person who ruined Genevieve’s reputation, as well as the growing relationship between Genevieve and Myles.  Unfortunately, I think the unmasking of the scoundrel who ruined Genevieve’s reputation is the weakest part of the book. Maybe it is my modern sensibilities, but it seemed like a whole lot of to-do about nothing.  She got a respectable husband and a shot at a happy life.  There was a plot thread about scandalous things being written about Genevieve in a gossip rag, but I thought that she should be able to withstand the scandal, given her ice queen reputation.  Perhaps I would have found this situation more interesting if it were a minor plot line rather than a major one.  I just kept waiting for something big to happen.

The transformation from a marriage of convenience to a love match was interesting to me.  Myles and Genevieve don’t always understand each other—or fight fair.  They argue, drift apart, and then get back together again.  Both of the characters were likable, and I enjoyed reading about the push and pull of their relationship.  It did get a little tiring toward the end of the book, but I was waiting for their happily ever after.    In short, this was a fun, fluffy romance that I enjoyed reading.

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.  Regina