The Duchess Hunt

May 13, 2013
Whether Haymore’s storytelling will appeal depends upon the importance one attaches to the “historical” part of “historical romance.” Nothing in her ostensibly Regency-set series launch suggests the 19th century beyond the ubiquity of horse-drawn transportation. Certainly the premise—the daughter of a gardener, educated alongside the sons of a duke, becoming the love of the heir—gives no more than nodding acknowledgment to the realities of the era’s social order. Beyond that, the inappropriate amour between Sarah Osborne, head housemaid turned lady’s companion, and Simon Hawkins, Duke of Trent, is a pleasant, predictable bit of romantic fluff. Haymore adds some intrigue with the disappearance of Simon’s mother and the eventual emergence of a blackmailing threat, but these are minor diversions from the main agenda of hot glances, murmurs about what other people might think, and setups for future installments.

May 15, 2013
In Haymore's (Secrets of an Accidental Duchess, 2012) latest, Sarah, the gardener's daughter, is treated like family on the Duke of Trent's estate. So when the duchess goes missing, Sarah is elevated from housemaid to daughter Esme's companion while the four sons search for their mother. After hiring a detective, heir Simon, Esme, and Sarah head to London for the season, where Simon will seek a wife, even though he loves Sarah in spite of her social status. At the head of the pack of debutantes is Simon's neighbor Georgina, and her family is pushing for the match. But Simon is torn between marrying someone of his own class or someone who holds his heart. Meanwhile, all avenues to discovering who kidnapped the Duchess of Trent and whether she is alive or dead seem blocked. As the hunt unfolds, Haymore touches on the themes of dynastic marriage, public scandal, and the obligations of an heir to his widowed mother and siblings.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)