And Then He Kissed Her - Review

So this isn't the review I intended to post today.  My original plan was the 3rd Chesapeake Diaries by Mariah Stewart.  Unfortunately, my allergies decided to show up this week and so beyond the swollen eyes and the drowsiness caused by lots of Benadryl not much got read this week.  I get most of my reading done at night and luckily I usually don't need much sleep but this week has found me falling asleep at 10 or 11 which has seriously cut into my numbers!  So instead you get a review of a book I've read tons of times and one I reach for when I'm not feeling so great or my brain just needs a hug.

And Then He Kissed Her by Laura Lee Guhrke

Rating: 5 Stars

Description:  Emma Dove, Secretary to Viscount Marlowe, wants nothing more than to publish her writing on etiquette.  When Marlowe turns down her writing for the umpteenth time and lets it slip that he never actually read any of her books Emma is done.  So done in fact that she resigns and takes her writing elsewhere.  Marlowe is stunned.  The machine like efficient Miss Dove has never acted like that before.  When he takes the time to find her and offer her job back he's even more stunned with the Miss Dove he finds. Gone is the business like ever efficient and organized Miss Dove and in her place is Emma, spirited, independent, and completely unwilling to listen to his sensible requests.

Genre: Romance

My Impression:
Pros: Emma is the major pro in this book.  She's smart with a sense of humor and a strong sense of right and wrong.  She is torn between doing what she truly wants to do and living by the rules her Aunt Lydia set out.  She has made herself a comfortable existence and is very careful to not fall into the traps that often befall women who work for men.  Even when she makes choices that go against what she's been taught she has a reason for the action and there is thought involved.  When she realizes she doesn't like the situation she's honest with herself.  She's intelligent without being too blue stocking-y and independent without being over prickly.  I also like that while this is technically a series all the books are stand alones and don't need to be read in any order.

Cons: Harry is not the most developed character and he can be very thoughtless.  Not in a mean way but mostly because (as Emma points out) he's an aristocrat and can bend the rules.

Overall: I LOVE this book.  This is one of my comfort reads and I reached for it the other night when I had a pounding headache, a stiff neck and needed a distraction.  I like all the characters, there's not an evil villain lurking in the shadows.  The time period is the 1890s which is a nice change from most Regency settings and allows for the whole "Girl-Bachelor" concept.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?: Yes

Would I Recommend this Book?:  Yes I think any romance reader would enjoy this one.