Pink Heart Reviews
Love Of My Life
Meredith Bond
ISBN# 0821778218
Kensington, June 2005, 220 pages
Historical Romance-Regency
England/India
$4.99 (US) $6.99 (CDN)
Reviewed by Brandy
May 2005
Miss Cassandra Renwick thinks she has it all figured out. She’s met the perfect man and is certain to marry him. Until she finds out that he’s only been toying with her. He could never marry a mere baronet’s daughter.
Heartbroken, she flees to Calcutta, India to her parents to lick her wounds and, hopefully, live her life peacefully. And forget about men in general. But her mother has other plans. Lady Renwick, a leader of the cream of Calcutta Society, and intolerably snobbish, is determined to marry her daughter off to Major Vernon, a young man just as pompous and snobby as she is. But Cassandra isn’t having it. She’s met a man who interests her much more than the Major ever could. But strictly in an unromantic way, of course.
Mr. Julian Ritchie, son of an English man and an Indian woman, is not accepted by either culture. He wants very badly to fit in with English Society but is snubbed at every turn. When he sees a seemingly interested Miss Cassandra Renwick at a ball, he decides that she is the perfect revenge for Lady Renwick’s cruel treatment. What better way to bring her down a notch or two than to break her daughter’s heart?
Of course, things never go as planned. Miss Cassandra’s obvious empathy and outrage on the way he’s being treated make it difficult to follow through with his plan. And the sizzling chemistry between them definitely keeps him from getting involved emotionally. Then something happens that changes his life.
Love of My Life is a touching story of two young people tortured by the ideals and standards of the people around them. The story was kept light and enjoyable despite the weighty topic of the extreme prejudice put upon Indians by the English emigrants. It’s a short, but enjoyable read with a romantic and funny ending. Meredith Bond shows great promise as an historical romance author. I look forward to reading more of her books.
