BARELY A LADY

Author: Eileen Dreyer ISBN: 9780446542081 7/2010 HISTORICAL Publisher: GRAND CENTRAL
Time Period: 1815 - Belgium & England

Olivia Grace has secrets that could destroy her. One of the greatest of these is the Earl of Gracechurch, who married and divorced her five years earlier. Abandoned and disgraced, Grace has survived those years at the edge of respectability. Then she stumbles over Jack on the battlefield of Waterloo, and he becomes an even more dangerous secret. For not only is he unconscious, he is clad in an enemy uniform. But worse, when Jack finally wakes in Olivia's care, he can't remember how he came to be on a battlefield in Belgium. In fact, he can remember nothing of the last five years. He thinks he and Olivia are still blissfully together. To keep him from being hanged for a traitor, Olivia must pretend she and Jack are still married. To unearth the real traitors, Olivia and Jack must unravel the truth hidden within his faulty memory. To save themselves and the friends who have given them sanctuary, they must stand against their enemies, even as they both keep their secrets. In the end, can they risk everything to help Jack recover his lost memories, even though the truth may destroy them both?

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

BARELY A LADY is quite a tempestuous romance book. With such a story, it is hard to fathom whom to trust, where is safe, and just what exactly can be done to fit everyone all back together again. It is amazing, really, since amnesia story lines are quite common, how this one is so different. Perhaps it is the battlefield setting, or the secrets and awful truths that no one wants to believe that really make this story work. I think that although those things make it a worthwhile read, the heroine is the piece that makes it shine.

With a strength few possess, the heroine, Olivia Grace, is an amazing character. The things she has been through, faces up to, and confronts, are things no one should ever face. Dreyer does such a marvelous job creating Olivia that I have yet to forgive her hero Jack for his stupidity. Honestly, I don't like him, and I do not feel he can ever make up for his past transgressions against her. It is almost as though Dreyer makes him too despicable for redemption in my eyes. I will not begrudge Olivia her happiness, however, so I won't go into detail on the subject.

With its unique setting, witty dialogue, characters with spirit and vitality, but most of all, a heroine that is magnificent in her strength and beautiful of heart, BARELY A LADY is a standout historical romance.

Shannon Johnson