The Rules of Gentility

Reasons to read this book:

1. A romance written in present tense! Fascinating.

2. A romance including the hero's first point of view. A definite first for me.

3. Light tone makes you forgive the big "mis" (although never having read any chick lit, this may be more common in that flavor of romance).

4. Genuinely likable ex-mistress with [SPOILER] hero's bastard child makes for an utterly implausible, but emotionally satisfying variant on this plot device.

5. You can tell Mullany is English--the dialogue and period usage seem almost effortless. (I loved it when she referred to "mutton dressed as lamb," which is a favorite saying of my English mother.)

6. I heard about this book at RWA last year at the Avon editorial panel.

7. I hope Janet Mullany is doing well with $13.95 cover price (zoinks!), even though I bought this at Costco for less than $9.

8. I would be curious to know whether you believe Regency breeches are sufficiently roomy to allow for a teacup to be dislodged from a sidetable, even taking into account a seventeen shillings and sixpence kind of man.