So a librarian (or someone) who never reads romances created a genre list for libraries to have and included this author (though my local library didn't have that particular book, so I took out another one) Well unless this book was vastly misrepresentative, the original list maker was way off the track. This book was both cookie cutter and fundamentally boring. There was no romance, sparkle or passion. It was tedious with cipher characters and nothing interesting or remotely unpredictable happening. You compare this to Loretta Chase's Not Quite a Lady, or Lisa Valdez' Passion (which had a hero who was already engaged, and that was so emotionally wrenching! ) and it falls with a thud. ( )

Sebastian, Earl of Charrington, has decided it's time to marry. For years, he's been in love with a woman in a painting, but he's finally convinced himself that no woman could live up to the image he's built up in his mind of who that woman is, and he's settling for Barbara, the daughter of his mentor and business partner.

Barbara is mostly concerned with fashion and parties and having a good time, and she doesn't love him any more than he loves her. Still, she's very beautiful, wants his title, and he doesn't expect anything more from marriage. His affection for her father quiets any other doubts he may have.

Then he commissions a portrait of Barbara by C. A. Manners, the same up-and-coming artist who painted the portrait he so admires, only to find out the "C" stands for Cecilia, and it's a self-portrait.

We readers know that Sebastian and Cecilia belong together, but it takes them a little longer to figure it out. Sebastian can't honorably end the engagement with the daughter of his old friend without ruining both their reputations and disappointing his friend. Cecilia is concerned about her independence, being able to continue her art, and taking care of her brother.

What I liked most about this Regency is that you could really see that Sebastian and Cecilia fell in love with and respected each other, that it wasn't just a superficial attraction. Sebastian already had a more beautiful fiancee, and Cecilia didn't see any need to marry.

And the fiancee, the woman standing in the way of their happiness, wasn't a vicious shrew. She wasn't suited for Sebastian's more serious nature, but she was a genuinely nice person. The realistic portrayal of her character in particular gave the book more depth and made Sebastian's dilemma more poignant.

If I were still of the opinion that I didn't care for Regency romances, A Lady of Talent would convince me otherwise. ( )