Very well done Peninsular War story. Not really a Regency although set in that time of course. Instead of just having the hero home from the war, this story takes place mainly in Portugal and gives a clear picture of the trials that the Portuguese and Spanish people had to deal with during those war years. The love story was very believable. I loved the older hero who, while being an honorable Royal Marine, was a dandy and knew it, who was too old for the heroine and knew it and also knew that he could marry much better than an illegitimate girl and ignored all that and fell in love with the heroine anyway. The heroine was young but charming and strong. She was never TSTL and let the hero protect her while doing her best to take care of him. They both acted true to the mores of the times and even the extent of their physical love scenes all had a realistic rationale.

This was a story of people who lived in 1812 not the story of modern people dropped into the early 19th century as so many Regencies are these days. ( )

It took a bit for this historical romance set during the Napoleon war to get going but soon the issues got serious showing how young women had to grow up fast during a war. Then the action took off and was intense making this a pretty good story. Older Lt Col marine Hugh helps much younger Polly when she gets seasick. ( )

Third of the group of Napoleonic era Harlequin Historicals. Setup - 3 illegimate daughters of a terrible father who attempted to sell them. This is the third daughter who wears glasses.

I love Carla Kelly passionately. I was thrilled that Harlequin picked her up. This book shows her at her best. The heroine is vilely seasick.

No dukes and ton life here. It takes place on a ship and in a war torn Portugal when they have been captured by the French.

But in Kelly's books a hero is someone who holds your head when you puke as well as someone who can kiss really well. (Not that Kelly ignores the more conventional romance, but I believe and like these people.)

And I see him at a desk, ready to enter the next phase of his life having done the adventure stuff and believe in their happy ending. I am so happy for Polly and her sisters and their living out their lives in the middle of a real world. ( )

Another excellent regency from Kelly. I love how she builds her love story with accurate historical information. Also, I love that her characters are not the typical TSTL regency heroine and 'dashing' alpha regency hero. They are more down to earth and thus more real and touching. ( )

I’m not going to summarize the plot but I will say that I was a bit hesitant after reading the first few pages. The hero is 37; the heroine is 18. I absolutely hate books where there is a 20-year age gap between the hero and the heroine. Immediately I groaned – I am so not going to enjoy this. But I persevered. I trust Carla Kelly – and I was rewarded!

I shouldn’t be surprised that I enjoyed this book because Ms. Kelly is so thoughtful and descriptive. Her characters are grounded. The story is fresh and believable. Usually, I never feel or understand the connection between an older man – younger woman. But in this story, they connected AND I believed it. I was happy that they found what they needed with each other. It never felt contrived or forced.

Another reason I like this book is for the characterization of the other supporting characters. Each character had believable motivations, including the “bad” guys. No one was entirely bad; some actions are horrific, but no one will ever forget that the setting is war. ( )