Vanessa, by Lynne Connolly, is a truly engaging
romance about an unusual heroine. We meet Vanessa as
she is slipping into the dreaded realm of the old
maid. She is twenty-eight, and no longer considers
herself marriageable, when an older man, Lord Vesey,
proposes marriage to her. After learning her younger
brother, George, who has joined the army, is to be
deployed to Vienna, she accepts Vesey's proposal as it
will allow her to keep an eye on George. After
marrying Vesey, she finds herself embroiled in a world
of intrigue, spying, and espionage. Her wit and her
dedication are put to the test--and a romantic twist
towards the end of the book adds to its charm and
page-turning interest.
I found this story so wonderful, so romantic and
realistic I couldn't stop reading it once I began. I
stayed up late to finish it! Vanessa, unlike many
romance novel heroines, is easy to identify with.
She's intelligent, honest, and ambitious, though
forced to hide these attributes until after her
wedding to Vesey. Vesey was mysterious, charming, and
difficult to read in the beginning, but by the end of
the book, I was rooting for them both equally. I
found all the characters well written, and Vanessa's
mother was particularly amusing. I highly recommend
this book. Any fan of the romance genre will enjoy
it.
Kara Wolf
![[Vanessa]](Vanessa2.jpg)
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