Rating: 
Summary: Engaging Regency
Review: Wearing mourning clothes after three years because her efforts to repay the victims of her late husband's schemes have left her penniless, American Alberta "Allie" Brown arrives in England to visit her best friend, Elizabeth, and return a mysterious ring. Along the way, several accidents have occurred, leaving her to believe that they were no longer accidents, although she can't quite believe or understand why anyone would wish to harm her. Waiting on the docks for her to arrive, Lord Robert Jamison keeps a lookout for the laughing lady he sees in a sketch his sister-in-law had given him. He is to escort her to Elizabeth's home, but the solemn-eyed woman who steps off the ship hardly matches her portrait. Robert feels it is his duty to get her to smile, as he has been smitten by the sketch and really wants to find that woman underneath this somber and grieving widow. Having had her heart broken once, Allie is determined to keep her heart safe from another, handsome and charming man with secrets, but the attraction she has to Robert is heating up to a foregone conclusion. After several escapades, including burglaries and a kidnapping she impulsively suggests they have a love affair. D'Alessandro weaves you back into the wonderfully warm loving Jamison family that you hated to leave with Whirlwind Wedding so her fans should be delighted with this sequel that features the younger brother Robert. The humorous dialog seems to be a given with her books and quite enjoyable. Personally, I was a bit frustrated with Allie who seemed to have such a hard time believing in Robert, who I found to be such a darling but of course there would not have been a plot if she succumbed to his charm too soon. The secondary character, Michael Evers, who played a minor role but was central to the mysterious ring, deserves a story and I can only imagine and hope that he will be next along with his butler, Crusher! Now the butler's name alone deserves a story.
Rating: 
Summary: Utterly Enjoyable
Review: Whirlwind Affair is another charming Jacquie D'Alessandro novel filled with secrets, fun, passion and heartbreak. American Alberta Brown (mentioned as heroine Elizabeth's best friend in Whirlwind Wedding) sails to England to visit her childhood friend Elizabeth, the Duchess of Bradford, and to perform the final deed that will right the wrongs of her thieving and now dead husband. Having previously given her heart to a charming and handsome man who turned out to be a criminal and philanderer, Allie is determined never again to trust a man and certainly never to marry again. But she doesn't count on meeting the charming and handsome Lord Robert Jamison, Elizabeth's husband's younger brother. Robert collects Allie when her boat docks in London while Elizabeth is about to deliver her second child at Bradford Hall in Kent. It is isn't long before Robert, who has been looking for a bride, realizes that Allie is the woman he's been searching for all his life. Unfortunately Allie, who finally gives into their mutual physical passion, is determined to never again risk her heart. The developing relationship between Robert and Allie is beautiful, fun and heartbreaking. Soon they are both endangered by the man who repeatedly seeks to murder Allie because of the dangerous information she possesses. The plot takes off and-though the mystery is easy to unravel-keeps the reader on the edge of her seat with its fast-paced action.
The characters are intelligent, warm and delightful-even the secondary characters like the hilarious Baroness Gaddlestone and her rambunctious dog "boys" Teddy, Eddie and Freddie. Scenes between Allie and Robert sparkle with fun and passion. The happy, closely knit family at Bradford Hall is so feisty and fun that the reader wishes she could be a part of it. This is an utterly enjoyable Regency romance (brimming with the love of life, spouse and children) that should not be missed!
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