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Rating: 
Summary: Absolute gem; sweet romance
Review: This gem was languishing on my bookshelf for quite some time. And what a sleeper hit it turned out to be. The characters are so likable and real and the situations range from funny to passionate to despairing. Our sweet heroine is Annabelle Winthrop, a true hoyden who has learned to wrap everyone around her little finger. Due to her youth and inexperience she finds herself involved in escapades that would inflame a saint. And the incidents do inflame someone - Camford Singletary, Earl of Westerbrook. After a carriage accident brings Annabelle and her aunt to his country estate where he resides with his widowed mother, Cam fights his growing attraction to the young woman who he has nicknamed "Angel." Catching up to Annabelle and her Aunt Charlotte during the season in London, Cam champions her and protects her from her own inappropriate behavior and unsavory men. But there is a jealous rival for his affections in the form of Lucinda Moresby, a neighbor. She has held out for a marriage proposal from the Earl way too long to lose him now and sets out to ruin his attachment to Annabelle! The storyline flows from country to city and back again with ease. There are stolen moments and stolen kisses yet the Earl is determined to never fall in love so as to never feel the loss of it as his mother felt after his father died. Can he resist his tempting "Angel" especially with his mother and Annabelle's aunt playing matchmaker? Interspersed in the novel is Mr. Fitzroy, a funny little fox-terrier and various other animals that need protecting and help. All secondary characters are well fleshed out and delightful to meet. Wonderful reading, if not deeply emotional. Worth curling up with on a rainy afternoon! A shame this appears to be the only book by Vivian Keith!
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