The Masked Heart
By Karla Darcy
Rating – 4.5 stars
Blaine Meriweather is in a precarious position. When her
father and stepmother are killed, her inheritance is tied up waiting for her
younger brother to reach majority. So how are they supposed to live until then?
She makes a bold move to become an actress, a profession only one step above
prostitution, and determines to maintain high moral fiber along the way.
Lord Farrington is enamored of the enigmatic “La Solitaire,”
an actress beautiful and talented, but unlike the others in her field, she
remains aloof, out of reach, protected. He is determined to meet the enchanting
actress, and yet she rebuffs him at every opportunity. He’s not the only one who is infatuated with her .
. .
Blaine must play the role of a lifetime to keep the
allowance flowing to her family when her aunt dies. Can she fool the men who
compete for her into believing she’s an old woman?
I thoroughly enjoyed the story. The twists and turns take
you on a well thought-out journey. A few things to keep in mind – Miss Darcy
uses period English. That means while she has diligently endeavored to use the
proper terms for the time period, some of them may strike you as somewhat odd
and or confusing. One example is referring to a team of horses as cattle. Once
you figure out the answer key, however, it isn’t difficult to follow along. She
also has a tendency to info dump. Neither one of these presented a major issue
for me – the story redeems itself, but it may cause slow going for some
readers. I’ve read several of her stories, and I keep coming back for more. This story has everything you’d want
in a regency romance, and Blaine’s single-mindedness makes for a very strong
character. It’s a departure from your standard impoverished woman turns
governess with its own set of obstacles to deal with that I found very
refreshing.
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