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Lord Pierson Reforms

by Donna Simpson

Amy Corbett finds herself alone at a young age except for an aunt who can't feed both of them. Amy gets herself an education and goes to work as a governess. She is working for a large family in Ireland whose eldest daughter doesn't want to marry. When an unbelievable offer comes along, the daughter quickly changes her mind. Amy becomes somewhat of a local legend for her matchmaking abilities. When the Duke of Sylverton comes to Ireland to look at horses, he hears of Amy's abilities and hires her to chaperone his daughter during the season. Amy finds herself in London with no contacts and no one to tell her how to deal with the willful, demanding Lady Rowena. Another chaperone, Mrs. Bowers, takes Amy under her wing and guides her through the difficult job of trying to handle Lady Rowena.

Dante has been banned from the best homes due to his tendency to do incredibly silly and stupid things while in his cups. Since he spends most of his time in his cups, he does a lot of stupid stunts. One night after hiring two whores to see him home, he chances to see a beautiful young woman pass by in a carriage. He and his two escorts are cascaded with dirty water as the carriage drives through a puddle. He sees a woman who may be the saving of him and his life. Lady Rowena sees a figure of fun.

Now, Dante has a goal. To find out whom the angel is, to start working to save his estate, and to marry the young woman. Little does he know what will happen as he works to repair his estate and his reputation.

Donna Simpson can write wonderful stories, unfortunately her work is erratic. As I started reading this book, I was convinced that this was a work that was going to be a miss for me. Dante seemed to be a caricature of the Regency libertine who lives beyond his means. Amy was one of those women who are so good you love to hate them. Lady Rowena is a spoiled, petulant young woman who attaches men just to break their hearts.

It took the first 100 pages for the story to coalesce. Amy became a person who had risen above the hard life she has had to lead to become the sort of person everyone wishes they knew. Dante is a man who has never had or tried to find a moral compass. When he reaches the bottom, he realizes that there can be more to life than drunken revelry. You begin to want him to succeed. Only at the end of the book do we really begin to learn what is behind Lady Rowena's beautiful facade.

While this story might not work for many, I walked away from it with a warm glow.