Readers who loved the author's first book, Before the Season Ends, will delight in this charming sequel set in Regency London.

As Ariana Forsythe plans her wedding to Philip Mornay, she must adjust to the realization that she is soon to become the wife of an extremely wealthy man. She wonders if it's wrong to rejoice that her future husband is rich. But she promises herself to use her new position to do what she can to aid the numerous street waifs she sees all too often in London.

During a tour of her future home--the house in Grosvenor Square--Ariana makes plans to redecorate according to her tastes. But when Philip arrives home later, he is informed that an expensive silver candlestick and a miniature portrait of George III have gone missing. Moreover, each time Ariana visits the house, accompanied by a friend or relation, another item disappears.

Shortly thereafter Ariana is abducted as she leaves a performance at Covent Garden Theatre, leaving Philip to unravel the pieces of the mystery. Where has his future bride been taken, and by whom? For what reason? How does Ariana's faith play a role?

Finally, after the safe return of his intended, how does Philip--a man of intense discrimination in his tastes--find the many alterations in his house? And what on earth is behind the sudden influx of bills from every charity in London, all thanking him profusely for his uncommon generosity? Will he have second thoughts about his future bride?

Readers will find romance, intrigue, humor, and inspiration in this new book of spirited romance for the Jane Austen soul.

As the book opens we find Ariana Forsythe amidst the plans for her wedding to Phillip Mornay. Deeply in love and delighted by her betrothed’s blossoming newfound faith all should be pure bliss. However, trouble stirs – her beloved is distant, his servants are plotting against her, and there are dastardly knaves plotting her abduction for unknown reasons.

Ariana and Phillip’s relationship matures as it goes through trials and temptations. Reading of their deepening attachment and affection for one provided both a warm glow of love throughout the tale, and periods of angst during miscommunications and conflict.

Where Before the Season Ends was spot-on Regency with a distinctive Christian influence, The House in Grosvenor Square strays towards an amalgam of historical romantic suspense. While still set in the Regency period and bearing all of the earmarks of the fashion, slang, and social mores, the novel jauntily heads down a much more modern path of plot development than the ancestors of the genre ever took.

By including multiple kidnappings and one mysterious development after another, Burkard draws her young couple out of the insular dance of courtship, card parties, and gossip and into the realm of mild-mannered adventure. The continued emphasis on propriety, appearances, and purity still provide a small dose of the typical Regency escapism though not as much as the first novel contained. Oddly, the suspense-based plot also resulted in slower pacing than the romantic tension found in the original.

I have just recently noticed a developing trend in Christian publisher Harvest House’s inspirational regencies. Both Linore Burkard’s and Kaye Dascus’ Ransome Trilogy series approach the genre with fairly traditional opening novels before diving into plots that are quite adventurous by Regency standards in the subsequent volumes. I’m afraid that I can’t say I’m thrilled by the change in emphasis in these modern examples.

I’m not about to give up on the new approach however. Perhaps I’ll develop as much of a taste for derring-do in jolly England as I do for stories of adventurous speculative fiction. To be fair, Burkard still includes plenty of loyal butlers, wardrobe changes, and blundering suitors to take us away to another time. Let’s wait and see what she brings us next, shall we?

Reviewed at quiverfullfamily.com