Games in a Ballroom

London, 1815

Olivia Wilde has resigned herself to never finding a love match. Her father has insisted she marry a man with a title, if only to increase his own standing and reputation in society. But the men her father deems acceptable are, at best, boring and uninspiring, and at worse, are as brutish as her father, and are only looking to increase their own diminishing coffers. With her future looking dismal, Olivia decides to enjoy the last few months of freedom with her childhood friends, including the handsome Emerson Latham. His devilish smile and flirtatious teasing stirs up feelings she knows she cannot entertain.

Emerson is struggling to rise to his responsibilities after the death of his father. Though he might still be learning what he needs to do as the head of his household, one thing he knows for sure is that he wants Olivia Wilde to be his wife. Having grown up as childhood friends with Olivia, Emerson long ago had fallen in love with her quick wit, beauty, and passionate heart. However, without a title, he will never be permitted to court Olivia openly. But he has a plan that may give him a chance to court her in secret.

As the season kicks off, Emerson proposes a bit of fun with a playful game of tag. Olivia’s friends are delighted by the idea, though Olivia is more wary. After all, the game must be played in secret and they must be discreet when tagging each other at dinners and balls and the theater. As the romance builds between Olivia and Emerson, so does the risk of being discovered. Not only are their reputations at stake, so is their safety if they are caught by Olivia’s father, who has an explosive, and at times violent, temper.

Can their love find a happily ever after before the game ends?

My Review: 2/10

DNF at 30%

Not my cup of tea. None of the characters make any sense or behave in a realistic way.

1. Olivia's father. Even if he had no fashion sense, any friend, family member, or sales person would direct him toward the most flattering choices for his daughter if he wanted to marry her off that badly.

2. Olivia herself. If she was that terrified of her father, I can't believe she would engage in the games (the main plot line for the book) or that she wouldn't spend every spare second trying to bring about a workable solution for herself.

3. Emerson. The quickest, more surefire way to make your ladylove view you in a romantic way is to state your feelings. Seriously, take 5 minutes to pull her aside and pour your heart out and ask if she could ever see you that way. THEN tackle the issue of her father together.

His friends are all over the place. I picked this up thinking the title was intriguing and that it was written by a man (my mistake I think), so I was hoping for a unique writing style.