Windy Weather & A Lady of Rare Quality - Anne Ashley

We're experiencing stormy weather here today. It's gloomy and grey and basically, perfect for curling up with a good book. I find myself fighting the urge to do exactly that when what I really need to be doing is inputting editing changes into the computer.

But no, I must resist. Especially since I gave in to temptation last night and satisfied my craving for a regency-set historical. I have a weakness for regencies. Basically, I love them - as long as the heroines aren't the kind that make me insane (you know what I'm talking about).

I'm very pleased to say that A Lady of Rare Quality by Anne Ashley was a great read, just what I wanted. The heroine was smart and spoke her mind, leading to a very honest relationship between the two main characters. The hero was one of those distant males who melts only for the heroine...sigh.

Plus, these two behaved as two people of their class would have behaved at the time. For example, the first time Annis uses Deveral's first name, it means something. (Serendipity moment: Just last week, I changed a character's name to Dev in one of my stories). There is passion in this book but it's all below the surface, as it would have been in that time.

There is a slight mystery subplot, but the main story is the progression of Annis and Deveral's relationship and it's very well done. I really liked Deveral, too. He treats the heroine with respect and there's honor in him.

I picked up A Lady of Rare Quality quite randomly when it caught my eye at the library, because of the first line on the back cover blurb: They've never seen a lady make him smile... But now that I've read it, I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for more of Anne Ashley's books the next time I need a Regency fix.

Any other regency fans out there? If not, what's your secret fix? (As an aside, I'm really liking these new Harlequin Historical covers. )