I BID ONE AMERICAN – Amy Corwin
The Wild Rose Press - www.thewildrosepress.com
ISBN: 1-60154-234-8
June 2008
Traditional Regency Romance

1818 – London, England

American heiress Charlotte Hayward does not know how she wound up as the ward of the Archers, but surely it will be better than the last couple who had sponsored her. It seems as if no one wants to be taxed with chaperoning her around in England, so excuse Charlotte if she feels a bit…unwanted. But when she first meets Lady Victoria and her husband, John Archer, she’s a bit taken aback by their niceness. Charlotte had been less than bedazzled by British society thus far, but Lady Vee and Mr. Archer seem to be a bit more down to earth and less consumed with their own importance. All Charlotte wants to do is get through the next three years until she can claim her inheritance, then take off for Cairo, Egypt, where she can take part in the archaeological digs and studies of ancient society that are going on right now. John and Victoria, however, have other ideas, ones that involve marriage and hopefully a love match for this woman who has known so little kindness in recent years.

Nathaniel Archer, Duke of Peckham and nephew of John Archer, had been at White’s Club with his uncle the night Mr. Archer won the American heiress in a card game. John has always had a weakness for cards, and this time he’d won not money, but a woman worth quite a mint. It was a good thing that money didn’t make John’s world go ‘round, and at heart he was a kind man. Nathaniel’s first meeting with Charlotte is less than romantic one night at a ball, and instead of being the gallant gentleman, he counts on Charlotte to save him from the latest debutante who wants his title and fortune. Charlotte is less than flattered that yet another man seems intent on using her instead of getting to know her, and writes the arrogant duke off as another imbecile. England seems to be full of them…

That night, however, a woman is found murdered in the gardens, and it’s quite unfortunate that it was one of the many ladies who held an affection for Nathaniel. Even though he’d danced with Lady Anne that night, Nathaniel did not consider her duchess material, just as he’s not given a fig about any of the women who regularly throw themselves at him.

Just as his interest in Charlotte grows, Nathaniel must count on her to help him solve Anne’s murder before Bow Street comes to clap him in irons and throw him in jail for a crime he did not commit. Can Nathaniel get past Charlotte’s prickly pear exterior to the soft, womanly heart he knows she protects quite rigidly?

I BID ONE AMERICAN is just the thing I needed for a lighthearted read with emotion. I’ll be honest, the title is what first caught my notice, but it wasn’t long before I was entertained by "his awful Graciousness”, Nathaniel, as Charlotte so succinctly taunts him the night they meet, and the American who really just wants to get on with her life, not caring what ball gown she wears next.

What’s interesting is that it seems Amy Corwin has built a series around I BID ONE AMERICAN and either has novels involving the various characters introduced here already written, or hopes to release them in the future. I’d be interested in seeing the story of Lady Victoria and her commoner husband, John Archer, as well as various others. These two characters are just the thing Charlotte needed to spread her wings and learn to live a little without fearing censure. Her coarse, American ideas and opinions have gotten herself in trouble more than once.

I BID ONE AMERICAN is an engaging tale that is sure to please many readers as it did me. Make sure it’s on your summer reading list!

Amy Cunningham