Outrageous Behavior by Amy Corwin

TITLE: Outrageous Behavior
AUTHOR: Amy Corwin
PUBLISHER: Wild Rose Press
LENGTH: Short story (roughly 7k)
GENRE: Historical romance
COST: $2.00

Laura Brownell is of money and not title, so a marriage to a poor man related to an earl seems like her only option. She just can’t keep her eye away from his far more attractive cousin…

This short offering from a very talented author extends a mild diversion into London of 1811, and the life of Laura Brownell. The youngest of four daughters, she’s late getting a Season, and has no illusions that she will be hard-pressed to find a match. Part of her doesn’t really care. She’s not really suited to the Season, anyway. She’s also not excited about the young man who seems to have her father’s favor, an odious fortune hunter who has the unfortunate advantage of being related to an earl. It’s as good as she can hope for, she supposes.

The problem with that is she is absolutely crushing on her suitor’s cousin, Lord Warnock. He is gorgeous, at ease, and her stomach flutters every time she sees him. She believes he has all the attention from women he can possibly manage, though, and when her first meeting with the man is cut abruptly short by her suitor, she resents the fortune hunter even more.

The author has created a lovely heroine here in just a short space. She’s bound by the rules of her society, but chafing at the bit because she doesn’t want to have to settle. She’d rather be alone than deal with this awful fortune hunter, and takes it upon herself to make sure it’s impossible for them to marry. The story is over almost before it begins, and while there isn’t a traditional HEA, there’s a hint of an HFN that’s adequate for the story’s length. I can’t say that Lord Warnock shines in this, though. He spends most of the story as an idolized object of Laura’s affections. I have no idea if he’s the real deal, and my cynical side doesn’t really believe he’s any better than the others.

Still, we don’t get a lot of him, so it’s a minor complaint in the story’s short span. As a morsel, it satisfies well enough to keep me invested in this author’s abilities.

Readability	8/10 – Swift with only a few minor editorial mistakes
Hero	4/10 – An object of the heroine’s affection rather than a true personality
Heroine	7/10 – Lovely and sweet, bold when she needed to be
Entertainment value	6/10 – A sweet diversion, but nothing more
World building	7/10 – For its brevity, remarkably thorough
TOTAL:	32/50