AN IMPROPER PURSUIT by Julia Parks is a proper addition to any eReader, with action, romance, and relatable family dynamics. I give it three stars.
In AN IMPROPER PURSUIT, spinster Chastity Hartford is biding her time until she comes into her inheritance and can set up her own household. Having been "ruined" during her first Season, Chastity suffers her mother's constant criticisms and her sisters' clueless teasing. During a Christmas house party, Chastity is reunited with Alexander Fitzsimmons, her adolescent crush whom she hasn't seen in ten years.
Alex is almost immediately enamored by a very grown-up Chastity, and he takes advantage of the holiday mistletoe to kiss her whenever possible. Unfortunately, Alex isn't visiting the Hartfords to celebrate the holidays; Alex has been tasked by the Home Office to uncover a French spy in the Hartfords' area. His desire to woo Chastity conflicts with his devotion to his country with dire consequences.
AN IMPROPER PURSUIT is deceptively calm for most of the book, but fifty pages from the end, the reader's expectations are upended. Two days before Christmas, the spy is revealed and life for Chastity and Alex becomes terrifyingly dangerous. This change of pace was shocking, but the reader probably feels it just as Chastity would.
For the most part, the plotline and development of the romantic relationship were realistic. The romance is fairly clean, making the book appropriate for teens and adults alike. I really loved how the sisters interacted. Their relationships illustrate how siblings' experiences of the same events can be entirely different, and that even though you may have known someone your entire life, you may not know them as well as you think.
The novel only briefly dips into the stereotypical melodrama of the male protagonist trying to "protect" his female from danger by not telling her the truth, while the female does whatever is necessary to uncover the truth, thereby throwing herself directly in harm's way. Perhaps my irritation with this aspect of regency romance plotlines has more to do with the fact that I was not raised during the 1800's, when "women's rights" was still an oxymoron.
Overall, AN IMPROPER PURSUIT is an entertaining novel for all, and a great option for your summer reading list.
**Review originally written for The Romance Reviews.com at http://www.theromancereviews.com/viewbooks.php?bookid=9852
