Regret Not a Moment

This lackluster debut spans 30 years in the life of a Virginia beauty with two passions: thoroughbred racehorses and handsome, wealthy John Alexander. In Fauquier County, Va., circa 1930, willful, independent-minded Devon Richmond is considered a spinster at age 25, which suits her just fine until she meets John, a visiting New York businessman. She accepts his proposal of marriage on their third encounter and looks forward to a blissful existence raising children and horses on the Virginia estate he buys. But, of course, life will not be so easy for this stock romantic heroine with raven hair, azure eyes and flawless, roses-and-cream skin. The ensuing, clumsily paced narrative contains the number of misfortunes usual for the genre, but lacks the dramatic tension necessary for a truly riveting romance. Devon inevitably proves indomitable in the face of her first child's tragic death, the break-up of her marriage to John, the death of her second husband and the hazards of WW II--all in the first half of the book. The turbulent yet oddly passionless narrative's most engaging moments occur when McGehee lovingly describes Devon's wardrobe; a more appropriate title might have been Regret Not a Moment Spent Getting Dressed. (May)