The Wedding Chase

The woman who sells herself to salvage a profligate male relative is a well-worn plot. But romance newcomer Kelley gives her Regency a new twist with her clever depiction of her heroine, an almost six-foot-tall spinster. Grizelda Fleetwood is looking for someone very rich who will keep her brother out of debtor's prison, and someone aged and very pliable who won't try to control her. Wolfgang Hardwicke, the Earl of Northcliffe, is neither old nor mildmannered and plans to make the prim and proper do-gooder change her mind. There's a clever musical leitmotif--Zel shares in the ""curse of Mozart"" as her second name is Amadea, and each chapter has a telling musical title (Scherzo, Vivace, Duet etc.)--and both characters are wryly cultivated, making them funny counterpoints to their philistine set. Kelley's style is cheery, clever and fastpaced, and the dialogue truly seems like a meeting of sharp minds. More real historical ambience would make it perfect, but romance readers can still anticipate an amusing read. (June)