Search - Indiscreet

ISBN 0446605824 - I rarely expect much from a romance novel. I expected less than that from this one, which began with this nearly nonsensical sentence: "If there existed anything more stultifyingly dull than one of Lady Buxley's house parties, that gloomy event had not yet been invented." I literally had to stop and re-read it over and over to be sure that it was what it was. "If there existed anything... [it] had not yet been invented"? Then how can it exist? When the first sentence is such a grand example of butchery of the English language, there's little hope. Michaels, however, recovered nicely and surprised me more than I actually care to admit.

Sophie's mother and Bramwell's father brought some real life to Lady Buxley's boring house party with their spectacular, much gossiped about, deaths. Years later, the event has changed two lives and been the cause of many a tongue-in-cheek joke. Bram is determined to live his life with something of a broomstick up his... back, in order to live down the terrible shame of his father's life - and death. This becomes difficult when Sophie, daughter of his father's mistress, shows up with a letter from Bram's father, stating his intent to fund her Season. Bram is honor-bound to see it through.

Sophie, on the other hand, doesn't seem to see, or feel, the shame. Determined to live without the heartbreak of love, she sets out for her Season, ready to dazzle. Her "maid", Desiree, has taught her well - men are not to be trusted, or loved, only to be used. When the ton begins to make jokes, even in her presence, it becomes clear that she doesn't know the whole story of her mother's death. Bram is left to explain, forcing him to tarnish her memories of the mother who died when Sophie was very young.

The schemes do become convoluted - Sophie, portrayed for several chapters as a golddigger who is aware that the letter from Bram's father is a forgery, soon turns out to be innocent of most everything else. Who is ultimately behind the arrival of Sophie and Desiree in Bram's life comes completely out of the blue. Desiree, for the entire book, is portrayed as a bitter, man-hating, vindictive witch of a woman - and then, suddenly, it turns out that she's part of the big plot to shake Bram out of the staid life he's living before it's too late. All of this seems an obvious attempt on the author's part to keep the reader on their toes - and it fails miserably, because each twist to the story contradicts something earlier in the book. Michaels ought to stay away from intrigue which, at least in this case, she doesn't do very well, and stick to light-hearted romance. The romance, and that storyline, were amusing and entertaining. Wouldn't read it again, but I'd most definitely pick up another title by Michaels.

- AnnaLovesBooks

Oh My God! Indiscreet was Incredible! I agree with others who said the book was a hilarious romp through Regency England. There were times when I couldn't stop laughing, the little secret in the prologue being only the first one. The bombshell secret revealed later, though, was even better. I grew to see Sophie Winstead and Bram Seaton as friends, and truly enjoyed laughing, crying and going along for the ride with them on the road to true love and soulmate-hood. How anyone could rate this less than 5 stars is beyond me, because it was a truly wonderful book. In a career of writing wonderful books, this is definitely one of Kasey Michaels's best.