Back in the day, I loved these books. I ate 'em up. Every one has the same "theme." A mysterious castle/man and the damsel in distress. I hate to say it, but I don't think you'll be giving any of these women awards for common sense and/or their powers of deduction. India/Katherine isn't much different.
India and her father are on the run from creditors and have taken the ship from America to England, hoping to find some way to change their situation. And then they meet Katherine. The two young women look strikingly similar, but Katherine has no desire to spend the time until her birthday in the boring old country. And since India thinks the country sounds wonderful, the two decide to switch places. What could go wrong? Just about everything.
India soon discovers that Katherine's family is afraid she'll remember something about the death of a servant. Her "aunt" and "cousin" see her as competition for a suitor, and India's time in the country is not very relaxing at all. The man she's drawn to seems to burn hot and cold, and India sees things that make her think he might be behind all the things that are frightening her.
I'll admit, this was a nostalgia read. This was also one of the racier ones I have, but nothing too graphic. A slight blush here and there. Reading this was a bit hard at times. Sometimes India's inner thoughts are in quotes, so at first I thought she spoke those out loud. The weird thing was, not all her thoughts were like that.
I have say, the older I get, the more I appreciate a woman that can take charge, at least a little bit. India was the very definition of a damsel in distress, and it makes her slightly irritating to me. Would I have chosen to read this if it weren't for the nostalgia? No, but it's nice to be able to pull out a book once in a while and know exactly what I'm getting. It's like traveling down a familiar road when you're worn out and don't want to explore new territory.
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