The Last Bachelor [Mass Market Paperback]

"The Last Bachelor" is one of those few historical romances which fulfill all my expectations of this entertaining genre.
The story is set in late Victorian London and it has enough history, enough romance and enough action to be a page-turner. Lady Antonia Paxton is a beautiful young widow who has an infamous reputation of a forceful matchmaker among the bachelors of the ton. Rumour says that she takes impoverished young widows under her wing and helps them find security again. She carefully selects for each of them an eligible and wealthy bachelor who then soon find themselves in compromising situations and are forced to get married. The bachelors of the ton fear her like the devil and they want to get their revenge on her by showing her where a woman's place is. Their last hope is Lord Remington Carr a wealthy and handsome bachelor who is not only a hardened rake but he is also a member of parliament with strong radical views on women's rights in society. Antonia believes that a woman's place in society is in the home of her husband and children where she takes care of their needs and happiness.Remington believes that women should have the same rights for work as men and they should leave their home and earn their livelihood. When these two wonderful and very strongly opiniated characters meet they clash from the first moment. The result of their confrontation is a public wager. Remington promises to take up two weeks of women's work and Antonia will subject herself to two weeks of men's work.They each believe in their own victory and set off to prove their right.
The author has done an excellent job of fully developing these two very likeable intelligent and passionate characters. Their dialogues are witty and entertaining, sometimes humorous and full of depth. This is the perfect battle of the sexes which keeps the reader's excitement and interest alert throughout the whole longer than usual book. The secondary characters are well described and supportive and they match Antonia and Remington in likeability and depth.
THE LAST BACHELOR is a piece of art from the pen of an author who is an accomplished storyteller and a very talented writer. The more I read this precious historical romance the more I realize how rare and unique it is.I highly recommend it to all historical romance readers who can appreciate an outstanding read.

Actually, I was NOT looking forward to reading this book. I picked it up at a used book store, an unknown (to me) author, and was sure I would be disappointed. But once I started the book, I couldn't put it down! I have read many, many romance books and very few do I end up liking both the hero and heroine through the story. Usually, while reading a romance, I end up saying "What a jerk!" for something he's done, or "She's an idiot!" for something she's done. With this book, the story is so realistic, so well written, I loved both characters from beginning to end. I snickered, I laughed out loud, I cried, and it was steamy and one of the most romantic stories I have ever read. I am looking for more books by this author in hopes that it isn't a fluke.

The Last Bachelor is romance for people who love the unusual. It's longer than the usual romance novel, because the author gets deep into her characters and story. And it is nerve tingling romance. I rate this right up there with Diana Gabaldon's writing - it transports you along with the characters into their world. I loved it!