Joan Wolf has many devoted fans who will probably enjoy Golden Girl. However, unlike most of her previous books which were written in the first person, Golden Girl has abandoned that style and gone in the opposite direction, giving everybody, including even the lowliest stable hand, a point of view. My personal taste runs to points-of-view for the hero and heroine, and maybe one or two other characters if necessary, but more than that becomes confusing and distracting. You may find this true; you may not. It all depends on your, um, point of view.

The Duke of Cheviot has just run the family out of money; his debts amount to millions of pounds. Now, he has put a pistol to his head to avoid the stigma of ruination. Anthony Selbourne, the new Duke of Cheviot has been attached to Paris in the service of the Duke of Wellington for years, and has no wish to give up his military career. However, being a man of conscience, he knows he must return to England to try to raise from the dead the estate his father left in ruins.

But there is only one cure for what ails Cheviot: money. Lots and lots of money. Enter Cheviot’s aunt and uncle who have a plan. Sarah Patterson is a school friend of their daughter’s. Sarah is eighteen, a merchant’s granddaughter, and plain as an old shoe, but her bank account is a thing of beauty. With Cheviot’s consent, Sarah’s grandfather is approached and a settlement made. With some hemming-and-hawing, Sarah finally agrees to marry Cheviot, although she abhors being bought and sold in this manner by the people involved. But Anthony is a beautiful man, a thoroughly beautiful man, and after his gentle lovemaking on their wedding night, Sarah begins to fall in love with her husband.

But all is not well in Paradise. Anthony has a clueless, not to mention wicked stepmother (what, again?), and two half-brothers he barely knows. An irritating rival for Sarah’s affection acts like a thorn in the story’s side and there is a rival for Anthony’s affections that I found disturbing and beneath the author’s capabilities. Much controversy exists over the negative depiction of homosexuals in historical romances; I found Wolf’s inclusion of this stereotypical character more and more off-putting as the story unfolded. It would have worked better had this character been a staunch and loyal ally.

Anthony is a typical Wolf hero: handsome, intelligent, compassionate, a man of honor who is trying to do the right thing by those for whom he feels responsible. Sarah, who blossoms into a beauty thanks to the love and care of her husband, is a talented painter, a woman who has her own agenda but knows a good man when she sees one. Many elements in this book are charming, but the sub-plot is decidedly distracting. And, because everyone’s point of view is provided for the reader, including that of the villain, any element of mystery or suspense is completely lost – we know his every thought and move.

Joan Wolf fans may find themselves happier with this book than I was. As for me, it was an okay read, but pretty much forgettable.