Heiress in Love is an enjoyable novel. It’s always a treat to discover new-to-me historical romance authors, especially those who can create wonderful characters like Jane and Constantine in this book.

Lady Jane Westruther was abandoned by her wealthy parents and after a stint in a dreary foster home, was taken in by the Duke of Montford as his ward. He and some of his noble friends run a Ministry of Marriage and they arranged Jane’s marriage to Lord Roxdale. The marriage was not a happy one, but Jane took delight in taking care of Luke Black – a young relative whom Roxdale took under his protection. Jane thinks of Luke as her son and he is her delight in an otherwise not very happy arrangement.

When Roxdale died, the title passed to Constantine Black, a cousin. Due to a terrible scandal in his past, Constantine is shunned by most of Society, who consider him a no-good wretch. Wretch or not, he is the new Lord Roxdale and has some ambitious plans for the estate. Constantine wants to renovate the mill on the estate and get it back into production in order to provide jobs for the tenants. To do this, he needs money, but when the will is read, his plans suffer a setback. Constantine gets the title, all the entailed property and he’s named as Luke’s guardian. Jane gets everything else – money, stock, jewels, art and more. She is a very wealthy woman, while Constantine is land rich and cash poor.

Despite her new wealth, Jane isn’t very happy since she does not have custody of Luke. The obvious solution for her problem (and Constantine’s) is for them to marry. But Jane’s experience of sex with her first husband was not good at all, and she is scared of Constantine’s rakish reputation. It seems an impasse. But as they get to know each other better, the atmosphere between them changes and they discover that first impressions can be very misleading.

At first glance one might think that Jane is cold, reserved and stand-offish, but that’s not the case. Jane’s true nature shows in the warm and loving relationship she has with Luke. Owing to her background, she does have trust issues. I wish that Brooke had explored Jane’s past more than she did since it was very clear that Jane had been molded by her difficult childhood.

Constantine, at first glance, is a rake pure and simple, but that’s only the mask he wears in public. His bad reputation is unfounded – he is more sinned against than sinner and he’s actually a kind and hardworking young man with a social conscience that many of the ton (who are quick to condemn him) totally lack. Gradually, he begins to drop the mask around Jane, and slowly they begin to see each other as they really are.

The gradual character development is the best thing about Heiress in Love. I loved seeing how Jane and Constantine bring out the best in each other, and the author handles their developing love for and trust in each other very well. I wish we could have had more of their earlier lives explored since that affected them both so much. The whole Ministry of Marriage thread in the plot was muddled and silly and I could have done without it. But on the whole, this was a very good novel.

Jane has several friends who are also wards of the Duke and I am sure they will get their own books in the future. I will certainly read them. Historical romance is still my favorite sub-genre and I am always delighted to find a promising author.