Jura is a small country whose sovereign, Prince Augustus, is determined that it remain independent and not be swallowed up by the Austrian Empire. He has fought on the side of Great Britain and the allies against Napoleon who had occupied Jura. Augustus forms an alliance with Great Britain – an alliance that is opposed by some of the nobility in Jura. To further his cause, Augustus plans to marry a bride from the English nobility and chooses Lady Lydia Debritt – a distant cousin whose family (her father is the Earl of Beaufort) has political influence.

Lydia is a beautiful but shallow young woman whose reaction to the marriage proposal is to go on a spending spree in order to outfit herself as befits her new position. Augustus finds himself spending lots of time with Lydia’s younger sister, 17 year old Charity. Charity is not a flighty miss; she is a sensible young women resembles her intelligent father rather than her fashionable mother and sister. While Charity is a pretty young woman, clothing and parties are not high on her list of favorite things. Instead, she loves the outdoors and is a skilled horsewoman. Charity is well-read and can discuss the problems that are facing Augustus in his attempts to keep Jura a free country. Pretty soon, they are good friends, although Augustus still thinks of her as “a pretty child.”

When Lydia runs off with Augustus’s cousin Franz, shortly before the wedding, he marries Charity instead, but promises not to consummate the marriage until she is older. That promise causes pain to both of them since Charity has fallen in love with Augustus. Charity may be only 17, but she is mature and capable of knowing her own feelings. Augustus is torn between his promise to Charity and his growing love and desire for her. At one point, he hurts Charity deeply by briefly going back to an old mistress. They both suffer from misunderstandings and hurt until they finally admit the truth to each other and then together try to make their way through diplomatic and political treachery.

I thought that Charity’s age would be a major ick factor, but it was not at all, because of her character – she was convincingly mature beyond her years. Charity reminded me very strongly of Queen Victoria’s oldest daughter Vicky. Vicky was an intelligent young woman, who like Charity was thrown into a hotbed of diplomatic intrigue when she married the heir to the Prussian throne at the age of 17. Joan Wolf gives us a wonderful portrait of Charity – a young woman who through loving and being loved gains emotional maturity to match her intellectual maturity.

Augustus too, is an intriguing and ultimately wonderful hero. He is not a 21st century man in knee breeches, nor is he the typical rakish rogue of the average romance novel. Age 28, Augustus has faced war and responsibilities that would tax a much older man, but he has been trained for his position since birth. I loved how Augustus slowly realizes how perfectly he and Charity complement each other. These two are a couple who are made to be together.

I have read a number of Joan Wolf’s romances – both traditional Regencies and historicals. You can depend on her for intelligent characters, and unique stories told in a distinctive style. If you are tired of historical romances with overbearing rakes and TSTL misses, give Royal Bride a try – I think you will be pleasantly surprised.