Julia Justiss has generally been a solidly performing writer, judging by her reviews here at AAR (and my own limited experience). Her latest, Society’s Most Disreputable Gentleman, adds another good book to her ranks.

Greville Anders was a self-centered society gentleman, preferring to spend more time at parties and racing than tending to his property — until he was pressed into serving on a naval ship. Forced into the role of a common sailor, Greville is forced to reevaluate life and his role in it. When he is wounded in battle, he is sent to a friend of his marquess cousin’s to heal, before reporting to service and hopefully being discharged from the Navy.

It is upon his arrival that the book opens. Neither he nor the Neville family are what the other expects; he arrives in rags, still very weak from his wound, unshaven and unkempt — not the Naval officer Amanda Neville and her father, Lord Bronning, had believed he was. And the family is strained. Amanda’s mother and aunt died the previous year, leaving her the head of the household, her father heartbroken, her brother a wastrel sent home from Oxford, and her younger cousin resentful and disobedient — and the nearby villagers and farmers ready to come to arms over someone violent taking advantage of– and committing violence against — the locals. But surprisingly, Greville is exactly what Ashton Grove needs, and as he and Amanda get to know each other, their mutual affection grows.

Upon first meeting Amanda, she gives the impression of a superficial, managing young woman that has her pliable father wrapped around her finger. Luckily, after this first appearance, she grows far, far more likable — into a young woman who has repeatedly put off her own life because of familial misfortunes, the most recent of which being the death of the two women in her life. Likewise, seemingly one-dimensional characters (like Amanda’s younger cousin) gained depth as the story went on, and thus became more likable.

Greville and Amanda have some lovely moments together, though I didn’t quite believe the major roadblock in their relationship: their disparate social statuses. Greville feels convinced that he is far below Amanda’s station and thus unworthy of her, but this is juxtaposed with the fact that he is related to a marquess and spent his time prior to his impressment living as a lazy society gentleman. There certainly are differences between their stations in life, she being the daughter of a lord, but neither is he a groom or a footman — it wasn’t all quite as dire as he made it seem.

With the exception of the war smuggling subplot, I would say that this is a fairly quiet romance about two people getting to know each other, falling in love, and eventually overcoming their obstacles. We don’t see much of Greville’s development as a character, as much of it happened before this book begins, but at the same time I appreciated his growth, and felt he and Amanda were well matched.