The Redwyck Charm features Marcus Redwyck, Earl of Amberley, a charming beta hero. Marcus is good, kind, decent, hardworking, and that rare creature, a male virgin. Beta heroes are sometimes dull, but Marcus was too intense to be dull and I thought he was the best thing in the book. If only the heroine, Julianna, had been as likable as Marcus, this book would have been even better, but she took stubborness to pigheaded levels.

The Redwyck men are all charming as can be. If charm equaled money, the family could buy the entire British Empire, but alas, for several generations, the Redwycks have frittered away money like they had their own mint. Marcus, the newest holder of the title, must support a mother and sister, has mounds of debt and no way to pay them except through marriate to an heiress. Luckily Julianna Hutton’s wealthy cit grandfather wants her to marry a title. Marcus is willing.

But Julianna is not. She has been courted by several shady characters and the experience left her with a distaste for marriage and men in general. When Marcus comes to call, he is told that Miss Hutton is indisposed due to an illness. Actually she has slipped off and taken a job as a ballet dancer to prove to her grandfather she can support herself.

While waiting for Julianna to recover, Marcus meets with some of his friends, and they decide to go to the opera to flirt with the dancers. Seems there is this new one, Mademoiselle Juliette, who is lovely beyond words (although not the best dancer). Marcus pretends to be Lord Dare, not wanting any word of gossip about him to get to the Huttons, and sets off to meet Mademoiselle Juliette. When they meet, sparks fly between them despite themselves. But secrets have a way of getting out, and when they do….

Marcus comes across as very sober and serious at first, which is perfectly understandable considering his circumstances. Burdened with responsibility and debts, he knows he has to get some money, and if it means making a loveless marriage, well, he’ll just make that sacrifice. There were a few times during the novel when I wanted Marcus to be more assertive, but he is a beta hero, after all, and a good one.

Julianna is an intelligent young woman whose experiences with the opposite sex have not been very good. She is beautiful and very rich, and that combination attracted every fortune-hunting ninny for miles around. No wonder she has such a low opinion of the male sex. My problem with her was that she hung on to her low opinions of men even after anyone could see that Marcus was a fine man. There were times I wondered why Marcus put up with her at all.

The secondary characters, especially Julianna’s grandfather and Marcus’ mother and sister, were very interesting but undeveloped. Marcus’s mother had the potential to be a very colorful character – she used to tell him and his sister wild stories and wrote a manuscript accepted by Minerva Press. But these characters eventually fade away and we don’t see much of them.

Despite the few problems I had with the book, I enjoyed it very much. I’ve read one other book by Elena Green, The Incorrigible Lady Catherine, whose characters make an appearance here. Both are enjoyable reads, and if you like beta heroes and virgin heroes, give The Redwyck Charm a try.