As any fan of the Regency period (or at least of Regency novels) knows, an unattached young woman with a fortune is a tempting lady indeed. More than aware of this appeal and firm in the belief that Lady Emily can’t be trusted to find her own husband without being taken in by fortune hunters, her four older brothers determine to find a husband for her.

Needless to say, Lady Emily is not too keen on this idea. After learning of their plan, she travels to the country house where her dearest friend Jane Greenwell lives with Lady Agatha, the woman who essentially raised her. Upon her arrival, Emily is shocked to find Jane’s legal guardian, Jared, Earl of Stonebridge – the man who broke Emily’s heart by jilting her and marrying another woman.

Unknown to Emily, Jared is present at his country house to keep an eye on her and to keep unapproved suitors at bay. Now a widower, Jared finds that he is still drawn to the woman he loved several years before. For her part, despite her deep hurt at Jared’s behavior, Emily cannot help being drawn to him as well. As the two spend time together in the country, they find themselves trying to work through what happened in the past and to see what the future might hold.

Both Emily and Jared are appealing characters and their scenes together in the country are some of the strongest in the book. The conflict between them is well-rendered and their reactions are quite believable.

Unfortunately, these strengths in characterization are countered by a spy subplot that, even though it’s an interesting tale, doesn’t enhance the characters and their story or fit comfortably into the mood of this novel. Just when I was starting to become engrossed in Emily and Jared’s story, the spy issue would come creeping in and make things so much more tedious – not to mention less believable.

In addition, most of the secondary characters are caricatures more than anything else. Emily, Jared, and their families have an interesting history that is lost whenever Emily’s brother or Jared’s ward come on the scene. Further, the reader never gets a real sense of who Jane Greenwell is and Emily’s brothers just seem to be a flatly drawn, misogynistic lot of oafs.

While the central love story in The Rejected Suitor was a touching one, it tends to get lost in a sea of extraneous detail, with the end result of burying a rather good love story in rather average surroundings. The Rejected Suitor is not a bad debut novel overall, though, and this author shows some promise for the future. If her next tale is more streamlined than this one, she may be one to watch.