As I read through this book, I kept stopping to wonder why I wasn’t enjoying it more. It’s not your typical Regency Romance; there are no house parties or endless speculation about the marriage mart. But I often enjoy Regencies that break the typical mold. The hero and heroine are both basically likable people. Finally I put my finger on it: there was no romance.

Amanda Tremayne is a desperate woman. Her father, once a decorated naval captain, was found guilty of treason and hanged. Her mother died six months later. All his lands and property were seized, so now she’s living in poverty, working as a seamstress to support herself and her grandmother in London. Amanda has letters from her father that prove his innocence, but no one at the admiralty will give her the time of day. Determined to restore his good name, she finagles an invitation to a party at the home of Admiral Locke, her father’s former commander. The letters implicate him as the guilty one, and Amanda hopes to search his study while she’s at the party.

She does search his study, but before she can find anything she is caught be Captain Jack Everly, who happens to be in the study for the same reason. Jack is working for the admiralty, who also suspect Locke of treason. They believe it may extend far beyond just Locke, and they want Everly to find the proof. When Amanda first sees Jack, she’s furious, because she knows he was on the tribunal that convicted her father. But because Jack and Amanda both have information that is needed by the other, they decide to form a partnership of sorts and work together to dig up dirt on Locke. This involves a scheme to return to Locke’s house during an intimate soiree, and Amanda must dress as a prostitute. Not much else happens, except a prolonged action sequence at the end that seems to go on forever.

Had I gotten to know Jack and Amanda better, I think I would have liked them. Amanda was a little madcap for my taste, but I did like to way she was determined to take matters into her own hands and work to prove her father’s innocence. Jack suffered an injury in the war, and now endures unkind comments from the citizens he fought to protect. He seemed like a decent enough guy. The problem with both of them is that they have almost no meaningful interaction. It’s tough to imagine any kind of marriage between these two, because they are only together about three or four times. Since Amanda spent most of this time either pretending to be a whore or trying to escape certain death, there really wasn’t much “getting to know you” time. The only thing they learned about each other was that they shared a predilection for adapting naval analogies to every possible circumstance.

The other thing that bothered me about this book was that the whole plot involving the navy made little sense. Granted, I’m no expert on British naval regulations, but it seemed odd to me that Amanda’s father, who was well-respected, would be tried, convicted, and executed so quickly – particularly when the admiralty already suspected his commander of treason. Since no one at the admiralty seemed to like Locke, I couldn’t figure out how he had risen so high in the ranks to begin with. Similarly, there is another villain who is uncovered at the end, and his involvement seems really farfetched.

I suppose not everyone reads romance for the romance. If relationship development is just window dressing to you, you might find The Traitor’s Daughter more to your taste. But why would you read a romance with no romance? You got me.