The Bridal Season    by Connie Brockway Order:  USA  Can Dell, 2001 (2001) Paperback     Reviewed by Rashmi Srinivas When Connie Brockway introduces her bold and brash heroine '... known for her spit-in-your-eye spirit, quick wit and ready smile. Saucy, bold Letty Potts ', she paves the way for an audacious story of love and liberation. Letty acts as a music hall comedienne, at least for most of the time. Rest of the time, she works in cahoots with Nick Sparkle, duping the rich and separating them from their money. But when Nick's schemes grow more daring and dangerous, Letty refuses to work with him. He torches her lodging house in a bid to terrorize her into cooperating. With nothing but her dog left to her in the entire world, Letty goes to the St. Pancras station and is at her wit's end, when she overhears a peculiar conversation. As a result of Letty's interference, Lady Agatha Whyte happily leaves the station to get married to M. Arnoux, and accidentally drops her train ticket to a provincial little town called Little Bidewell, which our ever-resourceful heroine scoops up and uses. Upon arrival, she is mistaken for the wedding organizer, Lady Agatha Whyte, and so the charade is on. This stunningly attractive and oh-so-down-to-earth supposedly-duke's daughter captivates everyone in Little Bidewell; everyone except Sir Elliot March, that is. Is it because he is the local magistrate, the slum lingo used by the so-called duke's daughter, or the fact that he is way too intrigued by this suspicious stranger? In her turn, Letty is enthralled by the sensual, aristocratic war hero and finds herself irked and challenged by his reputation for forever mourning his lost love. How these two headstrong individuals (one without a scrupulous bone in her entire luscious body and one whose life is the epitome of honor) manage to fall in love against all odds, centers this entertaining and compelling novel. But it is the climax and the amazing ending which take the cake. Letty's character, her hilarious quips and outrageous actions, along with a host of charming small-town secondary characters, are highly enjoyable. Witty dialogue and amusing observations make this book a joy to read. The best part is that Brockway has an actress as her tale's heroine, not one of those innumerable and repetitive genteel Lady so-and-so's. Letty is unapologetically common and revels in it. The vivid description of life in a little provincial town, in the last decade of Victoria's reign, is also well done. To sum it up, The Bridal Season is a guaranteed recipe for amusing mayhem! Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Romance books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews