A Dangerous Madness

A Dangerous Madness (2014) Michelle Diener (Regency London)

Set in England in 1812

Phoebe’s betrothed’s forceful whisper was as loud as her soft-spoken question, but she bit her tongue.

She wondered what her tongue would look like after they’d spent a lifetime together. Maybe one day she’d bite it in half.

She ached to break the rules, to heave off the yoke of polite manners that kept her small and cowed and unable to follow her inclinations. But the cruel joke was she did not want to be alone, either. Did not want to be a social pariah.

Impotent rage, her old friend, ran a familiar hand down her back and she stiffened under its hot, prickly fingers. Why shouldn’t she speak with someone? With whomever she pleased? She was twenty-four years old, responsible, intelligent.

She had all but accepted the anger and the frustration as constant companions, but Sheldrake cutting her free, the incidents of the last day, opened her eyes to how big they had grown, hulking beasts that rubbed up against her. Crowding her and making her life smaller.

Rating: 8.5/10

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