Edith Layton

Regency/3rd of Series of 4

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I'll never forget the first time I strayed.

It was a sultry Southern day ...

"No," I told the handsome stock-boy who'd accompanied me from the Winn-Dixie to my car. "In the front seat."

He smiled at me, confused, a little unsure until I extended toward him my welcoming hands.

And there, in the conditioned air, with hot summer rain pounding on the sunroof, it happened.

I dug into that last bag he'd handed me and pulled out --

My very first romance novel.

When I'd finished reading it, I was stunned by my reaction.

I felt good.

Finally I knew what most of you have known forever: reading a delightful, well-written novel with a happy ending is good for the soul.

Especially when that novel is "Gypsy Lover," the romantic and deliciously sensual new love story by Edith Layton.

Governess Meg Shaw's reputation teeters precariously on the brink of ruin as she sets out unaccompanied to find the impulsive young heiress who's run away on Meg's watch.

Ungodly handsome, and half again as charming, Romany gentleman Daffyd Reynard has been hired to use his "gypsy instincts" to ferret out the heiress and return her to her family.

Throwing caution to the wind, Meg convinces Daffyd to combine forces in their search for the missing young woman.

As they traverse field and byway, both become convinced that they may be in less peril from thieves and ignorant, bigoted country folk than they are from the imprudent attraction they feel for one another.

"Gypsy Lover" is a gentle, beautiful novel -- one which reminds us why we love romance in the first place.

Daffyd and Meg are appealing, yet we often feel their confusion, heartache, and regret as they make choices which hurt each other, or themselves.

And their interaction with marvelous secondary characters like Daffyd's debauched and charming half-brother add color to the already dynamic love story.

But Edith Layton's novels, "Gypsy Lover" in particular, are driven by something almost better than multi-dimensional characters -- superb dialogue.

Layton writes dialogue that is effortlessly read, strands of conversation that are so smooth and authentic to her characters that those series of words can -- and should -- be read over again just to get the rush of emotion they convey a second time.

"Gypsy Lover" is good-for-the-soul romance. I think you'll read it at least a second time once you --

Buy the book.

For info about the other novels in this series, "Alas My Love," and "Return of the Earl," visit www.EdithLayton.com. Edith said she "purely loves" anyone who does.

Next Week's Review and AuthorView: "Sweet Water," by Anna Jeffrey