Amanda is on her way to London where her parents and older sister already are for the season when the carriage breaks down she sees what she thinks is an old ruin and goes to explore.She is warned away by a man who she finds rude.

Her sister Isabella is in love with the son of the local squire back home,John Webster who asked her to marry him.But their mother wants Isabella to make a brilliant marriage and has convinced her to accept Charles Barsett,whose father is an earl and an old friend of Amanda and Isabellas father.

When Charles was born his mother died something his father has never forgiven him for and was cold to him always comparing him with his cousin.This has led him to live down to his fathers picture of him and put up an cold and indifferent face to the world.His father tells him he should marry and Charles not caring who he marries proposed to Isabella.

Amanda recognizing Charles as the rude man who warned her away from the ruin (actually an Abbey and not a ruin at all) and knowing her sister is in love with someone else and hearing Charles has a reputation as a rake,decides she will unmask him as the horrible man he is.

This will surely make Isabella see he is not someone she should marry.

I found this book just an ok read wich was disappointing as I had been hoping to read this for a while and was very happy when I saw it was available as an ebook.

I felt too much time was spent finding out the mystery of the abbey rather than take time to evolve the relationship between Amanda and Charles I sometimes wanted to shout at Amanda come on its not that big of a mystery "its a bunch bored upper class guys playing at being satanists"

@GrowlyCub This one has a male POV,but the hero is one of those "fake" rakes. Lots of talk about his rakishness.
— Kagama(@litrvixen) 8 august 2015
@litrvixen well, real ones make lousy heroes bec they have the pox:)
— GC (@GrowlyCub) 8 august 2015
@GrowlyCub Miss GrowlyCub! Ladies are not supposed to know about...er gentlemens maladies!
— Kagama(@litrvixen) 8 augusti 2015



Amanda was a bit too much at times,she was always ON I dont mind a spirited heroine but she was just exhausting she didnt really have any downtime.

There were also some typos in this for instance Barsett with regular intervals becomes Barlett.

In the end everything is put to rights in my mind a bit too easily. ( )

I think I recall this one from 30-odd years ago, but it was long culled from my collection if I actually owned it rather than borrowing it from the library.

Miss Amanda Twyford is travelling with her governess to join her parents and elder sister in London. Suffering an accident to her carriage, she goes exploring while waiting for her coachman to return with the blacksmith, and enters the grounds of Medmenham Abbey (yes, the one owned by Francis Dashwood). Encountering a gentleman who escorts her off the premises, she resumes her journey to London, where her elder sister has become engaged to Charles Barsett even though she loves another.

Very light, I think I know why it was culled; I thought the heroine too immature and not entirely sympathetic (basically, too much the schoolgirl). With a more mature heroine, this would have been a keeper. As it is, I probably won't bother rereading it.