I really liked this enough to read it all in one sitting! It was sweet and unpredictable in places such as the kidnapping that was a surprise! Still loved it and will be reading the sequal soon!

*favourited*

This was such a cute story! :)

Ri

This sounds like a very promising story. Can't wait to read the next chapters! :)

Side note: Nerdfighters, I couldn't help but think about 'Debutantes Fame Tarnished By Affairs' when I read the title and summary. XD

Before I begin proper, I would like to clarify that I'm not exactly a fan of the romance genre. Therefore, anything stated in this review is purely my opinion and other romance fans are likely to disagree with it. If I offend anyone, I offer my sincerest apologies.

Any story requires a great character, one that will drive the story and allow the reader to sympathise with him/her. Unfortunately, Priscilla reminds me a lot of Bella Swan of Twilight - throughly whiny, petulant, stubborn, flighty, hypocritical and vapid. Not to mention vain, in how she constantly compares her suitors and comments on her clothes. I couldn't sympathise with her at all - and this is coming from the person who sympathises with rapists and people of their ilk in novels (Think Humbert Humbert of Lolita). Now, while unsavory characters may be slightly redeemed through the use of graceful language (and in so, exploring the theme of the ability of language to deceive and gain sympathy), I found the language in dialogue overly pretentious. Priscilla constantly harps on her 'virtue' and 'reputation' - yet she does absolutely nothing at all to attempt to salvage it. Instead, being headstrong and impulsive, she seems bent on rejecting all notions of proper self-control. Herein lies the irony: If one is truly proud of one's virtue, one would not constantly try to highlight it mentally or acknowledge it overtly. It is just there, and there is no need to attempt to emphasise it.

This is one of the main flaws of the story. There seems to be quite a good deal of unintentional irony going on: Priscilla claiming herself to be clever, and headstrong, even going to the extent of seeking justice for her father, only to be thwarted by the simple fact that she is a 'woman'. After portraying Priscilla to be a 'strong' character, you'd think she'd invest more effort into truly uplifting herself above patriachy by, for example, attempting to study legal documents - But no, instead she wallows in self pity, flings baseless accusations, and finds reasons to justify her helplessness. Another example would be the attempt by Priscilla to run away - Running is typically depicted as a metaphor for cowardice, a method for a protagonist to attempt to 'seize control' of her life and make independent decisions. Unfortunately, it has been thwarted by the excuse that she doesn't know where her trunks are! Really. Honey, if you were that desperate, you'd spend more effort searching around, or taking the bedclothes and bundling your clothes together.

On to Ethan. You're probably trying to establish him as some sort of Byronic antihero (forgive me if I am wrong). All the typical accusations of 'rakes' of this genre apply: overcontrolling, macho, typical 'sexy' cardboard prince. His attitude towards women, and behaviour towards Priscilla -particularly his rough handling in an attempt to control her - leaves much to be desired. However, this is a fault of the romance genre, so it's slightly more forgivable in this case.

Lastly. Authenticity. You stated in your prologue - which, incidentally, perked my interest and prompted me to give this a chance - that this will be as historically accurate as possible. If only this was shown in the dialogue, in terms of their diction and particular turns of phrases. Heck, even some background as to the type of music popular (this can be covertly slipped into the balls, where you can further convince readers of Priscilla's love of music by having her take note of it firsthand in balls, playing the piano, etc.)

To be fair I am unable to finish this story, so my polemic may be inaccurate in some parts, and will not reflect the quality of the writing later on in the story. I found this an immense pity because I would have liked to know how the characters resolve their various conflicts. Judging from the review-to-chapters ratio, this story is well-loved by most of the audience members. As such, I think this does have so much potential to be Great with a capital G - heck, even published, since it has established some rapport with the audience. Perhaps more care can be devoted to characterisation – I must admit that I am harsher and more critical due to my dislike of Priscilla. Once again, I apologise if I offend you (or anyone else) with my blunt honesty). Keep writing and improving!

You should write a story about Sebastian. I really loved his character.

wow

that is all i can say

wow

i absolutely loved this .

well done xD

So I read this whole story while I was suppose to be doing something else productive... but Loved it!

If it were possible there would be this humongous (is that spelled right? It doesn't look right to me, but then spelling has never been my strong suit)grinning face that would probably scare some small children. That sounds so weird, but very true as I'm prone to excessive squealing and apparently creepy grinning when I finish stories where the endings are so completely awesome. So just want to put up this little congrats for this story. And that while I finished this awhile ago, I find myself coming back and reading my favorite parts over and over again.

Lily S.

Very nice story...not super accurate on some of the historical parts, but overall, it was pretty good. If you keep writing, you'll be amazing :)

Did Sebastian want her hand in marriage for honorable intentions or for his own selfish reasons?

And what up with the horse?

Either she's just plain old clumsy or extremely accident prone.

I don't like Olive.

Ainsworth sounds like an unmannerly prude.

Poor girl. I know that I shouldn't laugh but I can't seem to help myself.

Wow, I really loved the entire story, and I read it all in one sitting! Event though it was almost 4 in the morning when i had finished and then I passed out...but it was all worth it :)