Lucia Wright has been given an invite to spend a season in London with an old school chum. Since the passing of her mother, Lucia has been caring for her mentally unbalanced brother and sister, who are twins. Geoffrey, her brother, goes through his life thinking he has different careers, one minute a blacksmith, next practicing law, the next a poacher. Helen, the other twin spends her time collecting water samples, to dissecting eggs at breakfast, so when Lucia gets the invite to London she jumps at the opportunity. Ever since Edmund Rutherford was a young boy, he has been betrothed to Jeanne Newman, a situation that displeases him. He wants to end the engagement but his attempts haven’t struck a chord with her. The only other possible solution is to behave so crazy insane that it will push her completely away from him. He never imagined another could foil his plans with even more complete madness. When Lucia meets Edmund they feel an equal attraction for the other, but not long after Lucia’s feet seem to be firmly planted, her brother and sister are soon joining her. In no time Edmund and Lucia are pulled into a web of family occurrences that seem to show a different facet of cards when they are together. One minute Edmund appears completely sane while the next he seems disturbed. When chaos turns foul for Edmund, Lucia comes to his rescue but she wonders can she really find happiness with a disturbed person after raising two imbalanced twins.

A Certain Want of Reason is a magnificent spin on a regency romance. I was immediately drawn into the writing and the characters. Lucia and Edmund are well-rounded individuals and give much realism to the storyline. Their personalities stand out in this great tale. I felt for Lucia and all that had been dealt to her with the responsibilities she was faced. I found her character most admirable and kept my fingers crossed that she would finally find some form of happiness. The additional cast members were thoroughly engaging while the dialogue and plot was distinctive. Kate Dolan sketches a wonderful masterpiece that flows fluently practically making the characters jump from the pages. The way she creates the mentally imbalanced twins to Edmund trying to play his own game of madness is in-depth and colorful. I don’t recall ever reading such a story that practically touched on every fiber. Ms. Dolan takes a bad situation among families and spins a most stirring read on redemption, romance, and understanding one’s self in this recommended read.

Reviewed by: Linda L.