And then along come lines or phrases like the above. Her prose slips by effortlessly, never intruding on the story. Ms Long clearly has the writer's equivalent of perfect pitch.

Never before this endless languorous falling, falling.' It's not often that a single line in a book pulls me up short and makes me want to go back and read it again, just to relish the delicious flavour: This part of the novel was particularly well written and utterly convincing. In helping Rebecca to escape from an unwanted marriage, Connor seeks refuge among a band of travelling gypsies. Instead, they spring to life from the pages of the book and entrance the reader. Connor, a reluctant duke posing as an Irish groom, and Rebecca, the girl he's seen grow from a precocious and joyful scamp into a brilliant young woman, could so easily have ended up as stereotypes or cardboard cutouts. Connor and Rebecca's mad dash across England, pursued by hired thugs, reminded me of Hitchcock's rewrite of John Buchan's, and was just as gripping and exciting. Where to start? This book was a sheer delight to read, a page-turner from beginning to end. If you want a fast easy read to just kill some hours this book would satisfy the need. This book had some delightful come out of nowhere funny parts and the 'villains' weren't over the top (sometimes I like Cruella Devilles though) but if someone asked me about this book I would probably just say 'eh'. Not to mention Rebecca's sister Lorelei (16yrs or so) falls in love with a man who is just shy of being her father's age. Connor being 29 and Rebecca just turning 18 was really close to the 'ick' factor for me. When Connor helps Rebecca escape and they travel together, then they seem to realize 'hey remember all those yrs before? Yeah well we bonded and feel in love because of all those moments that happened, but you won't get to read about them.' Not getting to read about those moments are a little understandable because Rebecca is only 17 when she runs away with Connor and then fortuitously turns 18 during their trip. I felt disappointed like I had missed them falling in love, Rebecca and Connor seem to really bond and connect before the story starts. The sex and 'I love you' scene seemed to come up really quickly for me. I have to give props to Julie Anne Long for writing in such a surprising scene, it's hard to shock me but I almost slid off the couch when it was revealed the locket Rebecca stole, to help fund her escape plan had an inscription to Roarke Blackburn, Connor's real name. I found myself really liking the character of Rebecca, she had a sort of exuberant naiveté which was endearing. The beginning of the book had me thinking it would be a light good hearted read and it pretty much was from start to finish.

The Runaway Duke by Julie Anne Long