I think Josie Johns is up there with my favourite writers producing HR at the moment. I remember the plots, I remember the characters - and that says something, when you read a LOT.

I am always a fan of a connected group of people in books and this crowd of Stoics (absolute reprobates) are getting their comeuppance one by one. Anthony Philips is ... well he's a Not A Good Egg. You know in a lot of HRs you get a bit of a vague 'he was a rake' but as soon as this chap steps on to your page he meets his person and that's that - you never actually get more than an abstract "rake in a past life" before they are magically reformed.

Weeeeell Anthony is not that. He's an absolute ratbag. Emma, the heroine (who is... excellent. also flawed but ... excellent) puts it best: "You, Anthony Philips, are a dissipated, drunken, soft, spoiled boy. I hope your cock falls off". That is quote of the year for me, from any book!

One of the things I like best about Josie Johns books is although you do see two characters find each other, they inhabit a world which is difficult, people are mean, people die, they suffer loss. They're also very well written.

In this book, there's a quest-like feel, as Emma passes through her different guises as she chases the Stoics around Europe. It's also unexpectedly sometimes rather sweet - not least that Anthony and Emma connect no matter whether she's posing as a young man headed for Paris, or as a sharp-tongued maid.

It's great. Read it. Read them all!