A Heart Revealed by Josi Kilpack

    
     Thomas Richards has come to London from the wilds of Yorkshire to find a wife. Instead, he finds himself uncomfortable among the ton with their insincerity and manipulations. Thus, he cannot understand why he is so drawn to Amber Sterlington, the Rage of the Season.  Her beauty is dazzling, but her manners deceptive, and she is definitely beyond his reach.
     Amber Sterlington knows her purpose.  She's been raised for this season.  She knows she can choose whomever she wants, and she wants a husband with a title and a fortune.  Love has no place in her decision; neither does Mr. Richards, third son of a country lord.
     But, within a matter of weeks, her standing within the ton is compromised, then destroyed when she is publicly disgraced.  Her parents pack her off north to spare themselves the embarrassment.  She must survive alone with the exception of a maid, and Amber must face and then accept her new place in the world.
     Of course, regency romances are predictable and perhaps that is why we come back to the Cinderella elements so often present in them.  We can depend on these novels' plots.  But, what keeps me reading are the characters, and Kilpack is a master of character development. 
      Amber isn't very likeable in the beginning with her tantrums, manipulations, and cruelty.  She is playing the game her society has set her up to play, and she means to win.  Once she is cast off by this society, she struggles.  Thankfully, she isn't suddenly a humble, kind woman of character.  Kilpack works Amber.  Her transition is incremental: a little change here, a small epiphany there and slowly, realistically she develops.  She becomes genuine, real.  This is the part of the story I loved, Amber's growth.  Of course, the potential for a relationship with Richards and the tension created by her desire to protect herself from further rejection drew me into the plot of the novel.
       I highly recommend A Heart Revealed to romance readers, especially those who want to see the characters who become more than just stereotypical romance heroes.