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The Edge of Impropriety, and Why I Liked It

I’m not a fan of romances, but I do like me a historical romance every now and then.

So in between reading Blindness by Saramago, and We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver, I fitted in The Edge of Impropriety, by Pam Rosenthal. I find that I need to mix up my books– too much heavy reading and I’m depressed, too dark, and I’m psyched. I need light reading to liven up things, which is where The Edge of Impropriety came in.

Excerpt from the book: in the voice of Sydney, the 13-yr old niece of the hero

I loved that it is so well written (I find so many romances aren’t), and then it has these characters from different walks of life, not the main characters but the supporting cast, with their own walks of life, which allows Rosenthal to reinforce her Regency setting with bits and pieces of reality. I love their voices, the perspectives they bring to the historical setting and how well they fit in with the main structure of the novel, without compromising on its genre, which remains, firmly, historical romance. 

And the erotica remains subtle, well-placed, not heavy-breathing cheapness, but a tender rendering with lots of poetic detail.

Pick up this book if you like historical romances. You might enjoy reading it as much as I did.

Damyanti Biswas

Damyanti Biswas is the author of You Beneath Your Skin and numerous short stories that have been published in magazines and anthologies in the US, the UK, and Asia. She has been shortlisted for Best Small Fictions and Bath Novel Awards and is co-editor of the Forge Literary Magazine. Her literary crime thriller series, the Blue Mumbai, is represented by Lucienne Diver from The Knight Agency. Both The Blue Bar and The Blue Monsoon were published in 2023.

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