Lady Genevra Haven is dismayed when he mother demands she remove her spectacles upon entering Almack’s.  What starts off as a pleasant evening dissolves into a nightmare when Genevra is separated from her companions and forced to find her way around.  She stumbles into scenarios unsuitable for a respectable young lady until she must use all her wits to locate her family.   

The difficulties of making a successful match and debut at the infamous Marriage Mart is charmingly recounted through the eyes of a myopic young beauty.  Genevra manages to keep her head despite the disadvantages of blurred vision, rogues, rakes, merry widows and fair-weather friends.  I admired her spirit and intelligence.  Regency romance heroines in traditional tales are often placed in peril, waiting to be saved by the dashing hero.  Genevra is self-reliant; resilient despite the obstacles and hazards she faces in an establishment where she should not have to guard her virtue and reputation against ruin.  What’s most interesting is young women of the ton could be preyed upon as easily as their less well-to-do counterparts.  In this sense, I determined just how much (or how little) progress women have made in terms of safety in situations where the potential for disaster abounds.   

Lesley-Anne McCleod belongs to the new breed of authors moving the historical romance genre forward.  Everything exudes bright energy by offering us characters and plots with another twist in a familiar framework.  Bolstered by entrancing characters, accurate historical details and a vividly entrancing setting, Lost in Almack’s reminded me of why I never lose my enthusiasm for Regency romance fiction.