My huge thanks to Libby Haddock at Allison and Busby for sending me a copy of The Runaway Heiress by Emma Orchard in return for an honest review. It’s so good to read in a genre that doesn’t usually appear on Linda’s Book Bag and I’m delighted to share my review today.

The Runaway Heiress is published by Allison and Busby on 2nd November 2023 and is available for purchase here and directly through the publisher here.

The Runaway Heiress

London, 1815. Cassandra Hazeldon is on the run.

Under duress to marry a repellent friend of her uncle, Cassandra has made her escape, but now she is very much alone. With luck and quick thinking, she finds a refuge in a grand mansion in Mayfair, and a protector in Lord Irlam, or Hal to his friends.

Posing as a friend of Hal’s sister, Cassandra is swept up into the social whirl of a Brighton summer. But the attraction between her and Hal is starting to scorch, and when jealousy is added to the mix, things are set to reach boiling point.

My Review of The Runaway Heiress

Cassandra’s on the run. 

If you’re expecting demure, socially constrained Regency niceties in The Runaway Heiress you have chosen the wrong book! Emma Orchard’s story is fast paced and absolutely sizzles with sexual tension and some pretty racy passages that make not only Cass and Hal hot under the collar, but are highly charged for the reader too! 

Certainly the era is satisfyingly portrayed, particularly through the author’s style and direct speech so that the time is conveyed completely convincingly. Aspects like betrothal, reputation, wealth and so on all fit the genre really well, but it was the dramatic, stormy and very sexy relationship between Cass and Hal that I so enjoyed. 

Hal is a wonderful contradiction of conventional manners, caring for his orphaned younger siblings and upholding reputations, whilst simmering with desire for Cassandra. Cass, meanwhile, is passionate, scrupulously honest and strong, yet vulnerable and threatened so that between the two they epitomise the need to uphold the veneer of civilised behaviour whilst desperately wanting to undermine it. This makes for great tension and brilliant romance. 

I loved the plot. It bubbles with just enough historical detail to create interest, involves a wonderful balance of primary and secondary characters and it steams along at a cracking pace. The concept of a female’s place in society also cleverly underpins the narrative so that there’s an added dimension of feminism to enjoy in the story.

Regency romance is a genre I almost never read and indeed have often avoided thinking it wasn’t for me, but I so enjoyed The Runaway Heiress that I might have to revise my opinions!  The Runaway Heiress is a fast-paced, entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable book that held my rapt attention throughout! 

About Emma Orchard

Emma Orchard grew up in Salford and was given tickets to the grown-up library at the age of 11 because she’d read all the children’s books and the librarians were sick of the sight of her. She became obsessed with Georgette Heyer and hasn’t stopped reading her novels since. She studied English Literature at university and went on to work at Mills & Boon and behind the scenes in television and in publishing.

For further information, follow Emma on Twitter/X @EmmaOrchardB and find her on Instagram.