Miss Ellen Grimsley is constantly getting herself into trouble for doing things like correcting the Vicar when he tries to teach her younger brother Ralph that the capital of America is Boston. Ellen knows lots of things, including that the capital of America is Washington, DC, but as a woman, she's not allowed to have any higher learning. She would love nothing better than to be allowed to attend Oxford, instead of her older brother Gordon who would rather be in the army fighting in Spain. But she is a woman, and she feels that she has no hope of ever being able to attend Oxford. That all changes when her father wants a bottle of Fortaleza sherry to toast with at her sister's upcoming wedding. With the war, there's only one place that a bottle of that will be found, her aunt who doesn't get along with her father. Ellen knows that she can charm at least one bottle from her aunt, and she's thrilled when her father tells her that one bottle will be worth a special wish for Ellen, being able to attend Miss Dignam's school in Oxford. When she wins the wish, she never expects to end up in a crazy situation that finds her dressing as a boy and attending class for Gordon, or falling in love with a charming student.
I LOVE Carla Kelly's female heroins. They always have such distinctive personalities and Ellen Grimsley is no different, she's bold, daring and always getting herself into scrapes and troubles that would best be avoided. I like the way her family is so zany. They all have crazy personalities that Ellen is a saint for learning and putting up with. I love the feel of this novel, you feel as though you are transported to Oxford, England in the 1800's. The plot of this one is really fun too, with lots of craziness because of the characters and the situations they get themselves into. This is a clean, fun, romantic read!Labels: carla kelly, Clean Romance
