Susan Fyfield has sneaked into the gardens of Strawberry Hill and meets the owner, Horace Walpole and his guest, Beau Eversley. The Beau is the elder brother of her schoolfriend, Georgiana Eversley, and she has been day-dreaming about him.

Susan leaves school and returns to her aunt and betrothed cousin where she declares she, too, is betrothed, but not to who. In the course of the ensuing events, Susan discovers she is a fosterling and not a Fyfield after all - but does discover her true parentage.

The four books are reviewed as a whole in the 4th book.

This is the first time that I have read anything by this author, Alice Chetwynd Ley. [b:The Clandestine Betrothal|27342978|The Clandestine Betrothal|Alice Chetwynd Ley|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1446048247s/27342978.jpg|8911695] is a regency romance with a touch of mystery that was originally published in the 1960's.

Featured are the expected confused ingénue heroine and the hero who adheres to regency romance rules in being typically superior in almost every aspect. Naturally there is a supporting cast of peripheral characters who are immediately extremely concerned with the heroine after knowing her for a short time. There are also no real villains, which leaves this story feeling a bit unbalanced.

The writing style is slightly reminiscent of Georgette Heyer, although less profound and missing the droll dialogue and endearing characters. If you enjoy regencies other than those by Georgette Heyer, I would recommend [b:The Clandestine Betrothal|27342978|The Clandestine Betrothal|Alice Chetwynd Ley|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1446048247s/27342978.jpg|8911695]. If you are a die-hard Heyer fan, this does not quite hit the mark.

**eARC netgalley** ( )