April Lady (by Georgette Heyer)

(Amazon UK link)

I love Georgette Heyer's novels! I have most of them in my collection, and re-read them all periodically, particularly her Regency romances.

'April Lady' features young Nell, Lady Cardross, who adores her wealthy husband but is afraid to let him know. This is because her well-meaning but straitlaced mother informed her that husbands do not like their wives to be emotional.

Moreover, Nell is not at all good with money, and as the book starts, has overspent her allowance yet again. She has also lent money to her brother, a spendthrift gamester, even though her husband has asked her not to.

As she tries to avert several crises, Nell becomes more and more unhappy, with miscommunications abounding, until - as always with Heyer's novels - a final, happy denouement.

Enjoyable and fast-paced, with characters who seem real and sympathetic. Recommended.

(I've written a slightly longer review of April Lady when I re-read the book a few years later)