Otherwise Engaged by Joanna Barker

 Rebecca Rowley is a proper society debutant on the outside, but a rebel on the inside.  She likes to ride, bareback (gasp) when no one is looking, and has entered into a secret engagement while vacationing in Brighton with the son of her parents' sworn enemy.  She and her fiancé decide to return to their respective families and try to discover why they hate each other.  Back home Rebecca meets her handsome new neighbor, Lieutenant Avery, and a quick friendship blooms.  She keeps telling herself that he is just a friend and she is not being disloyal to the love of her life, but the sparks between the two keep flying. Meanwhile she slowly gathers information about her family's past that unsettles her and complicates her plans with her fiancé.  She wants to do what is right, but what if that means denying her heart?

So, this book was about a predictable and stereotypical as it sounds.  Of course, we know what is going to happen and are assured of a happy ending for all, but isn't that why we read these books?  The writing is pretty good, and the characters are interesting enough.  There are a few little plot points that don't quite work, like how do Rebecca and Lieutenant Avery keep meeting in the meadow, day after day, without a chaperone, and never get caught?  Doesn't anyone notice that they are both gone for hours at a time, at the same time almost every day?  I also read a comment that the descriptions of her riding bareback were totally unrealistic.  Still, I enjoyed it and it met the need that I always have when I pick one of these sentimental historical romances--entertainment, and escape from the stresses of life. (2022, I couldn't find a listing of how many pages it has, but the recording was 9 hrs.)