Through no fault of its own (having been published a full year earlier in 2010), it is difficult to remember that the title of this book is not, in fact, 50 Shades of Milk and Honey, though I am sure there would be a market for Regency BDSM. It is, as advertised, a fun comedy of manners against the backdrop of the Napoleonic wars. Oh, and there's magic, though it's somewhat different from what is presented in Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.
So, go and read it. It's a very fast 300 pages.
thar be spoilers
Given Beth's history, and what we see of her in this book, I don't quite believe that she's still so impressionable and gullible, and so the "reveal" of Dunkirk's character flaws, combined with Jane's sudden interest in Mr. Vincent -- there really isn't a spark between them, so it reads a little as if she only falls in love with Mr. Vincent because he has fallen in love with her (shades of the Princess Frog) -- is not really satisfying. These are minor blemishes on; it's still a good read.
But at any rate, this book's dark secret, likely unknown even to the author, is that it's the greatest piece of Hermione/Snape fan fiction written to date**. To be sure, the names are changed, but who else could the plain but talented Jane and the misunderstood misanthrope Mr. Vincent be? Ron (as Mr. Dunkirk) even makes an appearance, along with his impressionable-but-bright younger sister, to provide a hurdle to the H/S romance, until Hermione figures out that Ron is too violent and doesn't really respect her opinions. :-)
** the best music video, of course, is this one:
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