What Happens in London

by Julia Quinn, 372 pages

When she hears some juicy rumors about her new neighbor, curious London socialite Olivia takes to rather clumsily spying on him from her bedroom window. When Sir Harry notices his long hours at his desk (translating often less-than-exciting Russian documents for the War Office) are being observed, he can't help but play along and teach his nosy neighbor a lesson. But when a snooty Russian prince and the possibility of real spies in the service of that pesky exiled Corsican enter the mix, the pair's flirtatious game of faux intrigue takes on a new twist.

The plot's climax is a little out of left field and it's hard to take it as seriously as do the characters, but the dialogue is quite smart and fun and the characters are engaging, with Sir Harry, in particular, having a surprising amount of depth, provided in part by his unusually touching backstory.

I don't generally read romance romance, but give me some nice historical detail, a little substance, and pages and pages of believable snappy comebacks and I'll happily give it a shot.