One day Jane Chandler approaches him. Her brother is wounded and she needs a way to bring him home. Robert is willing to help one of Stefan's fellow officers. He offers Jane the use of his private yacht and accompanies her to Portugal to return her brother. During their travels they become close friends and that friendship quickly turns to love. Unfortunately upon their return to England there are misunderstandings and jealousies that come between them.

My Dearest Friend gets its title from what Jane calls Robert. He is always her dear friend or her dearest friend Robert. The plot of the story is overcoming adversities such as grief and misunderstandings to find love. This is accomplished beautifully through this story. Hazel Statham does a wonderful job of showing how their relationship grows slowly from meeting to falling in love. The setting of the story is London in the year 1812. This is a time when men spend time at their clubs gambling with their friends. This is also a very passionate time when disagreements are settled in duels. The author does a wonderful job of showing what it was like for men and women during this era. The dialogue in the story is logical and easily followed. The characters are quite interesting. Robert is a man that takes everything quite personally. He is passionate in his love and in his beliefs. He is very protective of what he feels belongs to him. Jane is sweet and quiet. She is willing to help others when needed. She is also easy to get her feelings hurt. At times I wondered with their different personalities if they would ever be able to work out their misunderstandings. This is a sweet historical romance that I feel readers will enjoy.

Overall rating:
Sensuality rating: Sweet

Reviewer: Anita
May 9, 2006