Cute. That's about the only word I can really use to describe it. 
 The basic plot: Eloise Kelly, an ABT (all but thesis) PhD student, is spending some time in London, working on her research. She picked an improbable dissertation topic: the unmasking of the true identity of the "Pink Carnation" (think Scarlet Pimpernel.) Poor men, why on earth would someone pick a flower as a secret identity, let alone a pink carnation? She runs into a handsome, abrupt, and above all, British stranger--of course, he's a member of the aristocracy--and their interactions proceed as one might expect. Colin Selwick, Eloise's answer to Mr. Darcy, has more than just charisma to enchant her. He also has a bunch of old letters that help to uncover the eponymous Pink Carnation. 
 The story itself is told from two perspectives. Mainly, it is the story of Amy, a contemporary of the mysterious Pink Carnation, told from the third person, but there are brief interludes in which Eloise seeks to uncover more facts. It is light and entertaining, and although perhaps the history isn't great, it isn't too inaccurate, either. I found the book syrupy and saccharine, but maybe that's due to the fact that I seldom read, and basically never enjoy, romance. It's a romance first, a mystery/thriller second, or maybe way farther down the list. Not quite my cup of tea, but cute. And I love the fact that the author is a PhD in history, who got her PhD to write these types of novels.