Amanda has already refused one attempt by the army to co-opt her birds; the emissary sent made the mistake of describing, in graphic detail, the fire that destroyed one of the lofts. Heart-sick at the destruction, Amanda will not allow the birds she loves put into danger. Rexford, knowing this, pretends he is merely interested in setting up his own loft. Since he cannot hide his disgust at the birds, Amanda is suspicious of his motives and tries to convince him to leave her home. Instead, he wangles an invitation to stay as long as he pleases from Amanda's match-making mama.

The pigeons are just one of the original touches in this book. Within the first few pages, Marcus is 'pleased to have worked himself back into a foul and therefore intimidating mood' – an early hint that he is not the usual hard-bitten and cynical romance hero. In fact, while he has his fair share of arrogance, he also has a healthy sense of his own limitations.

As for Amanda, instead of being a beauty, she is described as too tall, with rust colored hair scraped back from her strongly boned face and a fondness for drab, shapeless gowns. The clothing is explained by her work with pigeons – think of any monument in any city and you'll understand why she avoids fragile muslins and expensive silks.

Inevitably, the book ends in the aftermath of Waterloo, which gives it a curious, truncated feeling. Everything in the story moves to the climax, building and building . . . and then the story ends. I expected fireworks; I got banked coals. And I'm not sure I mind. It gave me a sense of what the letdown after the battle must have been like in real life.

Flight of Fancy is, in many ways, an ordinary book. The ways in which it is not make me curious to see what Judy Veisel will do next.

--Katy Cooper