Regan Walker is one of those writers who is so dedicated to her historical research (let me see your research archives!!!), and so adept at presenting ages past in a way that's accessible and immersive to her modern-day readers, that reading one of her novels is like stepping through a rose-colored glass and finding yourself transported to the 18th, 19th, or even 12th century - albeit, a slightly cleaner version of those periods, but her novels are romances and real life, especially when it comes to the past, is not romantic.

This dedication to historical detail and world-building is evident in RwtW, and while I may not have enjoyed myself particularly while reading this, nor felt transported seamlessly, I have to admit that she did a wonderful job bringing to life 1816 Paris and the few real-life historical figures she includes here. That being said, the colorful descriptions and the lively, if brief, portrayal of Madame de Staël are the only two aspects of this novel that didn't make me feel as though I were slowly dragging a cheese grater over my frontal lobe.

My biggest problems with this book, and great deterrents they are, are the heroine, Lady Mary Campbell, and the temporal and emotional pacing of this book.

I like bluestocking heroines, I love hellions who throw convention to the wind, and I especially love women who stand up for themselves in the face of injustice, whether or not it would have been socially acceptable at the time. Lady Mary tries to be all of these things, but falls horrendously short of the mark, straight into the territories of the Mary Sue and the Spoiled Brat.

She rides astride and in men's clothing, has a mind keen on politics and adventure, and is young, stubborn (and yes, stubborn is the word I'm using, not "dedicated"), and beautiful to boot. But her horsemanship is a limp, romantic lure more than it is a meaningful skill, her intelligence and capacity for logic are greatly overstated as evidenced by every single thing she does in this book and her interactions and reactions to every other character, especially the romantic hero, Lord Ormond, and while everyone falls in love with her there are no character foils to highlight her supposed virtues against. Lady Mary and Germaine de Staël are "smart" and "independent", and Mary's friend Elizabeth has some substance to her, but every other woman in this book is smoke on the wind. Her only romantic competition makes two one-line appearances early in the book and then

pops up at the end to drop an ill-timed bomb in our leading couple's lap

. I didn't even remember that she was a part of the book until that happened, and by the time I had finished remembering so, she was gone again, relegated to very brief mentions and

the problem is very suddenly and miraculously poofed away

.

I can understand that there are going to be ends left loose or hastily tied together in a book that's only 314 pages long, but the amount of cast-off characters and shallow sub-plots only succeed at cheapening the whole of the story, instead of enriching it. A tapestry made of loose threads, hastily woven together is bound to fall apart, and that is what happens in RwtW.

Perhaps even more disappointing than Lady Mary's character is how badly this brevity and lack-of-depth affect the plotline and the romance, both of which have so much potential!

Had Regan Walker decided to stick to a wholly espionage-centered story, her strengths in historical accuracy and breathing life into long-dead historical figures would have flourished and created a thoroughly enjoyable novel. Or if she had perhaps not left the romance feeling secondary and abrupt - even though it was the central narrative - then perhaps it would have been a new favorite of mine. However, it seems as though she wrote half of each and tried to stick the two together, and ended up omitting the pieces of the puzzle that both mystery and romance readers truly love.

Sure, there are enough heady kisses and explicit scenes to satisfy a bored housewife, and the scenes involving

the Prussian plot to oust Louis XVIII

are exciting, but it still feels like everything has been left half-done. Take for instance

the one dance our couple shares in the entire book; Ormond leads Mary out onto the floor, pulls her close for a waltz, and then suddenly the entire ball is over, we've changed perspectives, and all we're given is half a page of generic drivel about how romantic it was

. Where is the actual romance? And why do I get the feeling that if Mary and Ormond weren't super hot for each other, there would be absolutely nothing between them besides an interest in horses? They want different things, they're terrible at communicating with each other, and neither of them is the kind to make concessions with regards to their future and relationship expectations. Because it's a romance novel, they get a happy ending, no spoiler there, but I honestly cannot see Lady Mary and Lord Ormond living happily ever after with each other - at least not for long.

So, while I am an overall fan of Regan Walker, I have to give Racing with the Wind two stars only, and I will gladly move on to the next book in the series, hoping that RwtW is an aberration, not the standard here.