Highcliffe House
Proper Romance Regency Series • Book 1
by Megan Walker
Why You'll Love This
Two people who genuinely dislike each other, one seaside house, and a business deal that forces them to figure out which feeling is actually real.
- Great if you want: rivals-to-lovers Regency romance with real emotional stakes
- The experience: breezy but emotionally satisfying — Brighton sunshine with undercurrent tension
- The writing: Walker keeps the banter sharp without letting it swallow the heart
- Skip if: you want plot-heavy mystery over romance-forward storytelling
About This Book
When heartbreak sends Anna Lane fleeing from London's whispered judgments, the last thing she needs is to be sent to Brighton in the company of Graham Everett — a man who sees her as an obstacle standing between him and financial salvation. What unfolds at the seaside is more than a contest of wills over a business decision; it's two people gradually dismantling the versions of each other they've decided to believe. Megan Walker builds real tension from the inside out, grounding her rivals-to-lovers premise in wounded pride, family pressure, and the particular courage it takes to trust someone again after humiliation.
Walker's prose has an easy warmth that makes the Regency setting feel inhabited rather than costumed, and she paces the slow burn with precision — every scene between Anna and Graham does double duty, advancing both plot and emotional stakes. The Brighton backdrop gives the story breathing room, separating the characters from the social machinery of London and letting their dynamic shift naturally. Readers who appreciate romance where the obstacles feel genuinely earned, rather than manufactured, will find this first installment in the Proper Romance Regency series a confident and satisfying start.