Regency House Party: Somerstone (Mindy Burbidge Strunk) Books in Order

Regency House Party: Somerstone is a shared world of linked novellas and novels set at Lady Du'Breven's country gathering. Different authors follow different couples, so the same party can look quite different depending on whose secrets are about to unravel. Mindy Burbidge Strunk's Mistaken Identity is one of those stories, and it also leads directly into her Scoundrels, Rakes and Rogues books.

Conrad Pinkerton arrives at the house party under false pretenses. His identical twin, Ian, asks Conrad to pretend to be him while Ian handles a separate romantic situation. Conrad dislikes the whole idea, but agrees, expecting only a short and awkward inconvenience.

Pretending to be someone else is rarely simple in a crowded house.

Jessica, or Jes, Standish is attending with her own worries. Her father has died, leaving the formerly comfortable family in financial difficulty, and the party is meant to be a chance for her to find a husband. She already has impressions of Ian, so Conrad's unexpected warmth and attention leave her both hopeful and confused.

The story's tension comes from the twin deception and from what it means for a romance to begin with a false identity. Conrad and Jes are drawn to one another, but she believes she is getting to know Ian. The house party adds ghost stories, social games, close calls, and plenty of chances for the brothers' arrangement to collapse.

Although Somerstone is part of a wider multi-author project, Mistaken Identity is a complete romantic story. It is also useful groundwork for readers planning to continue with Strunk's own connected series, because it introduces the difficult relationship between Conrad and Ian Pinkerton. Ian's journey continues in Reforming the Gambler.

This is a clean, light Regency romance with a classic mistaken-identity setup. Read it for the party atmosphere and the twin confusion, then move on to the Scoundrels, Rakes and Rogues sequence if you want to see how the Pinkerton family story develops.