Lord Rivington's Lady by Eileen Jackson

Read For:
Reading My Shelves Project
1000 Regency Challenge
ROR Spring 11
Forgotten Treasures Challenge (1976)
Buck Stops Here Challenge ($1 through online seller)

Synopsis:
LORD ALEXANDER RIVINGTON WAS THE MOST HATEFUL MAN GEORGINA HAD EVER KNOWN 

Lord Rivington began by virtually assaulting Georgina at their first chance meeting. Then this incredibly wealthy and handsome aristocrat publicly mocked Georgina's views on the rights of women while the cream of Regency society looked on. From there he went on to physically thrash Georgina's beloved brother, financially ensnare Georgina's family, not bother to deny his shameful relationship to a servant girl - and arrogantly demand Georgina in marriage.

Georgina had every reason to detest this thoroughly impossible and egotistical male. She vowed that nothing in the world would make her join the list of victims of his charms. Indeed, Lord Rivington was due for a richly earned comeuppance - and Georgina for a most unexpected awakening...


My Review:


Lord Rivington's Lady was a very good "Old School" Regency that have quite a Pride and Prejudice vibe to it. Georgina was overall a good heroine, an outspoken Lady of Quality though living in Poverty after her father squandered the family fortune gambling. I do wish she would have come to her senses about Alexander, the hero, earlier in the story, as it would have been a five star book then. Lord Rivington is very much a "Mr Darcy"-a hero that hides his emotion, as lessons learned from his abusive past.


 Overall, a fast, fun Regency read. 4 stars.

Lady May's Folly by Donna Simpson

Read For:
1000 Regency Challenge
Buck Stops Here Challenge
Reading My Shelves Project
ROR Spring 11

Synopsis:
A COUNTRY AFFAIR

When Lady May van Hoffen sets out on a ride across her country estate, she anticipates nothing more than a sentimental visit to the Gothic folly where she played as a child. Yet while the sight of a wounded man within its stone walls is quite shocking, what is more amazing is the man's identity. For it is Etienne Delafont who lies bleeding in the cottage, the gallant Frenchman who helped May escape from a devious kidnapper--and the man both May and the ton have believed dead for months! With just one glance at the darkly handsome Etienne, May knows that her innocent tendre for him has survived, as well. Sheltering him may be a scandalous notion, but for once the risks don't signify. And for May, the chance of danger is far less frightening than the idea that her greatest folly may be losing her heart...


My review:


I loved the previous book in this trilogy, Lady Delafont's Dilemma, so much, and wanted to see what happens to May and Etienne, that I went through my TBR boxes, grabbed my copy of Lady May's Folly, and read it all the way through in about 3 hours! 


Etienne and May, are in many ways, complete opposites, but the chemistry is there. Etienne is the comsumate French "reformed Rake"- a good hearted scoundrel, a gourmand of, in his words "deliciously plump  and voluptuous older widows". 


Etienne is a "sigh worthy" hero-very sexy, very French, and very much "saved" by May's goodness. Even his recurrent use of his endearment for May, "little one"-which would normally make me cringe, made me wish for my own Etienne-LOL. He seemed a sexy younger version of a Maurice Chevallier! 


May, is everything that Etienne normally runs from-prim, uptight, thin and willowy and small busted. He's a town playboy and she's a country mouse ala Tomboy who actively dislikes most men.  But May has very real, abusive reasons for her fear and dislike of men and Etienne is the perfect, gentle and sweet "tutor" that shows her that not all men are cads or lechers.


Another good one from Donna Simpson-5 stars.

Lady Delafont's Dilemma by Donna Simpson

Read For:
ROR Spring Challenge
Reading My Shelves
1000 Regency Challenge
Buck Stops Here Challenge

Synopsis:
HE WAS THE LOVE OF HER LIFE...

Lady Emily Delafont wanted to be alone. For five years, she lived a solitary life in Yorkshire, finding serenity and almost forgetting him. Baxter. The Marquess of Sedgely. Her husband. She knew that their marriage had been stormy, but she never expected Baxter to abandon her for his trip to the Continent. Now nothing would have prompted Lady Emily to have seen him again -- except a message that he was in danger.

...AND SHE OF HIS

Attacks upon his person by a secret enemy had put his life in danger, but it was meeting Lady Emily again that truly put Baxter in peril. She was still completely kissable! But in his mind, only one thing stands in the way of full reconciliation -- the dashing young Frenchman Bax believes to be his wife's lover. Pride will not let him claim his wife if she prefers another man -- yet passion will not let his soul rest until he has the only lady he has ever loved in his arms again....


My Review:


Donna Simpson is turning into one of my favorite authors. I've read Lady Savage and Lord St. Clair's Angel by her and really enjoyed them. The heroine in this story, Emily, is the Aunt of Celestine in Lord St. Clair's Angel. The fact that she has been separated from her husband for 5 years is mentioned in that book though you needn't read it to enjoy this book (though I HIGHLY recommend it).


It's a sign of great writing that this author could take several subjects that I normally hate to read about-love triangle, separation, and adultery, but still write an engaging, moving, and in my opinion, very romantic/highly sensual story. I love that the couple-who are in their thirties and forties, are written with the normal aging we all go through (graying hair, gaining a few pounds, not as active as we once were) but they are still desirable to each other, others and still want sex! LOL! We don't stop wanting it just because we age:)


 I also applaud the author for having a male friend of the couple, who plays matchmaker to get them back together, who is witty and heroic, and well loved by his friends, who is also Gay. It is approached with sensitivity and heart and leaves the reader wanting to know how Sylvester Lessington's story finishes-I wonder if we ever find out in another book?


A great Regency-so good I had to hurry and read the last book in the trilogy, Lady May's Folly, next!
5 stars.

Lord Of Illusions by Rita Boucher

Read For:

1000 Regency Challenge

Pick Your Poison Challenge

Reading My Shelves Project

Buck Stops Here Challenge

Synopsis:

Hiding behind the countenance of a governess for an English lord, a highborn witch secretly spies on her employer, reading his mind, and sending secrets to the French. But England's head sorcerer, a secret agent in Wellington's army has been sent to investigate and unmask the traitor within the lord's ranks. Disguised as a traveling magician, the agent finds himself attracted to the governess and together they discover the enchanting power of love. A Regency romance original.

My Review:

Another good Traditional Regency/Paranormal Romance from Rita Boucher. I enjoyed how the author tied a semi secret society of aristocratic witches with a spy tale. Great Romany secondary characters too.

4 stars.

The Would-Be Witch by Rita Boucher

Read For:
1000 Regency Challenge
Pick Your Poison Challenge
Reading My Shelves Project
Buck Stops Here Challenge


Synopsis:
A Bewitching Young Lady

Miranda Wilton had everything a young lady needed to shine in society - birth, beauty, and breeding. But though she cast her spell on a swarm of suitors, both her proud mother and powerful brother demanded the final say in choosing the man who took her hand. 

Certainly Lord Adam Brand did not meet their strict standards or Miranda's own notion of the kind of mate she sought. Handsome and brilliant Lord Brand might be. But his arrogance filled Miranda with anger, and his mockery of Miranda's family tree made her want to make this unbending gentleman bow to the strength of her sweet sorcery. It was only when his lips came down on hers, that Miranda began to wonder who indeed had the power of magic.


My Review:
Very good traditional Regency with a Paranormal twist. Heroine is from a long line of witches but born without powers. Hero is a naysayer who lives to expose the spiritualist charlatans of the time who preyed on the rich and gullible aristocracy. 


I liked this book so much that I'm reading Miranda's brother Damien's story, The Lord Of Illusion next.
4 stars.

The Ruby Ghost by June Calvin

Read For:

Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge

2011 Reading From My Shelves Project

What's In A Name 4

1000 Regency Challenge

ROR Winter Challenge

Buck Stops Here Challenge ($1 on ebay)

Synopsis:
Dreams Are Made of This

Penelope Jones is a young woman of reduced means, eager to give her family one less mouth to feed. Seeking a position as governess for the Silverthorne family, she is put off by James Betterton--Lord Silverthorne's notoriously rakish cousin--around whom her unsullied reputation will certainly be at risk. Then she is startled to see a painting of Silverthorne Castle--the exact image that has haunted her dreams since childhood. Still, Penny cannot let some handsome, well-fed roisterer--or some eerily coincidental dream--place her future at risk....

Penny decides to accept the position, hoping to help Lady Silverthorne, who is being haunted by ghosts identical to those in Penelope's dreams. Though she doesn't believe in such things, Penny has to agree that something out of the ordinary is happening at the castle. There are ghosts indeed, and they seem to want to bestow on her a great treasure that a dangerous man intends to steal. James Betterton wants to protect Penny. But first he must convince her to forget her fears about his past reputation...and to accept his love.


My Review:
This is the first June Calvin traditional Regency I've read. This book came out in 2006-pretty much the end of the production of traditional Regency romances. What I didn't realize was that this was also Miss Calvin's last book. How do I know that? Because surprisingly, she announces that this is her last book in the front of the book.


Ok...I found that a bit odd, to say the least. Most of the time we find out a book is an author's last book from the simple matter of their not getting any more published. This "announcement" kind of struck me as more an "I quit" than anything else. 


Why do I bring this up, you might add? Because this book just seemed like a rushed, half finished, unloved book, that's why. The characters are one dimensional, there is almost no thread on continuity to the story, in fact a whole new storyline is sort of "plopped" into the book almost three fourths in! And it made no sense!


The heroine couldn't make up her mind from being Miss Forthright one minute, to completely lying to all her new friends in order to supposedly "protect" a family member the next. But overall, she was just stupid. 


But in all honesty, we could perhaps overlook a TSTL heroine if there was a fabulous hero, right? Well, sadly, he's just not it. He's a reformed rake-but the reader gets the impression that he had to reform cause he's just not smart enough to carry off rakedom anymore :(.


Not even getting into a secondary character, a "dependent Aunt" who constantly publicly insults the heroine in her guests home, and yet they never do or say anything to the Aunt to stop her behavior? That makes no sense in this time period.


Ok-that's enough time wasted on this book. Since I actually went to the trouble of finishing it, I'll give it 2.5 stars, but that's being generous.

Christmas Beau by Mary Balogh

Christmas Promise by Mary Balogh, 1991, Regency Romance

Read For:
ROR Winter Challenge
1000 Regency Challenge

2011 Reading from My Shelves Project

2011 The Buck Stops Here Challenge

Synopsis:
His Vengeance Was Sweet 

Judith Easton knew that even the spirit of Christmas wouldn't stop the Marquess of Denhigh from settling the score with her. For the beautiful young widow had injured Denhigh's rigid pride years ago by jilting him for another man. 

Now that Judith was free from her nightmare marriage to that other man, the bold and handsome Marquess made no secret that he had her in his sights and wanted her in his arms. 

But how could she trust the tender words on his lips when she could sense the hardness of his heart? And after she had made so grievous a mistake in love once, how could she ever trust her own heart's desire again?


My Review:


Christmas Beau is one of Balogh's earlier Regencies with a storyline that normally I dislike: the "revenge" or "enemies" storyline. But, since I had to read a "enemies" storyline for the ROR Challenge, and I already owned this book (a thrift shop score from several years back-a whole 10 cents!) I thought I'd give it a whirl.


Christmas Beau started out slow for me-while the characters are in London the story is very unemotional and frankly, both characters were for the most part unlikable. But then they go to the Marquess' Christmas house party at his estate and the storyline suddenly blossomed. 


All of Balogh's hallmarks are here-internal conflict, passion, vibrant, three dimensional secondary characters that have their own wonderful storyline, and lot's and lot's of conflict with seemingly no resolution.  Max is a terrific hero-a very jaded, dark, brooding man who's lust for revenge of Judith has overpowered his life for eight long years. Now that Judith is a widow with two small children, his vengeance is at hand, or is it?


Judith's spinster sister in law Amy is just lovely and her own story is enough for me to recommend this book. But Judith and Max's story is so very moving and motional-I'll admit that I pretty much cried the last 50 pages of the book:)


A five star book and one of my favorite Balogh's-highly recommended!

Christmas Wishes by Barbara Metzger

Read For:
ROR Winter Challenge
1000 Regency Challenge
RYOB Challenge

Synopsis:
SHE MADE A CHRISTMAS WISH FOR A CHARMING CAVALIER--AND MET THE MOST NOTORIOUS RAKE IN ENGLAND!

Though granddaughter to one of the ancient regime, Juneclaire Beaumont lived without complaint as a poor relation at Stanton Hall -- until a family crisis sent her packing. But the road to London was not smooth, and she was compelled to take shelter in a stable with a handsome, scowling stranger whose curricle had been held up. A delicate situation, although he behaved in a most gentlemanly fashion.

The ton, however, would never believe it of the lordly rakehell Satan St. Cloud! He would preserve this madcap beauty's reputation.... Damn it, for once duty would be pleasure!

But Juneclaire declined marriage solely for honor. She disappeared, leaving the imperious Earl of St. Cloud to spend the twelve days of Christmas on a neck-or-nothing ride to find her....


My Review:
charming  and funny Regency romance- with a "poor relation" storyline. 4 stars!

Lady Jane by Norma Lee Clark

Read For:
ROR Winter Challenge
1000 Regency Challenge
RYOB Challenge

Synopsis:
IN A FEW SHORT YEARS THE LITTLE BACKSTAIRS MAID HAD BECOME A MOTHER, A WIDOW, AND AN HEIRESS TO A STAGGERING FORTUNE...

With her bright, sherry-brown eyes and her dazzling smile, little Jane Coombes was irresistible to men. This was her downfall. It caused her to lose her position as a maid in the prestigious household of the Montmorencys. It thrust her alone into the cold, cruel world.

But fortune gazed kindly on Jane. She was taken into the household of a gracious and forgiving woman whose son fell in love with Jane. She married him.

A few years later both son and mother died, and Jane was left not only with a fortune, but a title as well, Lady Payton. 

Now these become the weapons which little Jane Coombes will use to avenge herself on a world that had tried to destroy her.




My Review:
A very unusual Regency about a young maid, who through an extraordinary set of horrific but then wonderful circumstances, becomes a widowed Baroness. Story deals with some tough issues like rape, unwanted pregnancy, disabilities, and violence. Also, this book is much more explicit than most traditional Regencies, but I didn't consider it offensive.

 I'll be reading more from this author. 5 stars.

Enchanting Jenny by Zabrina Faire

Read For:
ROR Winter Challenge
RYOB Challenge
1000 Regency Challenge

Synopsis:
Fate decreed that Jenny must become the Comtesse de la Garde, but even the power of Fate could not make her love the Comte... Jenny said "No!" But everyone else insisted that this was the right marriage for Jenny. The Comte was the scion of a noble family, said Jenny's mother, pointing out that both Jenny's sisters' chances would improve when she became the Comtesse. The Comte agreed because his mother's secret plan to use Jenny's inheritance was irresistible. Even Jenny's clairvoyant grandmother declared it had to be... Only Jenny herself was opposed to the match. Only Jenny and the Comte's half-brother who viewed the marriage of convenience -- and Jenny -- with contempt.


My review:
second book I've read by this author. Was fairly good but not as good as this author's Lady Blue. These 70's Regencies are very "old school"-high drama, wilting females and machismo males, and nasty villains. 3 stars.

The Christmas Promise by Mary Balogh

Read For:
ROR Winter Challenge
RYOB Challenge
1000 Regency Challenge

Synopsis:
Although her father is determined that she marry a nobleman, Eleanor Transome, who thinks she loves the humble Mr. Wilfred, is forced instead to become betrothed to Lord Randolph Falloden, a man on the brink of ruin.


My Review:
Was an "average" Mary Balogh-which means it was better than most other authors but not one of her best. It was still very good though and had me misting up at the end:) 4 stars.

Jack O'Lantern by Kathleen A. Shoesmith

Read For:
1000 Regency Challenge
RYOB Challenge

Synopsis:
In the year 1730, when Susanna, a penniless woman left alone by the death of her mother, learns of the existence of distant relative, she is overjoyed. She travels south to Silfleet, on the English coast, to locate the father she'd never known. But a killer lies waiting for her and it soon becomes very clear that she can trust no one, least of all her mysterious masked ally, the infamous smuggler Jack O'Lantern.


My Review:


First-I find it cute, that this "Ace Regency Romance (per it's cover) is in actuality, set in 1730, which I believe to be Georgian era. Secondly-dig that cover art! LOL


Finally, to the story-cute Georgian era Romance of a penniless girl who must move in with poor relations.They live in a village known for smuggling-where she meets and falls for the "Jack O' Lantern", a dashing smuggler. A "Scarlet Pimpernel" style story.


The "mystery" was fairly obvious and the typical "the heroine must be a-very young, b-very stupid, and c-very powerless" was a bit annoying but  most heroines written in these 1970's romances were this dumb. It was still enjoyable enough if you are in the mood for a short bit of sentimental fluff.
3 stars

A Wife For Warminster by Margaret Summerville

Read For:
RYOB Challenge
1000 Regency Challenge

Synopsis:
A Difficult Duty

At first it seemed that Miss Elizabeth Newmarch had found a perfect position as companion to wealthy, witty and kindly Lady Honora Trevor. But Elizabeth's new position soon became awkward in the extreme.

Honora was determined that her notorious nephew, the Earl of Warminster, enter into wedlock. And Elizabeth was enlisted to find a bride to make Warminster mend his wicked, wicked ways. 

How could Elizabeth induce a dazzling beauty like Lady Georgina Barley to wed Warminster? How could she possibly put this tender young innocent into his callous hands? And, more to the point, how could Elizabeth allow another woman to possess this libertine lord she wanted so desperately for herself..


My review:
Wonderfully witty "comedy of errors" Regency with a naval/yachting theme thrown in. My first Regency by this author but definitely not my last. This author knows how to write enjoyable secondary characters. Loved Aunt Honora and the gawky but gallant Jeremy Sherwood.  A little too quickly ended, otherwise it would have been a five star Regency. Still well worth a read to any fellow "traditional Regency" fan.
4 stars.

The Jewelled Snuff Box by Alice Chetwynd Ley

Read For:
ROR Summer Challenge
RYOB Challenge
1000 Regency Challenge

Synopsis:
Jane Spencer Tarrant finds a half-dead man, victim of highwaymen, with amnesia and in possession of a jewel-encrusted box, the all-important key to a mystery.


My Review:
Good vintage Regency. Heroine is poor gentility who is working as a companion/governess. Hero is a gentleman she finds one night, on the side of the road, unconscious and with amnesia.


3.5 stars

Out Of The Common Way by Melissa Lynn Jones

Read For:
ROR Summer Challenge
1000 Regency Challenge
RYOB Challenge

Synopsis:
WHAT THE RAKE NEEDED WAS A WIFE. AND SHE WAS JUST THE MISS TO MARRY HIM OFF!

Tall as a gatepost, with hair that put carrots to shame, Cecilia wasn't waiting for love. But neither would she marry without it, as her loathsome guardians insisted she must. Her solution: escape to London and into the very comfortable employment of the dowager duchess of Kelthorpe.

Yet the sight of her employer's dashing grandson sent a shock of recognition through Cecilia's fluttering heart. Wasn't this the Major Trelwyn who had once mistaken her for a lightskirt? It had been an embarrassing case of mistaken identity that had ended in a practical joke--at his expense!

The only way to avoid the man, and keep her present position intact, was to find him a wife. There was but one problem. Cecilia was falling in love....


My Review:
A fairly good Regency, though a bit too heavy on descriptions instead of much needed interaction and dialog, which made this relatively short book read as a much longer one. The relationship between the H/H and other characters was well written though. Finally I loved the heroine's dog, a French Briard named Marpessa.


3 stars

A Spirited Romance by Alana Clayton

Read For:
RYOB Challenge
ROR Summer Challenge
1000 Regency Challenge
Countdown Challenge

Synopsis:
WILL THE SEARCH FOR SPIRITS TURN OF LOVE INSTEAD?

Clearing Ellery Lawford, Lord Trent's country home, of ghosts is just another job for Miss Vanessa Grayson. After all, her ability to communicate with spirits is her only means of income--and with her missing sister's infant left in her care, she needs funds post haste. But the task at hand is more complicated than usual, because Trent's soon-to-be fiancee seems to be inventing menacing spirits everywhere. Even more disturbing is the fact that Vanessa finds the young nobleman dangerously appealing. 

Lord Trent can't believe that skittish, demanding Cornelia Burnett is the woman he is about to marry--especially with level-headed and inexpressibly pretty Miss Grayson in attendance. But can he trust his attraction to a woman who talks to the dead? A woman whom he suspects might be linked with a nefarious London club and his own brother's disappearance? When the tangled threads of proof become a frustrating knot, Trent knows that he needs Vanessa's help to sort out the whole mess--almost as much as he wants the lovely spiritualist's love.


My Review:


A Spirited Romance is one of these storylines where a mystery keeps the hero and heroine from being entirely truthful with each other for a period of time. While that in itself is not a problem, the duration the "misunderstandings" go on can make or break the book for me. In this books case, they went on far too long, pretty much the entire book till the last 5-10 pages. Because of the misunderstandings, the hero thought all sorts of bad things about the heroine-from being a fake, to being a member of the Hellfire Club, to having a child out of wedlock and involvement in his brother's disappearance. All this was concluded in those ten pages WAY too conveniently , and the heroine just blithely accepts his apology. How are we supposed to feel any romance for a guy who pretty much thinks the worst of the heroine the entire book?


Finally-for a book that was supposed to be about a "ghost whisperer", that takes place way too little in the book as well.


I'd give this book 3 stars, but wouldn't recommend it.

Belinda Goes To Bath by Marion Chesney

Belinda Goes To Bath
Marion Chesney
Regency, 1991, 155 pages

Read For:
ROR Summer Challenge
RYOB Challenge
1000 Regency Challenge

Synopsis:
The delightful Miss Pym returns to the English countryside in search of adventure and romance in distress.

With her infallible wisdom and charming demeanor she corn steer even the most misguided of hearts back on course!

No sooner does Miss Pym board her next stagecoach than she finds herself embroiled in the plight of Miss Belinda Earle, a spirited heiress banished to Bath after swearing off the marriage mart!

When the coach founders near Baddell Castle, and the dashing Marquess of Frenton comes to the rescue, Miss Pym decides to give fate a hand! Although the austere bachelor disdains romance, his furtive glances toward Belinda prove to Miss Pym that her expert matchmaking will soon turn this star-crossed couple into a heavenly match!


My Review:
Belinda Goes To Bath is another great installment in The Travelling Matchmaker series. It's fun to see Miss Hannah Pym, the 30 something former servant, who, after inheriting  a modest income from her deceased employer, goes on her dream travel, via the stage coach all about England.


In this installment, Miss Pym's fellow rider that she takes under her wing is Belinda, who is forced to ride the coach, with her companion, to Bath, to cover up a "scandal". After a coach accident, the coach riders are forced to house at the hero's home, the Marquess of Frenton. A series of comedy of errors, scandals, and machinations develop-keeping the hero and heroine apart and Miss Pym on her toes.


4 stars-recommended.

Bewitched By Love by Desjardien, Holbrook and King

Bewitched By Love

Zebra Regency Anthology Holiday Special

1996, 380 pages

Teresa Desjardien, Cindy Holbrook and Valerie King

Synopsis:

A TIME OF SORCERY, ROMANCE... AND THE MAGIC THAT IS LOVE

All Hallows Eve ...a night when the impossible happens...when Regency castles are filled with mystery and intrigue...when costume balls in elegant mansions may lead to passionate surprises ...and when ladies and gentlemen of the ton find themselves falling under a spell that may be other-worldly. Or as close as their own hearts ...in these three delightfully mysterious tales...

Teresa DesJardien's The Haunted Bride is the second Lady Healey who has just wed a nobleman whose first marriage ended in tragedy...and whose seductive embrace could bring danger--or the love of a lifetime. In Cindy Holbrook's Love's Magic, a young sorceress meets her destiny in a handsome highborn Duke who is promised to another...a union only the powers of true love can prevent. Valerie King's The Vampire Rogue pairs a charming rake with an heiress, whose newly acquired castle is the setting for a masquerade ball ...and where the resident vampire has his own plans for eternally joining these unlikely lovers.

My Review:

Of the three stories there was one good one, one OK one and one stinker. The Cindy Holbrook story, was the best-I loved the hero and heroine, and the heroines silly, scatterbrained witch Aunties. The last story, King's A Vampire Rogue, started well, but I didn't like the way the hero wanted to make the heroine his "conquest" and his mistress through most of the story. The first, Desjardien's Haunted Bride, was just not good, couldn't finish that one.

So I'd give The Haunted Bride 1 star, Love's Magic 4 stars, and The Vampire Rogue 2.5 stars. Overall, it was interesting to read a traditional Regency with supernatural storylines, but I'd only suggest Bewitched by Love if you can get it cheap or free.

3 stars.

Sweet and Twenty by Joan Smith

Sweet and Twenty
Joan Smith
Fawcett Regency Romance, 1979
223 pages

Read For
1000 Regency Challenge
RYOB Challenge

Synopsis:
When the unexpected death of Sir Gerald Monteith placed his wife Melanie and daughter Sara in financial trouble, their only hope was to quickly find a husband for Sara. They thought it would be easy, for she was as beautiful as could be. They hoped her beauty would make up for her lack of brains. The problem was, they didn't know how to look for a man.

Then Aunt Martha and cousin Lillian swept into town and took over the search. Lillian, too, was available for marriage. Soon the crafty Aunt Martha discovered that the handsome and wealthy Anthony Fellows was running for Parliament.

None of them knew a Tory from a Whig. But that didn't stop Aunt Martha. Suddenly, the ladies were involved in a spirited campaign. With so many men around campaigning, they reasoned, husbands could not be far away ....


My Review:
a clever, biting satire of the upper class and politics. The heroine, Lillian, is a smart, though penniless lady who is taken by her matchmaking Aunt to the country, as the Aunt is also matchmaking for her niece, who is, along with her mother, two pretty airheads.


 When the Aunt finds that a wealthy, eligible neighbor is running for office as a Whig, she makes the ladies out to be more avid political followers than they really are. There begins a madcap farce, and the satirical machinations of the author.  
The hero,Matthew Hudson, is the "whipper-in" the Whig party has sent down to help the candidate, Fellowes, who is pretty much as much a Moron as the niece and mother. They were all so stupid, it was in fact sometimes hard to read their dialog as it was cringeworthy in it's stupidity.


The book needed more romance, hence the 3.5 stars, but would still be a unusual change of pace for most Regency fans.


3.5 stars.

At The Sign Of The Golden Pineapple by Marion Chesney

At The Sign Of The Golden Pineapple

Marion Chesney

Traditional Regency Romance

227 pages, 1987

Read For:

1000 Regency Challenge

RYOB Challenge

What's In A Name Challenge

Synopsis:

"I DO NOT THINK I WANT TO BE MARRIED AT ALL. I WANT TO BE RICH. VERY RICH..."

Miss Henrietta Bascombe's bosom chums gasped to hear a well-bred lady talk of going into trade. For Henrietta was hell-bent on turning her pittance of an inheritance into a fortune by opening a London sweet shop to rival the famous Gunther's!

Undaunted, Henrietta proceeded to hang out the traditional confectioner's sign of a golden pineapple and soon earned the custom of the entire haute ton. That is, until the proud Earl of Carrisdowne took exception to his younger brother and his best friend ogling the girls behind Bascombe's counter. Miss Bascombe would have to be put out of business, and quickly.

But somehow, the earl looked forward to tangling with the fiery-eyed proprietor much more than he was willing to admit....

My Review:

Another excellent Marion Chesney Regency-though not one of her best. The book has an interesting premise-of three genteel but poor young ladies who, out of desperation to literally survive, open a confectionery shop in London.
I enjoyed Henrietta as a heroine, though Rupert, the hero was a bit of an ass several times in the story. This story seemed more comedy than drama, and I learned several things about life in Regency England that I'd never heard before. 3.5 stars.