Entries Tagged 'Heiress' ↓
March 12th, 2010 — 1 Star, Book Review, Counts, Marquis, Viscounts, Great Britain, Heiress, J-L, Marriage of Convenience, Plump/Endowed Heroine, Regency, Virgin Heroine
I had several issues with this novel. First, there is no chemistry between Ian and Hannah. They are bland. The whole love story is flat. Frankly, I hardly cared whether they liked each other or not let alone loved each other. When they reach the realization and eventual declaration of their love to one another it is unsatisfying and unbelievable.
The book started off slow and never took off. It plods along at a rate that makes snails look daredevil speeding machines. Ian is a Marquis in need money to pay off debts. Hannah wants to please her father by gaining social standing and forget a shallow lover. They agree to marry, an arrangement that suits them both and promise never to bring up the bargain again. Except they do. Every scene. No joke. This creates a pattern that gets old fast.
He’s bitter because he was sold to the highest bidder. It really irks him and yanks on his pride. She’s tired of being seen as a title grabbing, social ladder climbing, merely passable bride. She tries so hard not to give him any reason to be ashamed of her and always sees herself as failing.
The back of the novel promises Hannah to socialize with the ton and another man who wants to win Hannah’s heart. It’s very misleading as neither of these ever really happen. Sure, eventually Hannah meets the members of the ton but it’s not pleasant and they snub her. The man is actually the shallow cad who dumped her for better looking goods at the beginning of the novel. He’s hardly a blip on the radar for how long you have to wait for him to show up and how short he stays.
Rating: 1 Star
Buy: A Bride for His Convenience
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March 3rd, 2010 — 4.5 Stars, ARC, Africa, Contemporary, D-F, Executive, Headaches, Heiress, Marriage of Convenience, Medical, Memory Loss, Scarred Hero, Soldier, Travel, United States of America, Wartime
Mary Margret Daughtridge comes out with another fantastic SEAL story. It’s got everything! A smart savvy heiress heroine to a car empire in desperate need of a name-only husband and a hero with partial amnesia, headaches, scarring, charisma, good looks, and skilled in bed! Yum. Yum. Yum. See, I told you it had everything. Wow!
Davy Graziano is a Navy Seal corpsman. The quote at the beginning of the novel gives real insight to Davy as a hero. He figures he will die in service for the Teams and when he doesn’t he’s adrift. It doesn’t help that his mother passed away shortly after visiting him in the hospital. The situation makes him feel that his mother traded her life for his with God and he doesn’t know what to do with his second chance at life. He wants to continue being a Navy Seal but a head wound resulted in brain trauma. He’s forgetful of things he knows he knows and it’s frustrating to no end.
One thing he forgets is JJ Caruthers. Twice. Poor schmuck. Jane Jessup however is very relieved. The more she learns about Navy Seals and Davy in particular the more she sees them and him as the perfect solution to her husbandless problem. JJ contracts Davy into being her husband in an effort to get one over her grandfather who is trying to manipulate her to his liking. Davy won’t take her original offer and renegotiates the terms to his liking but as the marriage unfolds Davy just wants his life back! What’s JJ to do? I’ll tell you… she’s going to save her hero.
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Buy: SEALed with a Ring
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February 6th, 2010 — 3.5 Stars, Book Review, Bride Stealing, Dukes and Earls, Friends, Great Britain, Heiress, J-L, Medical, Mistaken Identity, Regency, Runaway, Soldier, Virgin Heroine
If you're looking for a light happy read though you will like this novel. It's a perfect companion for a long flight or car ride and will keep you entertained.
The romance is a little overblown and the plot devices a little too farcical. There is a whole gamut of standard plots can be found within this romance:
The hero gives up his title and fortune to become a baron’s head groom in a pointless act of revenge against his father. Next our jaded hero falls in love with the artless ingénue. The heroine sucks at female domestic stuff like sewing and refinement. Instead she wants to be a doctor in a time period where that’s impossible… Unless you were a gypsy. There’s gypsies. The hero and the gypsies both approve of her becoming a healer.
A semi-evil ex-mistress turned dowager duchess, having married hero’s brother. A fortune hunting shmuck that pursues the heroine who thinks he’s in love. Our hero finds out he doesn’t mind his fortune and prestige. No, really? He’s happy to take back control and if not lovingly then kindly and open-mindedly looking out for his tenets.
Heroine gets mad at hero just before the resolution because he’s been keeping stuff hidden from her. It’s a pretty ridiculous argument because she’s agreed verbally and nonverbally to his withholding information for the first five sixths of the novel.
What’s nice though is that despite the shortcomings the narrative is extremely engaging. Julie has a talent for drawing you into the story. I was reading it pretty happily. It’s very indulging and fun. Not a runaway success, but highly enjoyable nevertheless. I know, bad pun.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Buy: The Runaway Duke
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February 2nd, 2010 — 4 Stars, ARC, Convict, Friends, Gentry, Great Britain, Heiress, J-L, Ranching, Regency, Rogues and Rakehells, Soldier, Spinster, Thief, Virgin Hero, Virgin Heroine
Lessons in French is a feel-good story. It’s cute, lighthearted, and full of whimsy. It was the right novel at the right time. I needed cute, lighthearted, and whimsy. I smiled a lot when reading it and rooted for both of the main characters. They’re imperfect, but that just makes them extremely likeable.
The heroine is as Laura Kinsale describes--an anti-kickass heroine. Callie Taillefaire is pretty shy. She prefers her animals to men and ballrooms. In ballrooms she’s an absolute wallflower without even trying. She was betrothed three times and all three men left her cold. The people of Shelford love her, but even they have to wonder what’s wrong with her when eighty thousand pounds won’t get a man to the altar. What’s great about Callie is that even though she’s not one of the kickass heroines running around in other romances, she can be fierce and courageous. She’ll even save the hero.
Trevelyn d’Augustin is a very interesting character. He is the son of aristocratic but impoverished French émigrés. Nine years approximately before the story starts, he was in love (or pretty darn close to admitting it anyway) with Callie. That her father did not approve of him is an understatement. One bad episode and Trev runs away to France where he does a lot of things from organizing fights, shooting at Englishmen, becoming a war prisoner, returning to England and organizing more fights, and getting in trouble with the law. He’s avoided Shelford for ages because he’s positive Callie is married with kids, but with his mother extremely ill he can no longer stay away.
They both get a second chance at first love. Trev pulls Callie out of her shell, one hilarious incident after another. Callie gives Trev comfort and quiet strength and a sense of purpose, but she can’t imagine that he feels anything beyond friendship and gratitude for her. So when her sister, Hermione gets engaged to Sir Thomas Vickery, Callie seriously entertains the attentions of an old fiancé. She won’t burden her sister and she won’t stick around with her cousin and his wife Dolly. Trev won’t pursue her romantically because of his legal troubles and because he feels she deserves more than he can offer… and certainly more than this idiot who’s back and sniffing after her eighty thousand pounds.
Rating: 4 Stars
Buy: Lessons in French
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January 31st, 2010 — 4 Stars, Book Review, Cinderella, Comedy of Manners, Counts, Marquis, Viscounts, Estranged, Gambling, Georgette Heyer, Great Britain, Heiress, Regency, Virgin Heroine
The second Georgette Heyer novel that I read was a lot easier to get through. It helped that there was few if any references to my lord or my lady in the narrative. The diction used is as exacting and up there as Devil’s Cub. This novel was longer but I read it in less time devouring it with enthusiasm. I do have one question, when did the term Tom, Dick, and Harry first get used? Heyer used it in the novel and I thought it was a modern term not one that dated back to the Regency period.
In a single sentence Friday’s Child is a fantastic tale of a poor besotted girl and a rich spoiled Viscount. Lord Anthony Sherington, Sherry to his friends, is in a pickle. He has a few years left on his trust until he can access his money in full. Worse, both of the two uncles managing his estate are not doing so in his best interest; one is negligent and the other is pulling money aside to feather his cap. Sherry has gambling debts to pay and refuses to get another loan from loan sharks. His idea is to marry.
Of course Sherry goes after the Incomparable Beauty of the season, a girl from his past that he has known all his life who also happens to be an heiress. Sherry is just one of the men that float around the Incomparable, others vying for her affections include a Duke, a nasty man who disguises his true face underneath a mask of charm, and a volatile soul who also happens to be Sherry’s friend George. (George for his part loves Isabella, the Incomparable Beauty and tries his hardest to gain her affections throughout the book.)
When the Incomparable turns him down flat, Sherry in a fit of pique vows to marry the first girl he sees. That girl is the penniless Miss Hero Wantage. Hero has also known Sherry all her life and when she was younger she used to follow Sherry around and be his fetch and go girl. They marry in London through a special license with Sherry’s friends as witnesses. Sherry nicknames Hero and everyone starts to call her Kitten by this point.
Well Kitten gets into scrape after scrape not meaning to do so but unable to stop herself. She doesn’t know the rules of society having been bred as the poor relation in her cousin’s home with the idea she would become a governess. All of Sherry’s friends are sympathetic and watch out for her the best they can – Sherry too when he pays attention. Unfortunately for Kitten one scrape gets to be one too many and Sherry explodes causing her to run away. Will spoiled Sherry realize his mistake? Will he realize he loves having her in his life? Will he find her? Will his friends help him or Kitten, whom they adore?
In short I find Heyer’s Regency set tales quite unique – we should start a Heyer Book Club! She after all has written over fifty novels, it could be fun!
Rating: 4 Stars
Buy: Friday's Child
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Originally posted 2008-09-08 05:07:11. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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January 29th, 2010 — 4 Stars, A-C, Book Review, Counts, Marquis, Viscounts, Great Britain, Heiress, Historical Romance, Mistaken Identity, Science, Spinster, Virgin Hero, Virgin Heroine
I literally couldn’t put Vexing the Viscount down. I devoured the book in just two days. For those on Twitter, this was the book I was talking about not too terribly long ago. So what's it about?
Romance treasure, naughty sculptures, and pagan adventures are the pursuits of the impoverished Viscount Rutland and curious Miss Daisy Duke. But even more scrumptious than the thrill of finding lost treasure is watching Daisy Duke attempts to win over the reluctant Viscount.
The man won’t budge! Ever since Lucian Beaumont's run-in with her pike while playacting when they were younger. (Despite the past acquaintance they are not childhood friends.) If her deadly aim weren’t enough of a detraction, clearly there must be something dreadfully wrong with her as she is a lovely unwed heiress… must mean she is nothing less than socially unacceptable. He needs a fortune, but he does not need hers! As if his own reasons weren't enough of a deterrent his father’s particular disliking for the Dukes, especially her uncle, must be taken into consideration.
Still, Daisy remains undaunted. Adventure she craves and adventure is what she's going to get. The girl takes the mistaken identity plot device and runs with it - playing herself by day and courtesan by night. It's wicked good fun! Plus Lucian Beaumont is a virgin hero. Yes, that means what you think it does… a virgin hero going to a virgin heroine for love lessons. Squee!
Vexing the Viscount is engaging, spicy, and delightfully intricate... a must read for the adventurous at heart.
Rating: 4 Stars
Originally posted 2009-03-28 11:58:50. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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January 15th, 2010 — 4 Stars, 4.5 Stars, Book Review, Dukes and Earls, Friends, Georgian, Great Britain, Heiress, J-L, Politician, Regency, Rogues and Rakehells, Widow or Widower, Writer
How I felt about Scandal by Carolyn Jewel in 140 characters:
@cjewel I just finished Scandal & it was completely wonderful. Thx for the past hours spent happily reading. Luv the "I hate you" love scene
I finished the book just before midnight with a happy glow. My favorite scene was in fact the scene after they got married. She was telling him how much she hated him, despised him, and deplored him with every breath as he brought her to orgasm. What makes it so hot is that we know as the reader the heroine really does love the hero, even if she’s unwilling to face it just yet. It’s toe-curling yumminess.
When it came to Scandal, I savored it. At first because it took me a bit to get into the story, which is entirely my fault and not the fault of Jewel’s writing. I’ve been a bit scatterbrained and have read several books all in a short period of time. It was good to slow down, read slower, linger longer on passages.
The way Jewel weaves the story is different than most historicals in that fact that it feels truer to life in several aspects with its depictions of personal tragedies and interwoven story of two people engaged elsewhere slowly coming together. The story takes place in the present and in the past, where the characters are now and where they were. I was expecting this divergence in the timeline and still it tripped me up once or twice. If I’m correct in my calculations Sophie is about twenty-five and Banallt is thirty-four or thirty-five in the present timeline. Or perhaps that was in the past timeline? In any case they're a bit older than the usual romance couple.
Sophie Evans is a tragic character. She made the worst choice possible in her youth and eloped with a scoundrel. Tommy had her convinced he loved her for herself when in truth Tommy loved only himself and the money his new wife brought to his pockets. Her marriage caused a rift between her family and herself that wasn’t mended until after her husband’s and her parent’s deaths.
The Earl of Banallt, whose first name I am currently unable to locate in the book, was exactly like Tommy if not worse when he first encountered Mrs. Evans. Her plain features and intelligent blue-green eyes arrested him and featured in his dreams. He too was married and unfaithful to his wife. With the deaths of loved ones Banallt grew up, but not before making an utter mess of things with Sophie.
They meet again, a few years after Tommy’s death and Banallt is quite determined to prove himself to Sophie. He wants her, desires her, loves her but Sophie is equally determined not to let another man hold power over her heart. She is good at denial and self-denial. The book nearly ends with Sophie refusing to give ground and admit her feelings, but happily she does and the result is spectacular if a bit hushed.
Rating: 4-4.5 Stars
Buy: Scandal
Originally posted 2009-04-26 05:44:29. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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January 5th, 2010 — 5 Stars, Book Review, Dukes and Earls, Great Britain, Heiress, J-L, Regency, Virgin Heroine
I loved In the Prince's Bed by Sabrina Jeffries. It was dazzling, sexy, full of wit and great dialog. The characters and their motives were well thought out and spun together to create a wonderfully fantastic tale. This is the first of the Royal Brotherhood trilogy.
Alec Iversley, comes home from abroad at his father's death to find his inheritance gone and in its place a large debt. His childhood home is a wreck, his finances a wreck, his tenets and servants in terrible shape, and his honor in question because of his father's misdeeds. He needs an heiress and he needs those funds yesterday if he is going to save Edenmore and all the fortunes of those that depend on him.
Miss Katherine Merivale needs to get married. Her grandfather left her a large sum of money as her inheritance, but it can only be retrieved upon her marriage. Her mother needs the money to pay off her father's debts from gambling and whoring. Katherine and her childhood friend, Sydney Lovelace, have had a long time understanding that they will wed. So why hasn't he bucked up the courage to overthrow his mother's tyranny and declare her his bride?
From a deal struck up with his half-brothers the other byblows of the Prince of Wales, Alec has in his possession the name of his future heiress. At Lady Jenner's cherry blossom themed party he spies a lovely young miss with flame-red hair and a wildly exotic red dress. When he finds out afterward that this woman is his heiress he thinks to himself, 'no man can be that lucky.'
But Katherine has defenses Alec can scarcely hope to breach. She believes in the gossip about his past, dislikes rakehells, and defends herself at every turn from seduction. Lucky for him, she's a passionate woman with a streak of recklessness yearning to be set free and that Sydney is a spineless wet towel. Now all he has to do is prove he's not the man the gossip paints him, woo her with drugging kisses, and somehow show her that he's the better man.
Rating: 5 Stars
Originally posted 2008-11-26 21:57:45. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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December 14th, 2009 — 2.5 Stars, A-C, Book Review, Comedy of Manners, Dukes and Earls, France, Great Britain, Heiress, Racing, Science, Sports, Travel, Victorian, Virgin Heroine
There is a lot going on in this story and it all wraps up neatly but it makes you wonder how on earth Victoria Alexander managed to cram it all in. There are four couples, 2 older and 2 younger, that are navigating their way through love. One is between the hero and heroine, one is between the younger sister of the heroine and the hero’s partner, one is the heroine’s parents (her mother is involved in a love triangle between the father and an old flame), and the last is the old flame and the hero’s widowed mother. It was general craziness all around. I would have been happier with a more condensed romance and less with all the shenanigans.
Quite a few good lines are scattered throughout the pages and the hero's mother's tests for the heroine were pretty good if a little batty. I was disconnected for most of the second half of the novel from the events as they all came to a head. It took me a few days to read through it. The last 30-50 pages was devoted to a weak misunderstanding between the hero and heroine. Where the story should have resolved in drama on a high note with the fire, Alexander continued it far out past it’s expiration date until it dwindled into nothingness as the story exhausted itself.
Cecily White, Cece to friends and family, believes a man should work to make his money not simply marry into wealth. She despises fortune hunters, and no fortune hunter more so than the Earl of Graystone who broke her friend’s heart. Tricking him into falling in love with her and then breaking his heart should be easy and was a perfect excuse to escape a normal life of marriage and kids into one of adventure and freelance writing.
Jared Grayson is a wonderful diversion. Cece meets him and the penniless automobile inventor sweeps her away with his enthusiasm. Changing her plans to follow the unexpected patterings of her heart, Cece follows him to France where he dumps her by the Eiffel Tower. Little does she know that Jared Grayon is really the Earl of Graystone and that when he left her in Paris to return to his search for an heiress that he was leaving his heart in her hands.
Rating: 2.5 Stars
Buy: The Princess & the Pea
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December 10th, 2009 — 5 Stars, Book Review, Bride Stealing, Children, Counts, Marquis, Viscounts, Great Britain, Handicap, Headaches, Heiress, Historical Romance, India, J-L, Plump/Endowed Heroine, Scarred Hero, Virgin Heroine
Book three of the Pleasures Trilogy staring plump little Gabrielle from India and Erskine (Quill) Dewland soon to be Viscount Dewland. Right off the bat, this was my kind of book and I loved reading every word. I’ll tell you why:
First, the alpha male is one of those wounded and brooding alphas. Quill was hurt from a horse riding accident that left him scarred. He walks with a slight limp most of the time but when tired it is more pronounced. He can’t dance. Repetitive motions cause him intense migraines and this includes riding horses but more importantly intercourse. As alpha males goes, Quill is decidedly masculine. He likes women – he just doesn’t know if they’re worth the three day recuperation.
Second, this story also involves one male character basically stealing the bride out from another man’s nose. This doesn’t always go well for me, but in this case it was just icing. Upon learning that his son was practically incapable of siring progeny, the elder Viscount Dewland orders his second son Peter to take the heiress sight unseen as his bride. Peter doesn’t want to marry, positively shrinks back from the idea, but eventually under pressure agrees. To his dismay, Gabrielle is the antitheses of beauty, grace, and lacks the instinct to navigate smoothly with society’s haut ton.
Third, Gabrielle is a completely charming heroine. She is as gabby as her nickname implies and loves to talk. Gabby is protective, open, loving, kind, and sharp. She is smart enough to keep her half-brother safe from harm. She also knows that Peter finds her a great disappointment. Despite knowing from experience with her father in India, is determined to do her best to please Peter so that he will fall in love with her. This makes her equally stubborn.
She makes friends early with the Duchess of Gisle who has just returned from her honeymoon on the continent. They meet at the dressmakers. Peter has brought her there to clothe her properly so she won’t shame him in public and prays the Madam will be able to transform his ugly duckling of a future wife.
Quill of course, thinks his younger brother is nuts. In fact most of the men in the ton that have seen luscious Gabby agree with Quill. They congratulate (quite crudely) Peter on his good fortune to snare such a well endowed beauty who will surely be a hellcat in bed. They think it’s doubly clever of Peter that she is an heiress.
When Gabby laughs her way into one social scandal, Peter is determined to throw her over but doesn’t know how. Quill gladly informs his brother that he will marry Gabby and happily. Of course, he’s worried about what she’ll think of him later, but Quill can hardly bring himself to care about his own problems. He burns for her and is happy around her. This is enough for him. His only true concern is will it be enough for Gabby?
Rating: 5 Stars
Originally posted 2008-12-11 09:29:18. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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November 23rd, 2009 — 3 Stars, Book Review, Comedy of Manners, Counts, Marquis, Viscounts, Dukes and Earls, Georgette Heyer, Great Britain, Guardian/Ward, Heiress, Regency
Regency Buck by Georgette Heyer is loosely based on the premise of Pride and Prejudice. I would not go so far as to say it's a retelling of the classic tale, but there are elements of this Regency romance that bring to mind the farce that Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet went through before getting out of their own way to declare love for one another.
For instance, Lord Worth is the Mr. Darcy character of this little drama. While not despised to the extent of Mr. Darcy by his heroine, Lord Worth is on the brunt end of a lot of negative criticism from his ward Miss Judith Taverner. He can do nothing right and is as cold an aloof in presence as Mr. Darcy appeared to be. His manners and arrogance nettle Judith beyond the telling many times throughout the novel.
So how did Judith and Peregrine get to become Lord Worth's wards?
Their father wrote in his will that they would be placed under the fifth earl of Worth until coming of age. Of course he meant to direct them into the hands of Julian Audley's father, the fourth earl of Worth but confused the matter and bungled it entirely. Julian finds the matter tiresome and can't wait to be rid of them fast enough though maybe not for the first reasons that come to mind. He tells them to stay in the country.
Of course Judith and Peregrine disregard this and the novel starts with them en route to London. They stop overnight in the village of Grantham, where a fight is about to occur. Peregrine is ecstatic and decides they must stay longer in order to see it. Of course the room they wrote ahead to let has been given away because of the crowd swarming the village. Distressed, Judith presses on the innkeeper to make amends. However it is not the innkeeper but a charming stranger that gives up his room for them.
Similarly later that day before the day of the match, Judith and Peregrine are wheeling about the country in search of ruins when they happen upon another carriage speedily racing down the lane in the opposite direction. A near accident occurs, nobody is hurt, but the horses are startled and the stranger driving is unaccountably rude. Both Judith and Peregrine take exception to the man's behavior and write him off as a bad sort indeed.
Shortly thereafter, Judith and Peregrine recognize their estranged cousin as the kind stranger at the inn and formally establish the acquaintance.
Once in London, the siblings look up their guardian and are dismayed to find the nasty aristocrat from Grantham is their keeper.
Add a dash of mystery - who wants Peregrine dead?
Peregrine as heir to the Viscountcy is being attacked left and right. The attacks are not always obvious; they come in many forms upon his person. Sanguine and completely obtuse, Peregrine does not notice them for what they are. Even Judith, usually kept in the dark on some of her brothers less savory ongoings, sees a pattern and admits her qualms to Worth who prevails upon her to keep her suspicions to herself.
The question becomes who will profit most from Peregrine's death. His sister will receive even more money for her dowry, making the current 80,000 pounds seem paltry. But Judith loves her brother enormously, it can't be her. It must be the man who vies for her hand... Julian Audley, Lord Worth, their guardian or Mr. Taverner, their cousin. Each man lays the blame on the others feet, but Judith trusts them both. What's a girl to do?
Locales: primarily London and Brighton.
Real famous people who appeared in the book: Beau Brummell, Prince Regent.
This novel has a sequel in An An Infamous Army
.
Overall I found it focused less on the romance and more on the mystery. I almost wished Brummell was the lead male because he and Judith found teasing and comfortable conversation between themselves on many occasions.
Rating: 3 Stars.
Buy: Regency Buck
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Originally posted 2008-11-24 05:43:45. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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November 20th, 2009 — Dukes and Earls, Eliza Doolittle, Guest Blogger, Heiress, J-L, Victorian, Western
by Kathryne Kennedy, guest blogger and author of My Unfair Lady
It’s a pleasure to be here today on Love Romance Passion! Thanks so much for having me. Since my upcoming book was inspired by Shaw’s Pygmalion (and the movie, My Fair Lady), I’ve decided to compare my heroine, Summer Wine Lee, to Eliza Doolittle.
First, a little bit about My Unfair Lady. Raised in a Wild West mining town, Summer knows she’s an unacceptable bride for her fiancé’s knickerbocker family. So she goes to London to hire a sponsor to turn her into a lady. The Duke of Monchester reluctantly takes on the task, and Summer’s penchant for carrying a knife in her boot, picking up stray animals, and not knowing the least thing about acceptable polite society, makes his job difficult. When the duke starts to fall in love with her just the way she is, it becomes nearly impossible. But they are both determined—even when things get more complicated when it becomes clear that someone is trying to kill the duke.
There are a few similarities between Summer and Eliza. They are both products of their environment, their speech and mannerisms determined by where they were raised. Eliza in the East end of London, with her cockney speech and crude behavior. Summer in the untamed west, with her uncultured speech and masculine pursuits. They both have indifferent fathers, men who are more concerned with their own happiness and pursuits than they are with their daughters’. But in Summer’s case, she wants to become a lady, and Eliza was pretty much bullied into it. Summer couldn’t be bullied into anything. But I think this aspect of their character is also a product of their environment. Eliza is a product of the Victorian attitude that men are superior persons. That their needs are more important than a woman’s. Whereas, Summer pretty much raised herself. She made her own rules, and although her father’s opinion is important to her—perhaps too much so—in her every day life she’s used to making up and following her own rules. Because of this, I have a tendency to think of Summer as more similar to Annie Oakley. A girl who can compete in a man’s world. Who can ride and shoot and fight with the best of them.
Although Eliza has compassion, I think this is one of Summer’s strongest traits. Especially her compassion for injured animals. She picks up quite a menagerie, which provides for some humorous moments in My Unfair Lady, and also allows us to glimpse Summer’s fears and insecurities.
The way Summer interacts with men is different from the way Eliza does, as well. Summer trusts her instincts, knows a good man when she sees one, despite what persona he chooses to reveal to the rest of the world, and acts accordingly. She doesn’t fear men, doesn’t see them in the role as her protector, or her superior. She considers herself an equal and treats them accordingly. I think this allows her to see beyond the surface of a man, and in many ways, get closer to him on a more equal footing. Eliza never views herself as an equal to Henry Higgins, even after she is successfully transformed into a lady. Perhaps this is why there is no happily-ever-after for the two of them. And why the author left it open as to whether she goes off with Freddie, or stays with Higgins.
This is why I love writing romance.
In My Fair Lady, Eliza does come to respect and stand up for herself. Summer has always done so. But in many ways, I think Eliza is more accepting of her true nature. Summer has a long journey before she even begins to understand herself. And her hero is going to help her toward that realization, not bully her into it.
I hope you enjoy the journey that Summer must make in order to finally become the person she truly wants to be. I’ll be checking back in throughout the day for comments, so please take a moment to say hello.
Wishing you happy reading,
Kathryne
My Unfair Lady by Kathryne Kennedy—in stores December 2009!
He created the perfect woman…
The impoverished Duke of Monchester despises the rich Americans who flock to London, seeking to buy their way into the ranks of the British peerage. So when railroad heiress Summer Wine Lee offers him a king’s ransom if he’ll teach her to become a proper lady, he’s prepared to rebuff her. But when he meets the petite beauty with the knife in her boot, it’s not her fortune he finds impossible to resist…
For the arms of another man
Frontier-bred Summer Wine Lee has no interest in winning over London society—it’s the New York bluebloods and her future mother-in-law she’s determined to impress. She knows the cost of smoothing her rough-and-tumble frontier edges will be high. But she never imagined it might cost her heart…
Buy: My Unfair Lady
About the Author
Kathryne Kennedy is the author of the Relics of Merlin series, acclaimed for her world-building and best known for her historical paranormal romances. She has also written a fantasy romance and this Victorian historical romance. She has also published nearly a dozen short stories in the SFF/Romance genre, receiving Honorable Mention twice in the “Writers of the Future” contest. She has traveled a great deal and has lived in Guam, Okinawa, and several states in the U.S. She is a business owner and currently lives in Arizona with her husband and two sons. For more information, please visit http://www.kathrynekennedy.com/
Giveaway: 1 copy of My Unfair Lady for 1 random commenter. Open to US and Canada readers only. To enter please share why you love the Eliza Doolittle plot, why you love when American heiresses and English lords fall in love, and/or what most excites you about this novel. Multiple comments allowed! Ends November 27th, 2009. Good luck!
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November 16th, 2009 — 4.5 Stars, ARC, Children, Comedy of Manners, Dukes and Earls, Eliza Doolittle, Great Britain, Heiress, J-L, Travel, United States of America, Victorian, Virgin Heroine
Do you love My Fair Lady
with Audrey Hepburn and Eliza Doolittle?
If you answered an unequivocal yes, go get yourself a copy of My Unfair Lady by Kathryne Kennedy. This Victorian romance will win you over faster than you can say the “Rain in Spain!”
So much happens in this novel. It combines quite a bit of different elements including a bastard son, being partly raised by Indians, best friend finding and marrying a baron, fox hunts, horse races, and a murder plot!
Summer Wine Lee is a silver heiress from America. She’s a knife wearing, former Arizonian in love with Monte. He is a dashing young fellow from a highly placed family in New York society. One ball ruined Summer’s chances of a proper match with him unless she could win the favor of his snooty mother. In order to do this she heads off to England to win the favor or at least a meeting with the Queen.
The Duke of Monchester is Summer’s ticket to winning over Monte’s mother and English society. He hates grubby new money American heiresses trying to buy their way into respectability by marrying his fellow impoverished gentlemen. He uses his ready wit and sharp tongue to amuse the King and keep in favor. One half hour in Summer’s presence is enough to keep him housed in the royal court for a year and is amused in spite of himself.
Will Bryon be able to make her respectable? Does he want her to be? Find out!
Rating: 4.5 Stars ARC
Buy: My Unfair Lady
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November 14th, 2009 — 3.5 Stars, A-C, ARC, Big Misunderstanding, Book Review, Comedy of Manners, Estranged, Gentry, Great Britain, Heiress, Jane Austen, Regency
Before I start this review, I would like to make it known I have never read the original Jane Austen novel Emma
. I’ve just seen different movie and mini-series renditions. I know from glancing through the Wikipedia article about Emma that Billington started the sequel with a very similar first sentence to set the mood.
Much of Emma and Knightley is graceful and lovely. The word choices and sentence structures are very poetic. Some of the passages on the other hand are fairly stuffy and take a bit of concentration to slog through. Part of this I must blame on my lack of character knowledge. It might be helpful to some readers to start this novel only after reading Emma or learning more about the characters through cliff notes.
The novel starts approximately one year from Emma and George Knightley’s marriage. They are returned from their honeymoon by the sea and are resettling at Hartfield. Knightley is everything magnanimous to Mr. Woodhouse, Emma’s father, even though Emma knows he would wish them both to be at his home, Donwell Abbey.
Sad news reaches them and the surrounding village town about Jane Churchill’s death in childbirth. Frank Churchill is rumored to be a very bad husband, having spent his time in London well away from his poor wife. When his return to Surrey and Highbury is discovered by Emma, Frank manages to convince her to keep her silence.
Meanwhile there’s trouble in paradise. John Knightley, George’s brother is in bad financial straights. Emma and Knightley are under severe strain to keep this unhappy news both from Mr. Woodhouse and Emma’s sister Isabella who is in confinement.
If that were not enough to worry about, Emma begins to notice more and more how Knightley takes himself off to Robert Martin’s home. At first she resents Robert, but as her insecurities mount she believes Harriet to have supplanted Knightley’s affections for her. A regular comedy of manners is taking place!
There is one character whose back story and later actions seem to be a bit over the top. I am fairly certain this character, Mrs. Philomena Tidmarsh, is new and not found within the original Emma. While I liked the friendship between Philomena and Emma, the rest took away some of my enjoyment for the story.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Buy: Emma & Knightley
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October 8th, 2009 — 4 Stars, Book Review, Bride Stealing, Counts, Marquis, Viscounts, Dukes and Earls, Executive, Great Britain, Heiress, Mistaken Identity, P-R, Regency, Rogues and Rakehells, Virgin Heroine
Every time I read the heroine’s name, which is Emilia Highhart, I wondered if it was a play on Amelia Earhart. Doesn't it sound like a play on words for you? Anyway, that's beside the point and doesn't have anything to do with the story. The story has to do with sibling rivalry and mistaken identity. They are the main plots of this novel.
The Duke of Grafton had two sons. They were twins. His heir, Phillip, was the important one. Devon was the spare. He was only worth something if Phillip got in trouble. Devon would take the punishment... he'd do anything for one scrap of his father's approval, but getting into a duel for an action he hadn't committed? Enough was enough!
Five years later Lord Phillip Kensington, Marquis of Huntley, is the soon to be Duke (of Buckingham? - weird title change at the end of the novel). His dying father kept talking about getting married, but Phillip wasn't interested.
Devon Kensington arrives in London at his father's request and as the man was dying he decided to come. He passed time idly in London as his brother and had a little run in with a young American girl. The gorgeous redhead turned his head and fueled his lust. One kiss from her was not enough...
Phillip was intrigued by the gossip of this little American, Emilia Highhart and how he had caught her at a ball he didn't remember attending. Upon learning she was the heiress of Diamond Shipping he was determined to claim her for his own.
Rating: 4 Stars
Buy: The Heir and the Spare
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