February 5th, 2010 — 4 Stars, Friends, Gambling, Great Britain, Guest Reviews, J-L, Rogues and Rakehells, Widow or Widower
By: Marcia, guest reviewer
Anthony Hamilton had always been scandalous. Even his parentage was questionable though his mother's husband accepted him as his son. Anthony had been thrown out of school several times for gambling although he did finish Oxford in record time. His debts are sometimes rumored to be very high and at other times he seems flush with cash. He keeps company with married women and it is rumored that he also talks them out of their funds. Anthony Hamilton is scandalous; too scandalous for marriageable young ladies. One evening at a ball he sees Celia Reece, the sister of an old school friend, trying to discourage an ardent admirer. He steps in to help. Suddenly he realizes that Celia, who is eight years younger, is no longer the child that used to follow Anthony and her brother, begging to join in their summer pastimes. Her beauty stuns him. The more that he watches her and remembers how much he always enjoyed her company, the more that he thinks that maybe this is a woman he could marry. Given his reputation, he does not think that her family would accept him, but after several weeks he finally gets up the nerve to ask for her hand. Unfortunately.... Celia marries someone else.
A Rake's Guide to Seduction has a straightforward plot with almost all of the action centered on Celia and Anthony, but the unique approach and Linden's fluid writing style sweeps the reader away into another time and place and presents us with a timeless romance. The main antagonist is doubt. Anthony and Celia doubt their own judgment, and must struggle to trust their own hearts. This wonderfully presented story makes for very enjoyable reading.
Four Stars
Originally posted 2008-12-29 05:33:01. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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December 25th, 2009 — 3 Stars, Dukes and Earls, Great Britain, Guest Reviews, Historical Romance, J-L, Virgin Heroine
By: Marcia, guest reviewer
Quiet and obedient Emily Fairchild is not expecting an adventure. She is content to care for her father, a country vicar since her mother died after a long illness less than a year before. She is happy to have been invited to the masquerade ball being held by the Marquess of Dryden at his country estate. Her cousin Lawrence was kind enough to escort her.
Emily is unable to dance, still being in mourning, but she is looking forward to visiting with her best friend, Lady Sophia, daughter of her father’s patron, Lord Nesfield. Unfortunately, Lady Sophia is dancing with the notorious Earl of Blackmore. Lord Nesfield takes issue with this and there is an embarrassing confrontation.
When Emily is ready to leave she follows a man that she thinks is her cousin and gets into his carriage. In the dark, it takes little time for Emily to realize that the man in the carriage is not her cousin but the Earl of Blackmore. The Earl is happy to have what he thinks is a widow in his carriage. He has no use for virginal young ladies, as he is not ready for marriage.
Maneuvering herself away from the seductive Earl and back into the ball without anyone seeing her is the first of her adventures. Soon she finds herself accused of murdering her mother and blackmailed into posing as the spirited niece of Lord Nesfield in London and must find out who tried to elope with Lady Sophia.
Since the Earl of Blackmore and his friends are the suspects, Emily must spend time flirting and trying to encourage them to confide in her. In the meantime the Earl of Blackmore has not forgotten the lovely Emily Fairchild whom he recognizes in spite of the fact that the carriage, on that first night, was very dark.
This delightful romp entertains with twists and turns provided by the mystery of who tried to elope with Lady Sophia and the necessity of defeating Lord Nesfied. The personal growth that the characters find on the way to love adds interest and dimension.
Rating: 3 Stars
Buy: The Forbidden Lord
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Originally posted 2008-11-30 00:41:40. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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November 23rd, 2009 — 4 Stars, 4.5 Stars, ARC, Book Review, Georgette Heyer
I found Arabella to be wickedly entertaining; a superb comedy of manners! It is a little slow getting started. A good fifty pages are devoted to simply getting ready to go to London – the hero isn’t even introduced! When you get past that portion the story really picks up and is very exciting.
Arabella Tallant is very cheeky and clever. She has a temper that gets her into trouble and a mouth that often runs away with her. She and her family are impoverished. Her father’s a parson and it is by the ingenuity of her mother that Arabella is able to go to London to have a season. It is very important she makes an excellent match so she can help her family.
Robert Beaumaris is sick and tired of young ladies and their mothers throwing themselves at his feet in hopes he’ll trip over them and into marriage. He is defined repeatedly as a Nonpareil, which means he has no equal and is peerless. Men imitate him in fashion. Persons, male and female, strive for his approval. A glance or comment from Robert can make or break someone socially.
Reading parts of the story from his point of view opens lots of wonderful insight to what's going on and how's he's thinking of things. This novel seemed very modern to me because of the amount of head switching.
When Arabella overhears a flippant remark by Robert to Charles Fleetwood, she’s angered and in a fit of spontaneity affects superior airs and claims to be an heiress. On a whim Robert chooses to put weight behind her story and instantly Arabella is thrust to the top of society. Mamas want their sons to marry her, gentlemen want to woo her, and several fortune hunters start sniffing around her most eagerly.
In too deep, Arabella doesn’t see a way out. She can’t marry any of her suitors; they think she’s wealthy. She can’t tell the truth; it would socially ruin her. Then her brother, Bertram Tallant, shows up in London and makes matters worse by gambling far and above his means. The love of her life could also become her salvation, but how can one tell a man you just married you’re not an heiress and in fact in desperate need of funds?
Rating: 4-4.5 Stars
Buy: Arabella
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August 4th, 2009 — 4 Stars, Book Review, Comedy of Manners, Cross-Dressing Female, Gambling, Gentry, Georgette Heyer, Great Britain, Regency, Runaway, Travel, Virgin Heroine
The Corinthian ranks in my top 5 favorite Georgette Heyers to date.
My favorite things about this novel:
- The hero and heroine spend a majority of the book in each other’s presence.
- The heroine cross-dresses to look like a young lad for most of the novel with the hero helping her in her disguise.
- The heroine is not a fainting female and is intelligent, if a little young.
- The childhood sweetheart of the heroine has his own love match and is no way put out by the romance between the hero and heroine.
- The thief cant: snabble and snaffle are my two new favorite words.
- The kiss scene. How’s that for a tease?
Corinthian: a man about town, esp. one who lives luxuriously or, sometimes, dissolutely.
---dictionary.com
Sir Richard Wyndham reminds me a bit of Lord Worth. [Hopefully I’m recalling the right hero.] With Wyndham however it is easier to tell his amusement and enjoyment around Penelope Creed.
Penelope or Pen as she’s referred to when dressed like a boy, is escaping her aunt’s household. She won’t marry her cousin! She won’t! She will marry instead her childhood sweetheart, Piers Luttrell, with whom she’d made a secret engagement five years ago.
Richard is on the verge of making the worst mistake of his life. He’s planning to give his suit to Melissa Brandon, a cold practical woman, because his family is badgering him to marry. The idea drives him to drink. Imagine his surprise at seeing a young lad escape through a window via knotted bed sheets... and then to find out that the lad is in fact a young chit of a girl barely out of the school room.
I’ve noticed in the novels that I’ve read so far that Heyer likes to pair considerably older gentleman with young ladies still in their early teens, rarely in their twenties. It’s usually about a decade age difference. Why do you think she did this?
Rating: 4 Stars
Buy: The Corinthian
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