What I've Read This Week . . .
The Spinster and the Wastrel by Louise Bergin -- Regency Romance
Miss
Annette Courtney is the impoverished spinster daughter of the former vicar. Her life has been dedicated to doing good works and hounding the notoriously stingy Sir Nigel Montfort for money to improve the lives of the poor. When Sir Nigel dies and the will is read, Annette learns that Sir Nigel left all his wealth to her! Sir Nigel's nephew, Gerard is left with the estate but no money to run it. Gerard is angry with his late uncle who had little love for the boy he raised or the man that Gerard has become. What's worse is that Sir Nigel, believing his nephew to be a wastrel, libeled him to Annette. Annette wishes to open a school for the village children, secretly hoping it will fill a void in her heart. Unbeknowst to Annette, Gerard has had to live by his wits, his charm and his luck his whole life and has always longed to be part of society. When he learned his uncle died, he visited a moneylender in order to celebrate. The celebrations was premature and now Gerard is in debt and the moneylender is hounding him for money. Gerard also wants to do what's best for his tenants but needs Annette's money and she stubbornly refuses to give up the money without a fight. As they get to know each other, Annette and Gerard become friends and share an attraction to one another but pride and money matters nearly keep them apart. The story moves very slowly towards the usual conclusion without much plot. I wanted to like Annette because she is a bluestocking but she was too self-righteous and I found her annoying. Gerard is a charming hero once the reader gets to know him. I would recommend this one for fans of Christian romance and those interested in reform.
My Lad
y Gamester by Cara King -- Regency Romance
Richard Stanton has recently come home from the wars and inherited the title Earl of Stoke after the deaths of his father and older brother. He wasn't bred for the role and isn't used to civilian life. He has difficulty controlling his younger brother's actions and fears that Edmund will end up a hardened gamester like their father was before them. One night when Stoke enters a private drawing room gaming club to extricate his brother from the clutches of a card sharp, he encounters a beautiful green-eyed, gold-haired lady holding her own against said card sharp. Stoke is enchanted by the lady and feels the need to protect her and sits down to cards with her in the hopes that she'll lose and learn her lesson. Instead of losing, she wins quite a bit of money from the bewildered Stoke. What Stoke doesn't know is that Miss Atalanta James is a card sharp herself. Five years ago her father lost everything in one card game with the previous Earl of Stoke and two other gentlemen of the ton; a card game in which the other gentlemen cheated. The loss precipitated Atalanta's father's decline and subsequent death. With their mother run off with a younger, wealthy man, Atalanta takes on the responsibility of caring for her younger stepbrother and half-sister. Atalanta and her younger sister are unhappy living with cruel relatives who blame the children for the family's loss of money. Atalanta and Stoke become friends, sharing intimate details of their lives and hopes and dreams. Stoke tries to apologize for his father's win, but he doesn't know the whole truth or that Atalanta plans to ruin her father's enemies, avenge his death and provide for her family's future. As her feelings for Stoke develop, she wrestles with her conscience and shares her plans with him. Both Atalanta and Stoke must weigh family pride against doing the right thing before they can come to an understanding. Both Atalanta and Stoke's stories are revealed slowly over the course of the novel which makes their behavior believable and understandable. All the good characters are developed and easy to like and the bad are stereotypical villains. The plot kept me turning the pages until the conclusion. This is a good, well-crafted novel.
Rake's Ransom by Barbara Metzger -- Regency Romance
Seventeen-year-old Jacelyn Trevaine has been indulged by her scholarly father and allowed to run wild and free. She is a dedicated animal lover and continually runs afoul of the local Squire whose passion is fox hunting. The Squire informs Jacey's father that she needs to be controlled and her father promises to think about Jacey's future a little more. The Squire has a party of London friends and relatives coming for a hunting party and to ensure that Jacey doesn't ruin his party, he arrests and jails her dog as a public nuisance. Angry, Jacey decides to fight blackmail with blackmail and decides to kidnap Squire Bostwick's nephew, Lord Arthur Parkhurt, a London dandy. The plan goes off without a hitch, or so Jacey thinks, until she learns that she has kidnapped the wrong man! The man shut up alone with Jacey is Leigh, the Earl of Claibourne, just returned from the wars and a notorious rake! With a kiss to ruin her reputation and inspire previously unknown feelings, Jacey is in a real pickle when the rest of the Squire's party discover what Jacey has done. The Squire pressures Lord Trevaine to force Claibourne to marry the girl. Claibourne is willing for he needs money to run his estate and has truly been captivated by Jacey's unschooled manners, but Trevaine doesn't want to push his daughter into anything she doesn't want. Jacey agrees to a pre-betrothal promise from Claibourne and a London Season co-sponsored her her aunt, Claibourne and his elderly aunt. Jacey takes London by storm and charms her way into society but there's only one man she wants and she believes he doesn't love her. Meanwhile, Leigh's uncle, left crippled and bitter over an old family feud, is determined to prevent Leigh from ever marrying so his own son will have the title as well as fortune. Leigh's cousin Percy isn't very bright but he's determined to succeed with rather unexpected results. A series of adventures brings the novel to the inevitable conclusion. Too much time is spent on Leigh's uncle's revenge so the ending happens very abruptly leaving me wondering "Is that all?" The beginning of the novel is funny and Jacey is a great character but I lost interest early on when it became one of those misunderstanding plots. Still, the familiar plot is better than most of it's kind because of spunky Jacey and her adventures. There are some passages of passionate kissing and descriptions of Jacey's feelings that may not please fans of traditional Regencies. Overall, this book is not a bad read.
A Loyal Companion by Barbara Metzger -- Regency Romance
Sonia Randolph, called Sunny by her loved ones, has always been the apple of her father, the Squire's eye. Unlike her proper elder sister, Sonia loves to romp about the country visiting the tenants and lighting up her father's life. Her maternal grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Atterbury, thinks Sonia is a hoyden and is determined Sunny will make a match worthy of the family name so when Sunny's oldest brother marries and sets up his nursery and Sunny's father decides to remarry as well, Sunny is sent off to London for her come-out. In London, despite her grandmother's best intentions, Sunny remains her usual cheery and kind self. Always at her side loving her and protecting her is her faithful dog Fitz. Fitz gets lost and causes a chain of events resulting in a broken leg. Major Darius Conover, the Earl of Warebourne, brings Fitz home and mends the broken leg. Fitz is cheerful company for Darius' three young nieces, recently orphaned and left to his care. When Fitz is well enough to find his way home, he introduces Sunny and the Major. Sunny instantly feels sorry for the wounded war hero and tries to befriend him. Unfortunately, her most prominent suitor, Lord Ansel Berke, brings up an old scandal about his sister and Conover which had resulted in Conover's being shunned by polite society. Sunny doesn't believe the old scandal and continues to see Conover, growing ever closer to him and his nieces but old scandals die hard and the path to Sunny's future happiness is bumpy. Through it all, her dog Fitz narrates the story, contemplates the odd mating behavior of humans and tries to help Sunny find her life mate. Fitz is an intelligent dog who questions philosophical issues such as whether there is a heaven, why humans only worship one god, and of course, human social behavior. I'm a huge dog lover and I am all for literate dogs but Fitz is well read in Greek and Roman literature, which I am not, so I found it hard to follow and hard to relate Sunny's story to Fitz's favorite stories. A third person omniscient narrator shares the telling of the story with Fitz which is a little confusing. Sunny is a fun heroine, much like Jacey in Rake's Ransom. I think the two of them should get together and take London by storm! Darius isn't very well developed and I never got a sense of why Sunny loved him other than her instinct to take care of him. The ending drags on way too long but ends satisfactorily.
On the Way to Gretna Green by Marian Devon -- Regency Romance
Twenty-seven year old spinster Claudia Wentworth interrupts a late-night debauched bachelor card game to demand that Lord Thornton provide her with assistance or conveyance to catch her niece and his younger brother who have eloped to Gretna Greene. Thronton takes Claudia in his barouche but quickly hands her the reins while he falls asleep! That is the beginning of their adventures which continue in London where Claudia and her sister have come to stay with Thornton's merry, matchmaking aunt. Claudia must confront her feelings for her former fiancee, decide whether or not to publish her novel and figure out the exasperating behavior of Lord Thornton. That's enough to drive any girl crazy, but Claudia remains mainly steady and calm through it all and doesn't let go of her good sense. She is a very likable heroine. Thorn is a rather unconventional hero but he's very funny and kind in a teasing sort of way. I found him rather appealing and laughed at his unusual approach to dealing with Claudia. This is a fun, light comedy of manners romance bound to please fans of Jane Austen and traditional Regency comedy/romance novels.
The Spinster and the Wastrel by Louise Bergin -- Regency Romance
Miss
Annette Courtney is the impoverished spinster daughter of the former vicar. Her life has been dedicated to doing good works and hounding the notoriously stingy Sir Nigel Montfort for money to improve the lives of the poor. When Sir Nigel dies and the will is read, Annette learns that Sir Nigel left all his wealth to her! Sir Nigel's nephew, Gerard is left with the estate but no money to run it. Gerard is angry with his late uncle who had little love for the boy he raised or the man that Gerard has become. What's worse is that Sir Nigel, believing his nephew to be a wastrel, libeled him to Annette. Annette wishes to open a school for the village children, secretly hoping it will fill a void in her heart. Unbeknowst to Annette, Gerard has had to live by his wits, his charm and his luck his whole life and has always longed to be part of society. When he learned his uncle died, he visited a moneylender in order to celebrate. The celebrations was premature and now Gerard is in debt and the moneylender is hounding him for money. Gerard also wants to do what's best for his tenants but needs Annette's money and she stubbornly refuses to give up the money without a fight. As they get to know each other, Annette and Gerard become friends and share an attraction to one another but pride and money matters nearly keep them apart. The story moves very slowly towards the usual conclusion without much plot. I wanted to like Annette because she is a bluestocking but she was too self-righteous and I found her annoying. Gerard is a charming hero once the reader gets to know him. I would recommend this one for fans of Christian romance and those interested in reform. My Lad
y Gamester by Cara King -- Regency RomanceRichard Stanton has recently come home from the wars and inherited the title Earl of Stoke after the deaths of his father and older brother. He wasn't bred for the role and isn't used to civilian life. He has difficulty controlling his younger brother's actions and fears that Edmund will end up a hardened gamester like their father was before them. One night when Stoke enters a private drawing room gaming club to extricate his brother from the clutches of a card sharp, he encounters a beautiful green-eyed, gold-haired lady holding her own against said card sharp. Stoke is enchanted by the lady and feels the need to protect her and sits down to cards with her in the hopes that she'll lose and learn her lesson. Instead of losing, she wins quite a bit of money from the bewildered Stoke. What Stoke doesn't know is that Miss Atalanta James is a card sharp herself. Five years ago her father lost everything in one card game with the previous Earl of Stoke and two other gentlemen of the ton; a card game in which the other gentlemen cheated. The loss precipitated Atalanta's father's decline and subsequent death. With their mother run off with a younger, wealthy man, Atalanta takes on the responsibility of caring for her younger stepbrother and half-sister. Atalanta and her younger sister are unhappy living with cruel relatives who blame the children for the family's loss of money. Atalanta and Stoke become friends, sharing intimate details of their lives and hopes and dreams. Stoke tries to apologize for his father's win, but he doesn't know the whole truth or that Atalanta plans to ruin her father's enemies, avenge his death and provide for her family's future. As her feelings for Stoke develop, she wrestles with her conscience and shares her plans with him. Both Atalanta and Stoke must weigh family pride against doing the right thing before they can come to an understanding. Both Atalanta and Stoke's stories are revealed slowly over the course of the novel which makes their behavior believable and understandable. All the good characters are developed and easy to like and the bad are stereotypical villains. The plot kept me turning the pages until the conclusion. This is a good, well-crafted novel.
Seventeen-year-old Jacelyn Trevaine has been indulged by her scholarly father and allowed to run wild and free. She is a dedicated animal lover and continually runs afoul of the local Squire whose passion is fox hunting. The Squire informs Jacey's father that she needs to be controlled and her father promises to think about Jacey's future a little more. The Squire has a party of London friends and relatives coming for a hunting party and to ensure that Jacey doesn't ruin his party, he arrests and jails her dog as a public nuisance. Angry, Jacey decides to fight blackmail with blackmail and decides to kidnap Squire Bostwick's nephew, Lord Arthur Parkhurt, a London dandy. The plan goes off without a hitch, or so Jacey thinks, until she learns that she has kidnapped the wrong man! The man shut up alone with Jacey is Leigh, the Earl of Claibourne, just returned from the wars and a notorious rake! With a kiss to ruin her reputation and inspire previously unknown feelings, Jacey is in a real pickle when the rest of the Squire's party discover what Jacey has done. The Squire pressures Lord Trevaine to force Claibourne to marry the girl. Claibourne is willing for he needs money to run his estate and has truly been captivated by Jacey's unschooled manners, but Trevaine doesn't want to push his daughter into anything she doesn't want. Jacey agrees to a pre-betrothal promise from Claibourne and a London Season co-sponsored her her aunt, Claibourne and his elderly aunt. Jacey takes London by storm and charms her way into society but there's only one man she wants and she believes he doesn't love her. Meanwhile, Leigh's uncle, left crippled and bitter over an old family feud, is determined to prevent Leigh from ever marrying so his own son will have the title as well as fortune. Leigh's cousin Percy isn't very bright but he's determined to succeed with rather unexpected results. A series of adventures brings the novel to the inevitable conclusion. Too much time is spent on Leigh's uncle's revenge so the ending happens very abruptly leaving me wondering "Is that all?" The beginning of the novel is funny and Jacey is a great character but I lost interest early on when it became one of those misunderstanding plots. Still, the familiar plot is better than most of it's kind because of spunky Jacey and her adventures. There are some passages of passionate kissing and descriptions of Jacey's feelings that may not please fans of traditional Regencies. Overall, this book is not a bad read.
A Loyal Companion by Barbara Metzger -- Regency Romance
Sonia Randolph, called Sunny by her loved ones, has always been the apple of her father, the Squire's eye. Unlike her proper elder sister, Sonia loves to romp about the country visiting the tenants and lighting up her father's life. Her maternal grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Atterbury, thinks Sonia is a hoyden and is determined Sunny will make a match worthy of the family name so when Sunny's oldest brother marries and sets up his nursery and Sunny's father decides to remarry as well, Sunny is sent off to London for her come-out. In London, despite her grandmother's best intentions, Sunny remains her usual cheery and kind self. Always at her side loving her and protecting her is her faithful dog Fitz. Fitz gets lost and causes a chain of events resulting in a broken leg. Major Darius Conover, the Earl of Warebourne, brings Fitz home and mends the broken leg. Fitz is cheerful company for Darius' three young nieces, recently orphaned and left to his care. When Fitz is well enough to find his way home, he introduces Sunny and the Major. Sunny instantly feels sorry for the wounded war hero and tries to befriend him. Unfortunately, her most prominent suitor, Lord Ansel Berke, brings up an old scandal about his sister and Conover which had resulted in Conover's being shunned by polite society. Sunny doesn't believe the old scandal and continues to see Conover, growing ever closer to him and his nieces but old scandals die hard and the path to Sunny's future happiness is bumpy. Through it all, her dog Fitz narrates the story, contemplates the odd mating behavior of humans and tries to help Sunny find her life mate. Fitz is an intelligent dog who questions philosophical issues such as whether there is a heaven, why humans only worship one god, and of course, human social behavior. I'm a huge dog lover and I am all for literate dogs but Fitz is well read in Greek and Roman literature, which I am not, so I found it hard to follow and hard to relate Sunny's story to Fitz's favorite stories. A third person omniscient narrator shares the telling of the story with Fitz which is a little confusing. Sunny is a fun heroine, much like Jacey in Rake's Ransom. I think the two of them should get together and take London by storm! Darius isn't very well developed and I never got a sense of why Sunny loved him other than her instinct to take care of him. The ending drags on way too long but ends satisfactorily.
On the Way to Gretna Green by Marian Devon -- Regency RomanceTwenty-seven year old spinster Claudia Wentworth interrupts a late-night debauched bachelor card game to demand that Lord Thornton provide her with assistance or conveyance to catch her niece and his younger brother who have eloped to Gretna Greene. Thronton takes Claudia in his barouche but quickly hands her the reins while he falls asleep! That is the beginning of their adventures which continue in London where Claudia and her sister have come to stay with Thornton's merry, matchmaking aunt. Claudia must confront her feelings for her former fiancee, decide whether or not to publish her novel and figure out the exasperating behavior of Lord Thornton. That's enough to drive any girl crazy, but Claudia remains mainly steady and calm through it all and doesn't let go of her good sense. She is a very likable heroine. Thorn is a rather unconventional hero but he's very funny and kind in a teasing sort of way. I found him rather appealing and laughed at his unusual approach to dealing with Claudia. This is a fun, light comedy of manners romance bound to please fans of Jane Austen and traditional Regency comedy/romance novels.
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