What I've Read This Week Part II

What I've Read This Week Part II . . .

Lord Pierson Reforms by Donna Simpson -- Regency Romance

Dante, Lord Pierson is staggering home drunk one night accompanied by two doxys when a carriage rolls by and splashes him. Pierson views the face of a beautiful angel staring out the window at him and vows that he will find and marry that angel and she will be his moral compass and guiding light to reform. The angel's face belongs to Lady Rowena Revington and her beauty is only skin deep. Lady Rowena is the spoiled youngest daughter of a Duke who has vowed never ever to marry though she enjoys making conquests of all the gentlemen of the ton much to the dismay of her chaperon, Miss Amy Corbett. Amy is a simple, country girl fresh from her governess job in Ireland and she knows little about the ways of the ton and even less about how to convince Lady Rowena to marry so Amy doesn't get thrown out on the streets. When Lord Pierson at last comes face to face with his angel once more, he begins his suit. However, his friend Lord Bainbridge, feels that Lady Rowena would not make the ideal bride for a hopeless romantic like Lord Pierson and he sets out to prove it. Lord Pierson continues on with his suit despite the odds with some help from the sweet, gentle Amy. The very basic plot outline of this story copies Georgette Heyer's The Nonesuch but is vastly different in the approach. Lord Pierson acts as if he's been placed under a love spell for a good 200+ pages. Amy is mostly too good to be true with only occasional moment of humanity. I preferred the secondary characters more because they had more depth and realism than the primary characters. The story is rather silly and unbelievable and I had a hard time getting through it without throwing the book down in disgust. It is not destined to be one of my favorites. If you like besotted love struck heroes and Mary Sue heroines then you'll like this novel. 

A Dangerous Dalliance by Regina Scott-- Traditional Regency Romance

Miss Hannah Alexander is the art teacher at the Barnsley School for Young Ladies is about to embark on a career as a portrait painter when the headmistress engages Hannah to chaperone four young ladies to visit Priscilla's Aunt Sylvia on the Earl of Brentfield's estate. Lady Sylvia's husband and stepson have recently died in a terrible carriage accident, leaving Lady Sylvia to run the estate until the new heir could be found. David Tenant, an American leatherworker from Boston is newly arrived in England to inherit the title of Earl of Brentfield and take over the running of the estate. He has no idea what he's doing but thankfully he has a friend in his steward, a black gentleman named Asheram. It's a good thing Asheram is on hand because Lady Sylvia is extremely reluctant to give up control. She has tried all means of keeping her position - including trying to seduce David. Now she's bent on throwing her niece Priscilla at his head. David, however, only has eyes for Hannah. He loves her quiet beauty and her passion for art. Likewise Hannah quickly falls in love with the charming David. Together they search for the missing art treasures the late Earl had hidden from his greedy wife. When mysterious accidents happen that nearly cost the lives of David and Hannah, the young ladies are convinced someone is trying to murder their teacher and/or their host. They're determined to make the adults understand. They also understand that their host is courting their quiet art teacher and are determined to make a match. However, it may be too late for a happy ending unless the young ladies can make the adults see what is happening. This novel is a bit of a departure from Scott's other books. It takes place after The Twelve Days of Christmas and just before La Petite Four. It introduces the characters of La Petite Four. There is also a mystery which must be solved and murder to avoid. The reader knows exactly who the villain is and what the villain's motivation is. It's painfully obvious yet the characters don't realize it until the end. The villain is very diabolical. I felt a bit sorry for the villain at first but then they went way over the top to try to gain the upper hand. The villain is truly nasty and someone the reader will love to hate. The romance is not secondary to the mystery as in Georgette Heyer's traditional Regencies. The romance takes front and center with love at first sight. I always find love at first sight a bit silly but this time the characters seemed attracted to one another and seemed interested in getting to know each other. The romance is sweet even though Hannah and David break a lot of rules. The young ladies are spoiled and selfish. They're stereotypical upper class young ladies and don't show a whole lot of character growth. Only Priscilla grows as a result of events in the novel. We also learn more about some of the characters featured in previous novels, which is always fun. This is not my favorite of Scott's novels, but it will please fans of traditional Regencies and sweet Regencies.