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The Best Intentions: A Regency Romance, by Candice Hern – A Review

Posted in Blog Events, Book Reviews, Regency Era Book Reviews, Regency Romance Reading Challenge 2013, tagged Book Reviews, Books, Candice Hern, Giveaways, Reading, Regency Romance Reading Challenge 2013, Swag, The Best Intentions on 22 May 2013 | 19 Comments »

This is my fifth selection in the Regency Romance Reading Challenge 2013, our celebration of Regency romance author Candice Hern. We will be reading all of her traditional Regencies over the next nine months, discussing her characters, plots and Regency history. You can still join the reading challenge until July 1, 2013. Participants, please leave comments and or links to your reviews for this month in the comment section of this post.

My Review:

“Hell is paved with good intentions.” ― Samuel Johnson

I just couldn’t resist throwing in this famous quote by the great literary genius, poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer of the 18th century, Samuel Johnson. His moral and literary influence on Jane Austen has been well documented by scholars. Austen’s inspiration on her beneficiaries including Georgette Heyer, the greatest Regency romance novelist of the 20th century, and now the next generation with Candice Hern gives her novel The Best Intentions a six degrees of separation that writers dream about. The hero, heroine, antagonist and secondary characters all act with “good intentions” using moral judgment to rationalize their actions. What ensues is a social comedy of manners that takes a sly look at what motivates Society in the Regency era—and like Johnson, Austen and Heyer, Hern gives us a dose of humor and romance to soften reality.

It is 1814. Peace is at hand in England after decades of war with France. Bonaparte has been exiled to Elba and British soldiers are returning home. Like Jane Austen’s novels, The Best Intentions is not about the war or government politics. It is about two or three county families at a manor house in Northamptonshire and two people who do not want to marry anyone, but by social stricture must do so, and how the best intentions of their family and friends try to influence them.

Miles Prescott, the Earl of Strickland, has secretly put himself back on the marriage market after the death of his wife two years ago. After his failed first attempt to attach himself to a new bride two months ago at a country house party at Chissingworth, (A Garden Folly), he is dead set against a young romantic Miss and determined to find an older woman who has known love and only seeks security and comfort. He jokes that he will marry anyone who likes his two daughters, and, is young enough to give him an heir. His older sister Lady Tyndale is an unstoppable force. She is determined to see him married and arrives at Epping Hall with two cousins in tow: Lady Abingdon, a beautiful young widow, and her nineteen-year old half-sister, bookish and unpolished Hannah Fairbanks. Presently acting as Hannah’s chaperone, Charlotte wants to “seriously pursue this fine lord without the added baggage of an unmarried, bookish bumpkin under her wing.” On the other hand, Hannah is not interested in courtship and marriage, at all. The only true pleasures in her life are books and architecture. The one reason she is being somewhat reasonable about this trip is to see St. Biddulph’s church near Eppingham, the most historically significant Saxon building in England.

Unpolished and impulsive, things pop out of Hannah’s mouth before she knows it, a bracing surprise to the earl and his guests at Epping Hall, but a humorous and enlightening for the reader! The contrast between this geekish colt of a girl and her calculating older sister is startling:

“Men were stupid creatures, Hannah decided as she watched the earl and Mr. Wetherby chatting with Charlotte on the other side of the drawing room as they waited for dinner to be announced. How easily they fell victim to her sister’s manufactured charm. They appeared completely captivated. Charlotte had their undivided attention as she spoke to them in her whispery for-gentlemen-only voice.” p. 50

Like Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, Hern gives the reader the opportunity to question “what is the difference in matrimonial affairs between the mercenary and the prudent motive? Where does discretion end, and avarice begin?” Hannah may be straight out of the schoolroom, but she sees quite clearly the way of the world—the motivations of both men and women for matrimony—sex and money, and she wants no part of it. Lord Stickland has known love and lost it; he now is resigned to settle for an unromantic alliance. Will he choose the wife that his sister and his defeated spirit want, or the most unlikely of the two cousins?

Even though I guessed in the first chapter who would end up with whom, the character arch in The Best Intentions is one of the most memorable of Hern’s novels. Hannah Fairbanks is my favorite of her heroines: she is like a cross between Austen’s young, impressionable Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey and spirited and outspoken Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice; two heroines I greatly admire, who when combined cancel out their negative characteristics and blend to make one unique and delightful young lady. The reserved and practical Miles is a hunk to boot, so get ready for witty dialogue and swoon worthy romance. I highly recommend it.

5 out of 5 Regency Stars

The Best Intentions: A Regency Romance, by Candice Hern
CreateSpace (2012)
Trade paperback (232) pages
ISBN: 978-1479277599

A Grand Giveaway

Author Candice Hern has generously offered one print copy or one digital copy of The Best Intentions to one lucky winner. Leave a comment stating what intrigues you about this novel, or if you have read it, who your favorite character is by midnight PT, Wednesday, May 28, 2013. Winner to be announced on Thursday, May 29, 2013. Print book shipment to US addresses only. Digital copy delivery internationally. Good luck!

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A Garden Folly: A Regency Romance, by Candice Hern – A Review

Posted in Blog Events, Book Reviews, Regency Era Book Reviews, Regency Romance Reading Challenge 2013, tagged A Garden Folly, Book Reviews, Books, Candice Hern, Fiction, Giveaways, Historical Fiction, Reading, Regency era, Regency romance, Regency Romance Reading Challenge 2013, Swag on 24 April 2013 | 43 Comments »

This is my fourth selection in the Regency Romance Reading Challenge 2013, our celebration of Regency romance author Candice Hern. We will be reading all of her traditional Regencies over the next nine months, discussing her characters, plots and Regency history. You can still join the reading challenge until July 1, 2013. Participants, please leave comments and or links to your reviews for this month in the comment section of this post.

My Review:

In landscape design, a garden folly is a structure whose only objective is to deceive. They have no purpose other than as ornament—to delight the eye and draw one to their door to evoke a romantic scene or time. How apt that author Candice Hern chose to name her Regency romance A Garden Folly, since her main characters are follies themselves.

Set at the Kent grand country estate of the Duke of Carlisle, two impoverished sisters impersonate aristocrats to entrap rich husbands, while the wealthy and titled owner of the dukedom, and the continuing custodian and creator of its grand landscape, hides behind the mantle of head gardener to avert interaction with Society. Both hero and heroine have serious trust issues. How they will overcome their personal challenges is a serpentine path that teasingly twists, turns, and surprises the reader until the last page.

Catherine and Susannah Forsythe are down on their luck. Living in genteel poverty in the wrong side of London with Aunt Hetty was not what they had expected at this time in their lives. Their father, Sir Benjamin Forsythe, squandered their family fortune before he died two years ago, but they still have beauty and wits in their corner. A surprise invitation from Aunt Hetty’s childhood friend, the Duchess of Carlisle, for her annual summer house party at Chissingworth may be their only chance to catch rich husbands. Determined to pull off the deception that they are wealthy young ladies, Catherine, with the help of their servant McDougal, magically acquire all the tools needed to disguise their poverty: clothes, carriage, jewels and servants. Now they must set their caps for the right man, steering clear of the wrongs sorts: “penniless younger sons, clerics, or half-pay officers.” Arriving in style, the deception begins.

Stephen Archibald Frederick Charles Godfrey Manwaring, Duke of Carlisle, is a serious gardener and devout bachelor. At two and thirty he has managed to avoid marriage and his mother’s annual summer garden party, devised to introduce him to marriageable young ladies, for years. Since the enigmatic duke has succeeded eluding polite Society most of his life, he has been tagged an eccentric half-wit. He has, however, devoted his life to the management of his estate’s landscapes, collecting rare plants and avoiding love. Catherine, also a great admirer of rare plants is thrilled at the chance to be in the country again and happily strolls the gardens to drink in the verdant countryside and profuse flora of the magnificently landscaped Chissingworth gardens. When the young duke and young the masquerading fortune hunter collide in the garden, he is roughly dressed and she mistakes him for the head gardener. She is a passionate admirer of rare flowers, especially hybrids, which are his favorites too—so he lets the deception continue. They agree to meet again the next morning, and thus begins his infatuation with a new rare flower named Catherine. She, on the other hand, is deep into discovering the “right” husband for her beautiful but dim sister Sukey and herself, and with the help of McDougal, who runs recon to determine who among the 60 guests are listed on the top 50 bachelors under 40 in Britain, is totally oblivious to who she is actually meeting every morning to tour the gardens. Also among the guests is Stephen’s friend Miles, the Earl of Strickland, a recent widow who takes a shine to Catherine. There are many other eligible bachelors to pursue until nearsighted Susannah goes after the wrong green-coated man and all of the weight of finding a rich husband falls on Catherine. As she and the head gardener become more than friends, and an earl is courting her, Catherine must decide if she should marry for love or money.

The British are indisputably passionate gardeners. Setting A Garden Folly at a country estate at the height of August, the peak blooming season, allowed the author to take us on a fabulous journey through the gardens as they would have appeared in Regency times:

“With this in mind, she wandered through the surprisingly informal arrangement of gardens. In the dressed grounds nearest the house, high, clipped shrubbery hedges of sweetbrier, box, and hawthorn surrounded each garden. Moving through the enclosed hedges was akin to walking through the various rooms of a house, each room different from the last. One was awash in bright colors of summer, the gravel paths bordered with stocks, pinks, double rocket, sweet Williams and asters. The morning sun fell upon spires of delphinium sparkling with dew. Her artist’s eye was drawn to the glitter of the moisture on the indigo and royal peaks, and she paused to seat herself on a nearby stone bench. She pulled a pencil and a scrap of paper from her pocket and roughly sketched the familiar blossoms.” p. 36

Hern is renowned for her Regency research and descriptions in her novels. Usually we are treated to vintage clothing fabrics and home interiors, but in this case we are delightfully entertained with flora and folly. The landscape as an artist’s canvas can be formed and molded and admired. So can people, and I was not only struck by our journey through the gardens of a vast country estate, but through the transformation of the characters.

Catherine was determined that she and her sister marry for money to save and protect their family. During Regency times that was not uncommon, but her mercenary motives eventually catch up with her as she reveals her true motives to the head gardener/Stephen as a fortune hunter of the worst sort. As her “veneer of perfection” to Stephen crumbles, he sees her fierce determination to bag a fortune—a large fortune—and is disgusted. Her heartless calculation repulses him and reinforces his trust issues. He is certain that no one can love him and not his title. He will not reveal that he is duke until he has secured her affection as a commoner; she will not let herself love a man who cannot provide for her in a grand style. Two people who have been forced by circumstances to be “follies,” destined for heartbreak.

I can’t honestly say that I admired Catherine and Stephen’s motives, nor their personalities, but by the end things do evolve and their facades change. How we are taken down the garden path is a delightful excursion. This garden geek was not only entranced by the picturesque views and swooning fragrance of an English garden, but by the transformation of the characters by love. A Garden Folly was the perfect antidote to a dark winter of rain and snow. A refreshing journey of discovery and delight.

4.5 out of 5 Regency Stars

A Garden Folly: A Regency Romance, by Candice Hern
CreateSpace (2012)
Trade paperback (236) pages
ISBN: 978-1479165766

A Grand Giveaway

Author Candice Hern has generously offered one print copy or one digital copy of A Garden Folly to one lucky winner. Leave a comment stating what intrigues you about this novel, or if you have read it, who your favorite character is by midnight PT, Wednesday, May 1, 2013. Winner to be announced on Thursday, May 2, 2013. Print book shipment to US addresses only. Digital copy delivery internationally. Good luck!

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The Tutor’s Daughter, by Julie Klassen – A Review

Posted in Book Reviews, Regency Era Book Reviews, tagged Book Review, Books, Christian Fiction, Historical Fiction, Julie Klassen, Reading, Regency era, Regency romance, The Tutor's Daughter on 17 April 2013 | 4 Comments »

From the desk of Katie P.

In keeping with her much loved style of traditional Regency romances, Julie Klassen has recently published her sixth novel, The Tutor’s Daughter, a romantic mystery set in Regency England. This novel blends the satisfying romance of Jane Austen with the Gothic surprises of Charlotte Bronte, coming together in a delightful style that is all the author’s own.

Ever since her mother died, Emma Smallwood has helped her father run his all-male boarding school. At twenty-one, she has found her time consumed by the many school related burdens that her father, in his grief, has ignored; teaching history, geography, and math, as well as trying to make ends meet for the quickly failing academy, with only a few moments to spare to dream about travel and adventures of her own. But just when the last pupil graduates and Emma runs out of all options to restore Smallwood Academy to its glory days, a letter arrives offering a new position to both Emma and her father, as tutor and tutor’s daughter for one year at Ebbington Manor along the stormy coast of Cornwall. While her father is overjoyed to leave the place that reminds him of his departed wife, Emma unearths long buried memories, ones that remind her of two particular pupils from her father’s academy. Phillip Weston, of the kind blue eyes, warm friendship, and stolen kiss, and Henry Weston, of the flashing green eyes, malicious pranks, and partner in one hard-to-be-forgotten dance. For Emma has discovered that the letter and advantageous job opening is from none other than Lord Weston, the father of both her friend, and her nemesis.

On her arrival at Ebbington Manor, Emma is disconcerted by the mysteries that seem to be in every dark corner and abandoned wing of her new home, as well as in the lives of everyone she meets. She and her father arrive virtually unexpected and are treated with suspicion from Lady Weston and disdain from Rowan and Julian Weston, the twins they are to teach. From the desperate cries that wake her in the middle of the night, to the hauntingly beautiful piano music that no one admits to playing, Emma is torn between staying uninvolved and seeking out the answers to all her questions on her own. But when she receives bloody threats and the animosity of Mr. Teague, the local who makes a living from salvaging cargo from wrecks, Emma finds herself caught up in a whirlwind of treachery, not knowing who to trust. Should she trust Lizzie, Lady Weston’s young and mercurial ward, Philip, who is the same friendly and flirtatious man she remembered, or Henry, who has transformed into a man of resolve and courage? With her life in danger and her faith in God tested, Emma must make her choice and discover the answers to all the many secrets, even those of her own heart.

The Tutor’s Daughter is definitely a novel of suspense. Every character–every chapter–has some newly uncovered mystery or clue. Sometimes this got to be a bit much—as I was reading I tried to tie in all the individual “clues” to one big mystery, only to discover that there were literally nine different secrets, large and small, that are all revealed at the end. At 409 pages, this should be considered an epic. Julie Klassen seemed to want to add everything possible to this book, from historical anecdotes about Cornwall, wreckers (those who salvage leftover cargo from wrecks), and special needs children, to romantic peril tied in with faith in God. All of this together made for a well written and exciting, if sometimes exhausting, read. Some of the most interesting parts of this book were Emma’s flashbacks of her growing-up years at her father’s academy. They provided much needed insights into who Emma really was, since at the beginning of the book she seems more repressed (busy as she is with taking care of her father and the school). Her past relationships with Henry and Philip Weston are slowly revealed by flashbacks chapter by chapter, so almost like an onion (or a flower if you’d rather a more romantic allusion), her back story is revealed layer by layer. By the end of the novel I found myself, almost without realizing it, very much attached to the main characters, much more so than when I first met them.

One of my favorite parts of The Tutor’s Daughter is Henry’s point of view past and present. Through his eyes you can see his take on some of the same events that Emma remembers (and cringes at), sometimes from a drastically different angle.

On a whim, he decided to toss pride aside and try transparent honesty instead. “Do you recall the last time you and I danced? I am afraid I was rude to you.” She ducked her head, embarrassed. “You didn’t like being forced to dance with me than any more than now, I imagine.” It was his turn to be taken aback. “Miss Smallwood, you are mistaken. I am very much enjoying dancing with you.” She stole a glance at him from under her long lashes. “And the last time we danced?” He grimaced, almost wishing he hadn’t brought up the past. “I had a dashed wart on my hand and was afraid you’d be repulsed.” She looked up, a grin quivering on her lips. “That was all?”

“That was enough. Dashed embarrassing.”

Her grin widened. He wasn’t sure if he liked her reaction or not. She seemed to be enjoying his mortification a bit too much. She said, “You might simply have said so.”

“In front of that lot? Never. Probably would have given me the nickname Wartson before the day was up.” p. 204

Julie Klassen did a fine job varying the conversations and emotions shared between the two main characters—there was a perfect balance of light-hearted banter–

“I have a good stance. Let me help you.” She grinned. “Just try to remain vertical so you don’t butt me with your very large head.”

He smirked up at her. “One wonders how I’ve found hats to fit me all these years.”

“I imagine your hatter is exceptionally well paid.” He placed his hand in hers but warned, “If I start to fall, let me go. Do you hear? I don’t want to have to put my back out lifting you up again.” p. 349

–and powerful interchange–

She walked through the water, her steps made slow and arduous by heavy, sodden skirts. Her eyes remained fastened on his. Another wave sprayed through the window, pelting Emma’s face. Her eyes filled with tears, too many to be blinked away, and salt water both warm and cold ran down her cheeks. She saw answering tears in his eyes. And somehow she knew the tears were not for himself but for her.” p. 348

–that made the climax, as well at The Tutor’s Daughter as a whole, a book well worth the read.

Rating: 5 out of 5 Regency Stars

The Tutor’s Daughter, by Julie Klassen
Bethany House Publishers (2013)
Trade paperback (416) pages
ISBN: 978-0764210693

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An Affair of Honor: A Regency Romance, by Candice Hern – A Review

Posted in Blog Events, Book Reviews, Regency Era Book Reviews, Regency Romance Reading Challenge 2013, tagged An Affair of Honor, Book Reviews, Books, Candice Hern, Giveaways, Reading, Regency Rakes Trilogy, Regency romance, Regency Romance Challenge, Swag on 27 March 2013 | 28 Comments »

This is my third selection in the Regency Romance Reading Challenge 2013, our celebration of Regency romance author Candice Hern. We will be reading all of her traditional Regencies over the next nine months, discussing her characters, plots and Regency history. You can still join the reading challenge until July 1, 2013. Participants, please leave comments and or links to your reviews for this month in the comment section of this post.

My Review:

An English gentleman lived by a code of honor, but does that also apply to rakes? Even if he is a gentleman by birth do his actions make the man? An Affair of Honor plays on that premise in an amusing way.

After being thrown from his curricle and hitting his head, Colin Herriot, Viscount Sedgewick thinks he sees an angel hovering over him, so he must be dead. Better angels than devils; though his capricious life and rakish ways should equal the later. The figure dons coppery curls and creamy skin so he must be in heaven.

Cradled gently in her arms, Meg Ashburton recognizes the injured traveler immediately as Lord Sedgewick whom she met six years prior during her London Season of 1808. She was a gangly debutante imitating a wallflower. He was a handsome rake with an infamous smile and scandalous reputation. He gallantly asked her to dance. She was smitten. She would never forget the handsome, charming man who showed a kindness to one who others of his station would not give the time of day. She doubted that he remembered her.

Meg and her brother Terrence rescue Sedge and bring him to their home, Thornhill, a horse breeding farm not far away from the scene of the accident. His head injury and broken leg bring on a serious fever which engulfs him for days. Letters are sent to his family and soon Cousin Albert Herriot arrives to see him improving, well cared for, but bedridden until his leg mends. Sedge is unconcerned when Terrence tells him that the axel of his curricle was purposely cut. Who could possibly want to harm him? He truly believes that it was just an accident.

After her disastrous debut season six years ago, Meg has had no interest in men and does not realize the beautiful woman that she has become. Sedge does, and is immediately attracted to her. She enjoys their time together as she helps care for him during his convalescence. She hopes he might propose. Cousin Bertie sees the attraction building between Meg and his cousin and tells Terrence that Sedge is not the marrying kind. Meg overhears his warning to her brother and the reality check hits her hard, so hard that when Sedge decides to propose she believes that he is playing true to form as the consummate rake and wants to engage her as his mistress and not his wife. This misunderstanding separates them brusquely and he returns to London a sullen man totally baffled by her refusal. She is totally offended by his dishonorable proposal. “He wanted her for his mistress. He could not have been more plain. He wanted her body and was willing to pay for it. What a fool she had been!”

This is the third novel in the Regency Rakes Trilogy and I am sure it is no surprise that all three heroes in the series meet their match and fall in love; these novels are romances after all. Each of the stories is connected through the friendship of the three men: Robert Cameron in A Proper Companion, Jack Raeburn in A Change of Heart and Colin Herriot in An Affair of Honor. Each are aristocratic libertine’s who have seduced women, gambled, drank, and avoided romance for many years, yet each in their own way are changed by the love of a woman.

Colin, or “Sedge” to his friends, is the last holdout of the group. The story opens brilliantly with the scene of the carriage accident and renewed acquaintance with Meg, an unlikely heroine who does not realize the power of her beauty or the charm of her own personality. It is a stark contrast to our hero who knows exactly the effect of his charms and plays them like a masterful musician. We don’t trust him, nor do we trust Meg’s inexperienced judgment. It is a perplexing misalliance.

The characterizations in An Affair of Honor are articulated and engaging. Hern gave herself a big challenge by confining the hero to his sickbed for half of the novel. To compensate we are given a generous helping of inner exposition, so be prepared for a slower pace. There is an interesting mystery that threads its way through the story which, though predictable, was intriguing. I was hoping for an Agatha Christie-like twist at the end, but we do get our share of romance. Huzzah indeed! “…he was a cad, she was a fool…” but who isn’t when it comes to love?

4 out of 5 Regency Stars

An Affair of Honor: A Regency Romance by Candice Hern
CreateSpace (2012)
Trade paperback (278) pages
ISBN: 978-1479164844

A Grand Giveaway

Author Candice Hern has generously offered one print copy or one digital copy of An Affair of Honor to one lucky winner. Leave a comment stating what intrigues you about this novel, or if you have read it, who your favorite character is by midnight PT, Wednesday, April 3, 2013. Winner to be announced on Thursday, April 4, 2013. Print book shipment to US addresses only. Digital copy delivery internationally. Good luck!

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A Change of Heart: A Regency Romance, by Candice Hern – A Review

Posted in Blog Events, Book Reviews, Regency Era Book Reviews, Regency Romance Reading Challenge 2013, tagged A Change of Heart, Book Reviews, Books, Candice Hern, Rake Trilogy, Reading, Regency romance, Regency Romance Reading Challenge 2013 on 27 February 2013 | 34 Comments »

This is my second selection in the Regency Romance Reading Challenge 2013, our celebration of Regency romance author Candice Hern. We will be reading all of her traditional Regencies over the next nine months, discussing her characters, plots and Regency history. You can still join the reading challenge until July 1, 2013. Participants, please leave comments and or links to your reviews for this month in the comment section of this post.

My Review:

Notorious rakes can be interesting heroes. They bring out the “fix-it project” in any female. On the other hand, on-the- shelf spinsters can be totally perplexing to the female mind which is inclined to want to couple. Mix those two personalities together and you have the premise of A Change of Heart: A Regency Romance, the second novel in the Regency Rakes Trilogy by Candice Hern. What do you do with two complex characters who are happy with their life choices but forced to break down their barriers of hope and trust? We shall see.

Lady Mary Haviland is the twenty-nine year old daughter of the late Earl Assheton. As his sole heir, she inherited this estate affording her the freedom of independence so rare in a Regency lady—and she rather likes it that way—since she believes that as an ugly, insignificant and unmarried lady she can do as she chooses. She has many friends including is Emily Bradleigh, who we were first introduced to as the heroine of A Proper Companion, the first book in this trilogy. She also has a soft spot for rouges. “They are so much more honest in their approach to life that the usual paragons of propriety.” The rogue that has recently caught her eye is the notorious Black Jack Raeburn, the thirty-seven year old third son of a marquess, who because he was so far removed down the line of succession of his father’s estate never thought he need be anything more than the dissolute ne’er-do-well that he has spent the last twelve years perfecting. His life recently changed dramatically when his father, two elder brothers, and nephew all died in a boating accident a year ago. Now as the Marquess of Pemerton, he has inherited six heavily mortgaged estates and all the responsibility thereto. He must quickly find a bride to assure the succession, and refresh the family fortune.

Lady Mary introduces herself at a party and proposes her assistance to “steer him through the rocky shoals of the Marriage Mart.” She claims she offers her services in the name of friendship and for her own amusement. She has no interest in him or marriage herself. Since Jack has never had a female friend before he is intrigued and accepts her invitation. He finds her not only quite clever, but her knowledge of sorting out the eligible misses is indispensable to him—but what is her real motive for her generosity? As they progress down her long list of possible young ladies, Lord Pemerton finds plausible reasons to eliminate many of them: too beautiful, too clumsy, too smart, too plump, too dull, etc. One candidate has remained: Miss Lillian Carstairs who seems to fill the bill, namely she is rich and not too offensive.

Word gets out around the ton that he is on the hunt for a wife, but only Jack knows the true reason why. Even his close friend Lord Sedgewick thinks he is as rich as Midas until Jack confides his dire financial mess that he inherited and need to marry an heiress.

“Fortune hunter?” Sedgewick gave a shudder that shook his entire frame. “Don’t blame you, old man. Ugly label, that. Not a pretty situation.” “Indeed,” Jack said. “And so although I have in fact publicly entered the Marriage Mart for the Season, I am only truly considering those young women who can help me out of this dreadful coil.”

Soon after, his other dear friend Lord Bradleigh reveals that Lady Mary is very wealthy, but has a sad past. Jack has a new plan. “It was all too deliciously easy. He felt like the goose had deposited a golden egg right in his lap. Mary was rich!” With no male relatives to dictate her fortune he believes she will be easy pickings. But how will he make the switch from friendship to suitor? Of course he uses all of his finely honed seduction skills which Mary finds outrageous and laughs off. Convinced that no man would ardently flirt with someone so ugly, she believes that being a rogue is so ingrained in him that he is seducing her out of instinct and not because he wishes to love her.

And therein lies the rub. We have been presented with two very different personalities who one assumes are wholly unsuitable for one another. A charming, handsome rogue who could have any woman he wanted and an self-sufficient unattractive spinster who is determined to remain so. How they come together, and, well this is a romance so you know they will in the end, is a delightful discovery.

Hern has given us an amusing story with strong and unusual protagonists supported by excellent secondary characters. I loved Lady Mary’s companion, widow Olivia Bannister, whose unexpected romance with Jack’s uncle, Edward Maitland, also a bachelor rogue of the first order and his mentor in hedonism, almost rivals the main hero and heroine’s love affair. While I admired the strong, complex characters that Hern crafted and their troubling back story, Lady Mary was by far my favorite and Lord Pemerton not so much. He was a true rake easily slipping back into his dissipated ways when their romance was tested, and I never quite believed that he changed enough to become the man that Lady Mary deserved. Overall, it was an excellent and engaging romance full of funny, sharp dialogue, and beautiful Regency-era descriptions.

4.5 out of 5 Regency Stars

A Change of Heart: A Regency Romance, by Candice Hern
CreateSpace (2012)
Trade paperback (276) pages
ISBN: 978-1479106394

A Grand Giveaway

Author Candice Hern has generously offered one print copy or one digital copy of A Change of Heart to one lucky winner. Leave a comment stating what intrigues you about this novel, or if you have read it, who your favorite character is by midnight PT, Wednesday, March 6, 2013. Winner to be announced on Thursday, March 7, 2013. Print book shipment to US addresses only. Digital copy delivery internationally. Good luck!

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Indiscretion: A Novel, by Jude Morgan – A Review

Posted in Book Reviews, Regency Era Book Reviews, tagged Book Review, Books, Georgian-era Fiction, Historical Fiction, Indiscretion: A Novel, Jude Morgan, Regency-era Fiction on 6 February 2013 | 15 Comments »

From the desk of Katie P.

Jane Austen. Georgette Heyer. The Regency. Those names instantly bring to mind witty conversations, saturnine heroes, and lavish ballrooms. So often we see these words on the cover or in reviews of a book, and eagerly pick it up hoping to find yet another book that will quickly become dog-eared and memorized. But just as often, we turn away disappointed yet again by finding out that the book falls far short of the reasons we chose it in the first place.

Indiscretion, by Jude Morgan—I am happy to say—is not like that.

Miss Caroline Fortune, at twenty, has the misfortune of being the sole caretaker and realist to her impractical, debt-ridden father. Ever since her mother died at the age of twelve, they have gone from shabby lodgings to even shabbier lodgings, all in the hope to escape debt collectors, and even worse, debtors’ prison. But just when they run out of options (and Caroline decides to become a governess), they are saved by the Gorgon-like Mrs. Catling (basilisk stare and all), who offers Caroline a position as her paid companion.
And this is just the beginning of Caroline’s adventures…

As paid companion, Caroline must reconcile her own independent spirit with the impossible job of placating her ferocious employer, while trying to navigate through the indiscretions of the people around her. She soon attracts the interest of Mr. Richard Leabrook, a handsome suitor, and the friendships of Mr. and Miss Downey, the niece and nephew of Mrs. Catling, but are they really what they seem? After a sudden change in circumstances, Caroline must find the family she has never met, become accustomed to country living (complete with climbing over stiles), prevent an elopement, come face-to-face with ghosts from her past, discover the joys of true friendship, and outwit the insulting, yet annoyingly appealing Mr. Stephen Milner, who insists that Caroline will be nothing but trouble.

What is Miss Fortune, innocent attracter of mayhem to do? Be as discrete (or is it indiscrete?) as possible, with a lot of pluck and a little bit of canary!

About a year ago I stumbled upon Indiscretion by accident. I had just finished all of Jane Austen’s novels, and was in withdrawal. I found this because of one review that said ‘like Jane Austen’ and immediately had to read it. I was not disappointed, and was hooked from the very first page. Caroline Fortune reminded me so much of Jane Austen’s heroines—she has her failings, but has enough strength and humor to carry her through, and rise above, the situations she finds herself in. Just like another character we all know and love, Caroline cannot stay depressed—she has to find a reason to laugh. She is a character with which we can quickly identify.

“For while she did not lack a sense of her own merits, and had too much spirit ever to submit to being walked over, still she thought herself no more than tolerable-looking, and nurtured abysmal doubts about her ability ever to shine in company. She had a quick tongue, an active fancy, and a turn for wit, but these she employed, in truth, somewhat as a shield behind which she could shelter.” p. 25

Indiscretion is full of surprises and plot twists. People Magazine said: “the characters separate and reunite as rhythmically and precisely as ballroom dancers performing a waltz.” I couldn’t agree more. Jude Morgan crafts his story well—I’ve read it five or six times, and each time I find a new ‘layer’ that I hadn’t discovered, a new quote that seems truer than before—“We always think we know what we want: when in truth there is nothing we are less likely to know.”—and a conversation that gets funnier with each reading—““I have been run over by the speeding chariot of fate, caught up in its spiked wheels.” “I hate it when that happens,” said Stephen.”

While there are many Regency books that are either in the style of Georgette Heyer or set in the time period as an excuse for long dresses and handsome rakes (and very modern plots, dialogue, and ‘romance’ scenes), Indiscretion truly takes after the style of Jane Austen, with perception, wit, proper romance, and a satisfying ending. But even more importantly, Jude Morgan is an author to enjoy in his own right, with his own distinct voice that definitely makes him an author to be read.

5 out of 5 Regency Stars

Indiscretion: A Novel, by Jude Morgan
St. Martin’s Press (2007)
Trade paperback (384) pages
ISBN: 978-0312374372

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A Proper Companion: A Regency Romance, by Candice Hern – A Review

Posted in Book Reviews, Regency Era Book Reviews, tagged A Proper Companion, Book Reviews, Books, Candice Hern, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Reading, Regency romance, Regency Romance Reading Challenge 2013 on 23 January 2013 | 50 Comments »

Today marks the official opening of the Regency Romance Reading Challenge 2013, our celebration of Regency romance author Candice Hern. We will be reading all of her traditional Regencies over the next nine months, discussing her characters, plots and Regency history. You can still join the reading challenge until July 1, 2013. Participants, please leave comments and or links to your reviews for this month in the comment section of this post.

My Review:

We know that we are in for a fun frolic when an author boldly begins the first chapter of a novel with a heroine climbing out a bedroom window to meet her lover during a runaway marriage. No sooner have we drawn another breath when we discover that Lady Gwendolyn Pentwick is not the heroine of A Proper Companion at all, but her mother, an earl’s daughter who has found herself in a family way and been pressured into a patched up marriage to a titled lord who lacks fortune and appeal. Phew. If this lively beginning is the forerunner of what is to follow, hold on to your bonnets and settle into a page-turner.

Flash forward twenty-seven years to 1812 and the Bath townhouse of the Dowager Countess Bradleigh, who while enjoying afternoon tea with her companion Emily Townsend, reads in the newspaper of the betrothal of Augusta Windhurst to her eldest grandson, Robert Cameron, ninth Earl of Bradleigh. Shocked and appalled by his choice of bride she is determined to intercede in this mésalliance. Moments later Robert surprises his grandmother by an unexpected visit to reveal his news only to find his grandmother in an uproar. Calmly he explains his logical reasons for choosing a wife after so many year of bachelorhood. He is feeling his age and wants an heir and Miss Windhurst is everything she desires in a wife: “elegant, cool, supremely aloof, does not giggle, chatter, whimper, swoon or cling.” She finds his attitude cold, calculating and unromantic asking him where the love is in the arrangement?

Lady Bradleigh actually thinks her companion Miss Townsend, an impoverished granddaughter of an earl, is an excellent choice for her grandson and against her former dictum decides to be the matchmaker for them. Standing in her way is Robert’s fiancée and her social climbing family who are thrilled for their daughter to marry an earl. Because no gentleman can break off an engagement, but a lady can, she must find a way for his betrothed to beg off—and convince Emily, a determined spinster, and her grandson, the consummate rogue, that they are a match made in heaven.

Even at the age of 78, no challenge is ever too difficult for the dowager and she sets her plan into action. Sharing Emily’s sad family story with her grandson, she convinces him to help this well-bred but impoverished young lady by introducing her to suitable prospects. The earl, whose reputation as womanizer is known by all, is attracted to his grandmother’s elegant and refined companion who the servants speculate is the daughter of royalty. She is flattered by his attentions, but determined to remain a spinster.

To get herself into the thick of things the countess will go to London and throw an engagement ball there for Robert and his fiancée. Emily is excited to go to London for the first time, but the countess is not happy with her appearance and decides her companion needs a make-over. Emily is very resistant to accepting charity from her employer after her hard-fought independence over the last seven years, but her pride must not jeopardize her continued employment and she accepts the countess’s offer of an updated wardrobe. When Robert sees her in her new frock and softer hair style, he is very taken with her. Maybe the speculation of her parentage is true? Is she a royal by-blow?

They travel to London and stay at the earl’s Grosvenor Square townhouse where future parties bring the reunion of his sister Louisa, the Viscountess Lavenham and her husband, Robert’s betrothed, the reserved and cool nineteen year-old Augusta Windhurst and her social climbing mama, and his many male friends who find the beautiful and intelligent Miss Townsend more than irresistible. Also in Town for the season is a member of Emily’s estranged family, her uncle the Earl of Pentwick and his son the Viscount of Faversham. Emily soon finds the serious attention of a beaux and an enemy from her past among her new acquaintance. Robert soon finds that love should be on the list of requirements for a bride.

What a delight it was to be back in the Regency world of the ton in London and Bath that I have so enjoyed during many Georgette Heyer and Lauren Willig novels. While I adore Jane Austen, she does not use much description of her characters physical appearance nor the setting like they do. This is one aspect of why I enjoy Candice Hern’s novels so much. We are treated to sumptuous detail about the Regency world, especially the clothing:

“It was a dusky rose lustering, with a high waist and low bodice edged with Brussels lace. A dark rose stain ribbon tied around the high waist, just under the bosom, and the ends floated down almost to the hem. The dress emphasized Emily’s tall, slender figure. New pink slippers peeked out from the scalloped hem.” p. 61

Lovely…Another aspect of her writing that I find so diverting is her humor.

“Dog and man collided with a force that sent Lord Bradleigh tumbling on his backside. Charlemagne growled accusingly at him, then made his way to the cherished fauteuil. The earl, thoroughly stunned, looked up at the grinning ladies in confusion.

“You see, Emily,” the dowager drawled, “I told you that gentlemen would be failing at your feet. Behold: your first victim!”” p. 63

Finery and hi-jinks aside, Hern has an elegant, engaging, and energetic way with character, dialogue, and plot development that would make any author green with envy. Her hero Robert was so charming, especially when he was indignant, and her heroine Emily a true diamond of the first water. The story is quickly paced and even though there were a few spots of predictability, there was no reason to repine from this Austen lover who is looking forward to reading all of her traditional Regencies this year.

4.5 out of 5 Regency Stars

A Proper Companion: A Regency Romance, by Candice Hern
CreateSpace (2012)
Trade paperback (278) pages
ISBN: 978-1479105977

A Grand Giveaway

Author Candice Hern has generously offered one print copy or one digital copy of A Proper Companion to one lucky winner. Leave a comment stating what intrigues you about this novel, or if you have read it, who your favorite character is by midnight PT, Wednesday, January 30, 2013. Winner to be announced on Thursday, January 31, 2013. Print book shipment to US addresses only. Digital copy delivery internationally. Good luck!

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The West Yet Glimmers: The Lord & Lady Baugham Stories, by Gail McEwen & Tina Moncton – A Review

Posted in Book Reviews, Regency Era Book Reviews, tagged Book Review, Books, Fiction, Gail McEwen & Tina Moncton, Historical Fiction, Reading, Regency romance, The West Yet Glimmers on 8 December 2012 | 6 Comments »

From the desk of Christina Boyd

My affection for The Lord & Lady Baugham Stories commenced in 2007 when I discovered Twixt Two Equal Armies, a Pride and Prejudice spin-off (with Elizabeth Bennet & Fitzwilliam Darcy as supporting characters), that quickly created immense empathy for both protagonist– the stubborn, spirited Miss Holly Tournier who spars with the self-indulgent, droll Lord David Baugham – eventually surrendering to love despite their intentions.

The latest offering, and third book from the international writing team of Gail McEwen & Tina Moncton, is The West Yet Glimmers. The newlyweds finally arrive at his lordship’s ancestral seat of Cumbermere in Cheshire, having excessively suspended this domestic obligation thus far (recounted in Love Then Begins –a romantic novelette of a most blissful honeymoon at Clyne Cottage and an impulsive fancy at a crossroad, diverting them east to Pemberley House in Derbyshire.)

“Cumbermere is a crumbling and decaying estate; I am sure you will have no more love for it than I do. We will go there and we will fulfill our obligations: we will show our faces in church on Sunday, you will acquaint yourself with the staff and I will attend to the books and tenants and then we will leave. It will go on, as it always has, quite well without us. We have a duty, but aside from that duty, that place has no claim on us.” Love Then Begins, p.56.

But when an accidental finding hampers those plans for an early escape to London, his lordship (originally inspired from the Lord Brougham character of Pamela Aidan’s wildly popular, Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman series) is forced to search through his family’s painful past and disclose his own cloak-and-dagger truth.

Cumbermere Castle and its derelict state prove to be a disquieting challenge, a keeper of long, undisturbed secrets and unknown mystery. Their lives seemed unavoidably postponed, until they decipher an unwelcome family puzzle.

Holly blamed the weather, her husband’s natural restlessness, concern for her well-being, the house and his irritation with their time at Cumbermere stretching out against all intentions to the contrary, but all these perfectly valid reasons did nothing to quiet the melancholy voice inside her. She knew in her heart, however, that the absence of news from Chester weighed heavily on him and for some reason her too.” p.117

Her newly established duties as mistress including management of accounts, household staff, her foreseeable motherhood, as well as her habitual enigma of a husband were ancillary and oftentimes overwhelming proof of her elevation from a school teacher/librarian to Countess! Moreover, Lady Baugham’s niggling suspicions of having married more than a cheeky, wayward peer soon expose a reluctant hero. “The idea of him devoting hours of work to this end—to the discovery of what must be painful to him—frightened her. That his past professional endeavors had crossed into his personal affairs like this must be terrible.” p.270.

But all is not dark. Although his lordship disdains Cumbermere and all encompassing obligations therein, after all, they are still newlyweds and their affectionate banter is delightful. Even after an assiduous tour of the grounds, his lordship charms his wife,

“Now, since we ventured so far, braving rusty hinges, uneven floors, and general decadence, what do you say to transporting that decadence where it belongs—you’re your bedroom?’ ‘My bedroom?’ ‘I thought we could… look through gardening books – together—birds, bees, petals, stems, that sort of thing.’ ‘Now that is decadent, sir!’ she replied but not without amusement. They paused when they reached the front door, and he wrapped his arms around her. Leaning in, he nearly touched his lips to her ear, raising gooseflesh that had nothing to do with frigid weather when he whispered, ‘I would have thought a schoolmistress would know the amazing powers of a good book in the right hands and with the right… intonation.’” p.43

Swoon worthy indeed.

As a fervent fan of Regency Romances staring lively heroines, smart, clever discourse and amusing gentlemen, I loved, loved, loved this book. The collaborative efforts of Gail McEwen and Tina Moncton set a sparkling pace with believable dialogue, brilliant characterization, and esoteric historical detail in an ingenious Regency-era whodunit. Originally published on-line as Westmarch, The West Yet Glimmers has undergone professional editing and meticulous tightening of plot for a more polished offering. Consequently Darcy & Elizabeth may have started it, even been hosts to Lord & Lady Baugham in Book 2, but in Book 3, this is all Holly & David. And they have become nearly as dear to me as Darcy & Elizabeth! One need not have read Pride & Prejudice to value this book. But due note: just as it is possible to read Lauren Willig’s Pink Carnation series out of order—the same may be attempted with The Lord & Lady Baugham Stories– but for true satisfaction and understanding, not necessarily recommended. The West Yet Glimmers is a triumph!

5 out of 5 Regency Stars

The West Yet Glimmers: Lord and Lady Baugham Stories, by Gail McEwen & Tina Moncton
Meryton Press (2012)
Trade paperback (312) pages
ISBN: 978-1936009121

Read our review of Twixt Two Equal Armies

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For Myself Alone: A Jane Austen Inspired Novel, by Shannon Winslow – A Review

Posted in Book Reviews, Regency Era Book Reviews, tagged Books, Fiction, For Myself Alone, Historical Fiction, Jane Austen, Regency Era Novel, Shannon Winslow on 28 April 2012 | 27 Comments »

Review by Kimberly Denny-Ryder

Gossip. It has the power to create larger than life reputations, but also has the ability to destroy said reputations. Within Jane Austen’s novels we’ve seen just what gossip can do; Mr. Darcy’s reputation and person are vilified by Wickham, John Thorpe gossips about the true size of Catherine Morland’s dowry to a displeased General Tilney, and Captain Wentworth hears gossip that shares the good tidings of Anne Elliot’s non-existent engagement to her cousin William. It should come as no surprise then that Austen fan fiction writer Shannon Winslow should write an Austen-inspired novel that focuses on just what can happen with gossip!

For Myself Alone takes place in Bath and Hampshire in the 1800’s. Winslow tells the story of Josephine Walker, the recent recipient of a large inheritance totaling almost twenty-thousand pounds, an unimaginably large sum at the time. While Josephine is grateful for the inheritance from her Uncle, she also is concerned that people will now view her as a walking pile of money instead of the sweet and caring girl that she normally is. What’s more, the suitors that come courting her can’t be trusted, and the only man in her life that she feels she can trust is Arthur, who also unfortunately happens to be the betrothed of her best friend, Agnes. Engaged herself, Josephine begins to lose trust in her own fiancé, Richard, after she overhears a conversation between him and his father. With all of these events happening to poor Josephine, how will she cope? Will she be able to find comfort in Arthur despite their inability to be together? What will she do with all of that money?

When I reviewed Winslow’s first novel The Darcys of Pemberley, I put in my review that Winslow was sure to be around the JAFF world for a while. For Myself Alone cements that thought in my opinion. Winslow has a fantastic ability to not only create a story that could be a long lost Austen novel, but to write it with the same wit and vivacity we’d expect from Austen herself. Told in a completely first person narrative (which may I add is refreshing in this genre) it opened up the doors to allow us into the mind of our heroine. We know exactly what she is feeling throughout, affording us the opportunity to really connect with her. I find the more you can connect with your heroine/hero the bigger the enjoyment of the work becomes.

The prologue of the novel did a fabulous job at grabbing my attention and making me eager to learn about Josephine’s story and why she was the sudden target of the local gossips. While the beginning of the novel moved slightly slowly, events in Bath pick up at heart-racing fast pace that doesn’t stop until the last page! For those who want a fresh story with a definite Austen flair, For Myself Alone is the way to go. I’m so glad that Winslow is back with another great work. I can’t wait to see what she can do in the JAFF world!

4 out of 5 Regency Stars

For Myself Alone: A Jane Austen Inspired Novel, by Shannon Winslow
Heather Ridge Arts (2012)
Trade paperback (262) pages
ISBN: 978-0615619941
Kindle: B007PWINR8
NOOK: 2940014192712

Read our review of The Darcys of Pemberley, by Shannon Winslow

Kimberly Denny-Ryder is the owner/moderator of Reflections of a Book Addict, a book blog dedicated to following her journey of reading 100 books a year, while attempting to keep a life! When not reading, Kim can be found volunteering as the co-chair of a 24hr cancer awareness event, as well as an active member of Quinnipiac University’s alumni association. When not reading or volunteering, Kim can be found at her full-time job working in vehicle funding. She lives with her husband Todd and two cats, Belle and Sebastian, in Connecticut.

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The Garden Intrigue, by Lauren Willig – A Review

Posted in Book Reviews, Regency Era Book Reviews, tagged Book Reviews, Books, Fiction, Lauren Willig, Regency romance, The Garden Intrigue on 15 February 2012 | 7 Comments »

Guest review by Jeffrey Ward

Dear readers and fans I bring good news
Lauren Willig has shown her muse
In Pink Carnation number nine
The Garden Intrigue, most divine

Eloise Kelly is in England researching her dissertation on English espionage during the Napoleonic Wars; especially a shadowy figure known only as the Pink Carnation. Eloise’s friendship with Colin Selwick (whose ancestry included spies who worked with this secret agent) has permitted Eloise access to the family’s carefully guarded personal papers. Initially wary, the relationship between Eloise and Colin has blossomed into something more than professional. The “story-within-a-story” format shuttles between the present and the historic as Eloise strives to uncover the identity of the Pink Carnation, the most elusive spy of all.

It seems everyone in a relationship, past or present, arrives at a life-changing crossroad. All of the principal characters choose to, or are forced to, disguise their ulterior motives. Eloise and Colin are at Selwick Hall planning an honorary banquet with an unwelcome filming crew on-site. Among the unsuspecting invitees are Jeremy, (Colin’s Stepfather) Joan, (Colin’s ex) Serena, (Colin’s sister) and Dempster (Serena’s ex) who are all thrown together. Why? Perhaps it is the rumors of an ancient treasure hidden on the estate’s property. “Everyone putting on a false face, playing a role, perpetually engaged in a masque without a script.” p. 318

Eloise’s academic grant is also soon to expire and she must make the decision to accept a teaching fellowship back in the United States or impose on Colin to support her if she remains in England. Will there be a “together” future for Eloise and Colin?

Time-tunneling back, Napoleon plans for the invasion of England and will unveil a secret weapon during a masque at his summer residence at Malmaison, France. American expatriate Emma Delgardie is a favorite with the Bonaparte family. She attended Madam Campan’s school for young ladies with her close friend Hortense, Josephine Bonaparte’s daughter. A child bride at 15, widowed at 19, Emma is pixie-like-pretty, gaudy, and savvy. Everyone is attracted to Emma, especially her “men.”

Nobody is attracted to Augustus Whittlesby but England’s home office due to his impenetrable espionage cover as a dramatic but mediocre poet. Never being taken seriously is his lot since he is forbidden to reveal the clever, intelligent, sensitive man that he actually is. The only way for Augustus to gain entry to Malmaison and the secret weapon is by deceiving Emma into partnering with him to create the nautical-themed masque. While Augustus works with Emma he is infatuated with another woman: Miss Jane Wooliston. “She was like a moonbeam, a faint gleam of light across the sky, making the throat grow dry and the heart constrict, beautiful to contemplate, impossible to hold. No. It wasn’t right. He wouldn’t give up this easily.” p. 177

With just a minor shuffling of dates, Willig brilliantly interweaves verifiable historical events into this elaborate intrigue. There are famous guest appearances: Emma’s Cousin Robert Livingston, broker of the Louisiana Purchase; Robert Fulton, inventor of the steamboat’ and a very convincing Napoleon Bonaparte. Mr. Fulton sends to Malmaison, not one but TWO, inventions including the plans for each: one harmless, one deadly: “He should have noticed. “Another device?” “That would be the logical conclusion” said Miss Gwen crisply. “Another device. One he doesn’t want anyone to see. But someone knows about it.” p. 231

Poetry is the predominant theme of the story and fittingly the language of romance. Each chapter is headed by a whimsical verse from the masque and poetic quotes are in abundance. All of chapter 13 is cleverly epistolary as Emma and Augustus show a budding affinity for each other through their missives.

More character-driven than action-packed, I found The Garden Intrigue a stirring and deeply felt romance. Ms Willig confidently showcases her literary maturity with page upon page of scintillating, heart-rending, emotional dialogue as she draws the reader to the innermost souls of the principals who guardedly probe for love, trust, and honesty in a treacherous environment. “You have every chance in the world and you chose to be what you are.” Augustus’s lips moved with difficulty. “What am I?” He could see Emma’s throat move as she swallowed. “A fain’eant. A do-nothing.” She blinked away tears, tossing her head defiantly back.” p. 276

Yes, I laughed often, (picture Miss Gwen as a pirate captain), but also wept as Ms Willig tenderly recounts the isolated loss and grief in the lives of the hero, heroine, and others. This complex mystery took me through more twists and turns than an amusement park ride. I was left captivated by the thrilling human drama that is The Garden Intrigue like no other in this series, and I’ve read them ALL. Lauren Willig, already on top of her game, raises the bar once again. Need I say more?

5 out of 5 Regency Stars

The Garden Intrigue, by Lauren Willig
Penguin Group (2012)
Hardcover (400) pages
ISBN: 978-0525952541
NOOK: ISBN-978-1101560334
Kindle: ASIN: B005GSZZ2O

Jeffrey Ward, 65, native San Franciscan living near Atlanta, married 40 years, two adult children, six grandchildren, Vietnam Veteran, degree in Communications from the University of Washington, and presently a Facilitator/designer for the world’s largest regional airline. His love affair with Miss Austen began about 3 years ago when, out of boredom, he picked up his daughter’s dusty college copy of Emma and he was “off to the races.”

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Tides of War, by Stella Tillyard – A Review

Posted in Book Reviews, Georgian Era Book Reviews, Regency Era Book Reviews, tagged Book Blog, Book Bloggers, Book Review, First Impressions, Jane Austen, Napoleonic Wars, Pride and Prejudice, Stella Tillyard, Tides of War on 23 October 2011 | 9 Comments »

Guest review by Br. Paul Byrd, OP

‘What is it that you read now?’

Mrs. Cobbold gestured to the volume on Harriet’s lap.

‘Another stupid book.’ Harriet put it down. ‘First Impressions is its title; and by A Lady, as usual.’

‘It does not divert you?’

‘Divert me, Aunt! I have no wish to be diverted, though it is witty and charming. The lady authoress believes that girls think only of marriage and a husband.’

So begins a tongue-in-cheek discussion on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, a book the heroine of Stella Tillyard’s historical novel Tides of War dislikes because of its seeming lack of social context. It is fitting, then, that Harriet Raven should be the heroine of a story drastically different from those written by Austen. Tillyard’s novel weaves together science and medicine, politics and war, economics and industry, religion and atheism through the interconnected lives of a large cast of characters scattered across Europe, twenty-two of which are based on real people.

Readers meet Harriet during Britain’s war with Napoleon. She is a young bride, eager to learn, but inexperienced and socially clumsy. Her husband goes off to fight under the direction of the future Duke of Wellington, and while he is away, Harriet is left to be charmed by another man. Her relationship with the inventor, Mr. Winsor, is just one of the many examples of the story’s thematic examination of sexuality and marital commitment.

Another even more moving example of this theme, is the subplot belonging to the character Thomas Orde, a British soldier fighting in Spain. Like many of the other soldiers, Orde has been schooled in the idea that “Women [are] the spoils of war,” (204). Caught up in the jubilation of victory and still reeling with the savage energy of battle, Thomas participates in the rape of a young Spanish woman. Tillyard writes, “Coming around again, Thomas saw that his left hand, loose against the stones, was closed tightly around something. He opened it out finger by finger. Flat on his palm lay a twist of black hair; more than a twist, a whole handful of hair, pliable and young. Silk-soft. He had pulled it from her scalp, and blood and flesh clung to it,” (79). Thomas attempts to rationalize what he has done, as if war gives special license for cruelty and immorality, but he is ultimately unable to suppress his conscience. Tillyard masterfully describes Thomas’s struggle to return to his old life in England under the shadow of his crime.

Rape is only one of the disastrous effects of war on women and children discussed in the novel; sickness, hunger, poverty, and loss of one’s home and family, if not death, create a situation of desperation, leaving children, the elderly, and women vulnerable while making a handful of people powerful. Reflecting on this situation, an officer named David Heaton is led to muse “War never finishes…and never will. It simply moves about the world like the ocean current that touches now one country, now another. Why? Because in the same way that a rash upon the skin is merely a symptom of a fever that rages in the body underneath, war is only the visible shape of all the forces that nature has planted in us,” (349). War’s corrupting and degrading influence on individuals and society, and the subsequent attempts to recover from it, either through confession or deception, are subjects that make this novel a fascinating commentary on the wars of any age.

Tillyard’s ability to balance so many storylines, thereby creating a sense of the grand scope of things, is impressive. This is her first sojourn into fiction after the highly successful historical biographies: Aristocrats: Caroline, Emily, Louisa, and Sarah Lennox, 1740-1832 (1994) and Royal Affair: George III and His Scandalous Siblings (2006). Unfortunately, I found her heroine unappealing. Harriet’s perspectives and values seemed more those of a twenty-first century American than of a woman of Britain’s Georgian Era, particularly her torpid religiosity and her blasé attitude about adultery. Unlike the Austen heroines whom she professes to be bored by, Harriet lacked sparkle, wit, faith, insight, creativity, and an interesting plot. She was just a privileged young lady playing at adult life.

Despite the heroine’s shortcomings, I confess Tillyard’s novel held my interest from beginning to end. The imagery—like in the scene of a Spanish bull fight—is elegant and vivid, and I loved how she incorporated unexpected historical points of interest in the story, such as the development of blood transfusions, the economic maneuverings of the famous Rothschild family, and the art of celebrated Spanish painter Goya. Her writing style is clear and even, and the scenes related to death and new beginnings are poignant. In short, Tides of War was believable and pleasurable, with the literary feel of a national saga.

4 out of 5 Regency Stars

Tides of War, by Stella Tillyard
Henry Holt and Co. (2011)
Hardcover (368) pages
ISBN: 978-0805094572

Br. Paul Byrd, OP is a solemnly professed friar of the Dominican Order of Preachers. Originally from Covington, KY, he earned his bachelor’s degree in creative writing from Thomas More College and his master’s degree in theology from Aquinas Institute of Theology. In the fall of 2011, he will begin classes in the masters of writing and publishing program at DePaul University in Chicago, IL. He is the author of the Dominican Cooperator Blog

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The Twelfth Enchantment: A Novel, by David Liss – A Review

Posted in Book Reviews, Regency Era Book Reviews, tagged Book Blog, Book Reviews, Books, David Liss, Historical Fiction, Regency era, The Twelfth Enchantment on 28 August 2011 | 10 Comments »

Guest review by Kimberly Denny-Ryder of Reflections of a Book Addict

Historical fiction? Check. Magic? Check. Awesome heroine? Check. Lord Byron?! Check! Did you ever imagine those four items to be in the same novel together? I sure didn’t, so I was in for a definite surprise when I started reading The Twelfth Enchantment by David Liss. Set in the early 19th century in a pre-industrial England, Liss weaves a tale of mystery, intrigue, and magic that leaves the reader wanting more, creating a plot that I was increasingly excited to be pulled in to.

Lucy Derrick’s entire life is about to change. Whilst in her house one evening with her family and her fiancée Mr. Olson, a sudden banging occurs at the door. A man whom the house’s inhabitants have never met before demands to speak to Lucy and put a stop to her engagement! After setting eyes on Lucy and speaking a prophecy involving the phrase, “Gather the leaves”, he proceeds to vomit pins, a sure sign of a curse. Fearful of whom this young man is and what he wants with Lucy, he is brought into the house to await a doctor who declares his condition is due to magic and that he is unable to help him. He can however, recommend someone who may have experience in this field. A Mary Crawford, (no, unfortunately not that Mary Crawford from Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park, though we can see her as an enchantress of the magical sort), is beckoned to the house and with her persistence and guidance, she helps Lucy discover her magical roots. The two work together to find the source of the curse and destroy it. Lucy is amazed to discover how easy it was for her to learn magic, but is more amazed that Mary is not at all surprised at her skill. A budding friendship between the two woman begins, and it is through this friendship that Lucy learns more and more about her magic. She is told of a book, the Mutus Liber, which is said to give its possessor the ability to create the magic of the philosopher’s stone. She learns that this book is somehow involved in the fighting and picketing going on that is protesting the industrial revolution. Lucy soon finds herself caught between two worlds as her powers grow stronger. Will she be able to find and translate the Mutus Liber in time to stop the fighting? Will she discover the meaning behind the prophecy of “gathering the leaves” in time to do what she must?

While the book was incredibly clever and interesting I found myself getting lost in the politics of the story. The war between the real world and the magical world had to do with the industrial revolution and how it affected England. While not understanding the specifics and mechanics of the war was a bit confusing, I did understand the remaining plot lines and was able to still enjoy the book. I liked how the magic that was discussed in the book wasn’t “hocus pocus” magic. People didn’t just say spells and make things fly across a room. It was a more nature based magic, which I found to be an interesting and refreshing change from the more common types of magic we see and read about.

Our heroine Lucy Derrick is one of the most awesome fictional heroines I’ve ever encountered. She starts out as this weak girl who lets all the people around her demean her and put her life on a path that she isn’t happy with. With the guidance of Mary she begins to understand the woman she’s meant to be, and let me tell you, she becomes a force to be reckoned with. The way Liss writes her growth as a character is truly remarkable. When the book opens you feel the dread she feels about the way her life is going, and by the end of the book you feel the strength and confidence she’s gained. In the middle of the book you feel her doubt these magical powers she’s learning about, and by the end you can feel her completeness in knowing the full extent of what she can do and what she can learn to do. Liss did a great job at writing her story so that we as readers can relate to it and really get a sense of Lucy’s plight. May I also add that her love triangle is an ode, in my eyes, to Elizabeth Bennet’s in Pride and Prejudice? Being a huge fan of Jane Austen and the English Regency I also enjoyed the inclusion of Lord Byron and William Blake, both famous poets of the time, as supporting characters.

This is one book you need to add to your to-be-read pile. If you enjoy mysteries, you definitely won’t be disappointed. The mix of earthy magic and the story behind Lucy finding herself as a magician and a woman, while attempting to solve the prophecy made this a very engaging read. I can’t wait to check out the other works that Liss has to offer!

4 out of 5 Regency Stars

The Twelfth Enchantment: A Novel, by David Liss
Random House, New York (2011)
Hardcover (416) pages
ISBN: 978-1400068968

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Shades of Milk and Honey, by Mary Robinette Kowal – A Review

Posted in Book Reviews, Regency Era Book Reviews, tagged Book Reviews, Books, Fantasy Books, Historical Fiction, Jane Austen, Mary Robinette Kowal, Regency-era Fiction, Shades of Milk and Honey on 5 June 2011 | 3 Comments »

Guest review by Shelley DeWees – The Uprising

“Of his younger daughter, Melody, he had no concerns, for she had a face made for fortune. His older daughter, Jane, made up for her deficit of beauty with rare taste and talent in the womanly arts. Her skill with glamour, music, and painting was surpassed by none in their neighborhood and together lent their home the appearance of wealth far beyond their means. But he knew how fickle young men’s hearts were.”

Presumably, one sister is “milk” and the other is “honey.” They complement each other, yet stand alone, one with sweetness and flashy, showy pizazz, and the other with banal yet comfortable stability. Sound like any other story you’ve heard? Two sisters vying for attentions of the neighborhood menfolk with two completely different approaches: one passionate, erratic and overly capricious, the other steady and mindful and only dimly lit in terms of beauty. Sound familiar?

It did (and does) to me, too. Indeed, the similarities to Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility are palpable, from the easily-placed characters and their tastes, feelings, and under-developed motivations, to the plot, with a cadre of viable bachelors parading around and only one of them noble in his intentions. The passionate sister even falls and twists her ankle; the scoundrel is attracted; the sensible sister tries to keep a lid on things. The difference with Shades of Milk and Honey, Mary Robinette Kowal’s debut novel, though, is that many of the plot twists carry a strong sinister twinge. Jealously and bitterness prevail on more than one occasion, bringing rise to an explosive ending as the consequences of deceit, unrequited love and unspoken truths boil over. Add dueling pistols and you’ve got yourself a Regency-era party!

Add in magic, too. Kowal weaves a beautiful magic system in Shades of Milk and Honey, its only shortfall being that it wasn’t fully explained or explored to the extent that I craved. Jane, the Elinor Dashwood of this story, is particularly talented at manipulating “folds of glamour” that are “taken out of the ether.” She laces them together, twisting and winding and pulling them into gorgeous imagery that is both pleasing and purposeful. But how the heck is she doing it, Ms. Kowal? Is there a wand involved? Are we talkin’ spells or hexes or what? All the reader ever discerns about this graceful system is that the efforts spent using it are physically draining, so much that the magician can collapse under the strain or even die. I found myself desperate for more information on this front, and though I could feel an explanation bubbling up from time to time, thinking, “Okay, she’ll finally talk about it now,” it remains a mystery. Dang. That would’ve been cool.

The story itself is moderately compelling and kind of…well, charming in its simplicity. Jane and Melody Ellsworth seek husbands. Melody uses her strikingly well-formed looks to wrangle her potential suitors, not to mention girlish impulsiveness and her attractive yet overly-fluffed sense of confidence in her appearance. Jane is much different, only grudgingly allowing her heart to feel a pang of wanting, being surprised when she discovers that she may not have to be a spinster. Several men waltz through their quiet lives in Dorchester, including the dashing Captain Livingston, the prudent protector of a young sister, Mr. Dunkirk, and a tortured artist as well, Mr. Vincent. Things play out, hearts are attracted some places and then others, secrets and scandals are uncovered, and both the sisters eventually figure out where their affections belong. Dinners and dancing and picnics abound, most of them accentuated by the presence of magic and “folds of glamour” working delightful tricks. The ending is, as previously mentioned, a whirlwind of emotion and heartbreak that leaves all involved parties shaken and changed forever.

The author clearly has a well-honed approach to writing, her prose and structure is lovely and flowing. I did at times feel the characters were far away, intangible, and a bit of a mystery. Still other moments found me wishing the story would slow for a bit of fleshing out. The end almost reads like a fable, with blistering pace, summing up years and years in only a sentence or two. Yes, the characters are archetypical, the brainiac and the fickle beauty queen battling again, in this unexplained world of magic and mayhem, but I still enjoyed it with a kind of reserved enthusiasm. Shades of Milk and Honey represents a solid good ‘ol college try on Ms. Kowal’s part, and I look forward to reading more of her work as she matures and blossoms.

4 out of 5 Regency Stars

Shades of Milk and Honey, by Mary Robinette Kowal
Tor Books, New York (2011)
Trade paperback (304) pages
ISBN: 978-0765325600

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The Orchid Affair: A Novel, by Lauren Willig – A Review

Posted in Book Reviews, Regency Era Book Reviews, tagged Book Blog, Book Blogger, Book Review, Books, Entertainment, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Lauren Willig, Orchid Affair, Pink Carnation Series, Regency-era Fiction on 24 January 2011 | 10 Comments »

It is always a very special day when a new Pink Carnation novel is released. I had marked my calendar on January 20th with a big red X in anticipation. Lauren Willig is one the few authors that I just go nuts over. (How unprofessional to gush like a schoolgirl. I will be kind on myself and allow this one indulgence. Well maybe more than one, but that is another story.) The Orchid Affair is Willig’s eighth novel in the popular Pink Carnation series set during the Napoleonic Wars between England and France. They involve historical espionage, romance, swash, buckle and a fair dose of comedy and sardonic wit – neatly ticking off all the check boxes on my ideal historical/romance/comedy reading hit list.

The opening chapters of Orchid were an abrupt change after the high comedy of Willig’s last offering, The Mischief of the Mistletoe. Get ready to shift gears. No Christmas pudding capers here! It is 1802 post-revolutionary Paris. The tone is serious and somber; lots of cold rain, a prison interrogation and a visit by Madame Guillotine. Brrr!

Our heroine Miss Laura Grey is eager to do anything other than the governessing that has consumed her life for the past sixteen years. Recruited by the elusive flower spy, The Pink Carnation, she has just graduated from the Selwick Spy School and traveled to Paris on her first mission to, of course, do what she knows best, be a governess, albeit an undercover one, teaching young children and blending into the woodwork as a servant in the household of an important police official. Undercover as Laure Griscogne’s (code named The Silver Orchid), her assignment is to observe and collect information on the movements of her new employer Andre Jaouen who works at the Prefecture de Paris under Louis-Nicolas Dubois, Chief of Police and protégé of Joseph Fouche, Bonaparte’s Minister of Police. Jaouen and his arch-rival Gaston Delaroche, an agent of Fouche, are investigating a Royalist plot to overthrow the First Consul of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, and reinstate the Bourbon line.

Paris is grim and imposing – a police state – and not at all what Laura remembered from her childhood. Orphaned at sixteen by the untimely death of her artistic parents, famous French sculptor Michel de Griscogne and Italian poetess Chiara de Veneti, Laura has spent the last half of her life earning her bread in the oppressive governess trade in England. Her current employers wife Julie Beniet died four years prior to her arrival and their two young children have until recently been raised by a family friend in the country. Jaouen is suspicious that Laura is a plant in his house by Gaston Delaroche, the mad megalomaniac to sinister Fouche. He does not quite know what to make of this prim, matter-of-fact governess. She on the other hand, is as equally curious of him. Handsome and austere, this disheartened Revolutionist ideals of liberté, égalité and fraternité are now a muddled dream after the coup d’état of Napoleon and his self-installation as First Consul. The age of revolutionary enlightened for both of them is now a regime of terror and fear.

Teaching Latin texts and Aesop’s Fables seem rather dull and un-spy-like to Laura until her employer’s secret meetings, suspicious doings and shocking reveal change the course of her mission. As Andre and Laura put aside their differences, they are forced to flee the city as husband and wife with the children under the cover of traveling performers in a Commedia dell’arte troupe. In hot pursuit is the evil Gaston Delaroche.

As in all of the previous novels in the Pink Carnation series except The Mischief of the Mistletoe, the parallel plot with contemporary scholar Eloise Kelly prompts the historical story as she conducts her own research for her doctoral thesis on the enigmatic British flower spies during the Napoleonic Wars. Her ongoing relationship with Colin Selwick, a direct descendant of the Purple Gentian and the Pink Carnation, brings them to Paris for Colin’s estranged mother’s weekend birthday party. As both plots unfold, will the Pink Carnation’s help be enough to assist Laura and Andre to safety and success, supply Eloise with enough footnotes for her dissertation and the reward of a marzipan pig?

What a fun adventure The Orchid Affair is. Since a ladies imagination is very rapid, I was guessing at plots left and right. Hmm? 1.) Stern widower in a dripping greatcoat and prim impoverished governess? Will there also be mad wife hidden in the attic like Jane Eyre? 2.) Brave widower and prim governess flee nasty government officials? Do they sing next and go mountain climbing like Sound of Music? 3.) Stoic widower and prim governess escape by disguise as actors in a comedy troupe a la Scaramouche? Oh, it doesn’t matter in the least because it is all totally original in the end. I just like playing these mind games. Readers will see the fun too and join in the hunt.

Fans of the series will be pleased to be back in the “Pink” again. As a standalone novel, The Orchid Affair is an historical triumph. Willig is known for her romances, but this really is heavier on the historical fiction than romance aside. It hearkens back deeply to The Scarlet Pimpernel for espionage and swash. A true Anglophile, I didn’t know much about this period of French history until I read For the King this past summer. This novel covers a later period in Napoleon’s reign as First Consul by a few years, but I did recognize many of the same names. Thankfully, less Googling. The research alone must have warranted many trips to the actual Musée des Collections Historiques de la Préfecture de Police in Paris. The detail is quite stunning.

One of Willig’s trademarks is to interlink characters from one novel to the next. It gives the reader a sense of continuity, like one big happy “Pink” family. She has successfully achieved this by introducing a character, albeit briefly, in novel and then highlighting them in another. We meet some old acquaintances here too: Lady Selwick, the Pink Carnation appears, and one of my favorites, Miss Gwendolyn Meadows, Our Lady of the Sharp Umbrella, but the two new protagonists, Laura Grey and Andre Jaouen take up the majority of the narrative, and I could not be happier. They are delightful: both guarded and reserved, they are hiding their real personalities that come to life because of circumstance and association. Their romance is well wrought and touching. Willig’s writing is just, well, awesome. There are few who can surpass her in witty dialogue and imaginative plots. She is top on my list of contemporary authors.

5 out of 5 Regency Stars

The Orchid Affair: A Novel, (The Pink Carnation series No 8), by Lauren Willig
Dutton, Penguin Group (USA)
Hardcover, (400) Pages
ISBN: 978-0525951995

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The Mischief of the Mistletoe: A Pink Carnation Christmas, by Lauren Willig – A Review

Posted in Book Reviews, Regency Era Book Reviews, tagged Book Reviews, Books, Espionage, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Jane Austen, Lauren Willig, Turnip Fitzhugh on 15 November 2010 | 18 Comments »

In her six previous novels in the bestselling Pink Carnation series, Lauren Willig has furnished us with an assortment of dashing heroes thwarting Napoleonic spies while romancing clever heroines. There are your alpha heroes and your beta heroes, but none qualify as a vegetable hero except Reginald “Turnip” Fitzhugh! He is long on looks and short on brains; but it does not signify. From his very first bumbling scene in The Mischief of the Mistletoe when he knocks down our heroine Arabella Dempsey and literally, but not figuratively, sweeps her off her feet, he will steal your heart. How our unlikely hero will prove to our practical heroine that he is as honorable as he is lucky in deducing espionage is the charm of this Christmas tale brimming with burlesque comedy and romance.

Set in 1803 Bath, Arabella Dempsey’s dear friend Jane Austen thinks her life would make “an excellent premise for a novel.” She certainly sounds like heroine material. Since her mother’s death at age twelve, Arabella has been living in London with her wealthy Aunt Osborne. More a piece of furniture than a companion, the family had high hopes of her becoming her aunt’s heir until she married Captain Musgrave, a fortune-hunter half her age. Thrown back on her family, Arabella is reunited with her ailing father Rev. Dempsey and her three younger sisters Margaret, Olivia and Lavinia, all living in genteel poverty in Bath. Happily her particular friend Jane and the Austen family are residing nearby offering support and the witty advice that she is famous for.

Realizing that she must earn a living, Arabella is fortunate to obtain a junior instructress position at Miss Climpson’s Select Seminary for Young Ladies in Bath. At school she does not expect to literally bump into Reginald Fitzhugh, “Turnip” to his friends, in the hallway while he was delivering a Christmas hamper to his younger sister Sally. They had met and danced in London. Awkward, tall and shy, Arabella is not a striking beauty, but she is clever and capable. Turnip is amiable and handsome, but not the “brightest loaf in the breadbox.” He does not remember her, but that was par for the course of her career as a wallflower in London.

Their adventure is set into motion by a Christmas pudding and a mysterious note written in French tied around it. Turnip has had some dealings with spies and espionage having once been accused of being the infamous “Pink Carnation” and he is keen to follow the clues and solve the mystery. Arabella is not so sure, but her charges at Miss Climpson’s: Miss Sally Fitzhugh, Miss Agnes Wooliston, Miss Lizzy Reid and the scandalous Miss Catherine Carruthers are a teenage force of nature and talk a good case. We follow Arabella, Jane and Turnip in a phaeton ride to a frost fair in the picturesque ruins of Farley Castle to encounter more pudding clues placed on stone effigies, experience an hysterical Christmas pageant at Miss Climpson’s that goes terribly wrong, more spy evidence, meet a suspicious French language teacher and an equally doubtful Italian music instructor, and travel to Girdings House, the principal seat of the imposing Dowager Duchess of Dovedail for her famous twelve days of Christmas festivities for more antics. Along the way Turnip and Arabella stumble upon clues, save England, and fall in love.

The Mischief of the Mistletoe takes place after The Seduction of the Crimson Rose but before The Temptation of the Night Jasmine in series order and readers will recognize many characters interlaced in the narrative. I was absolutely delighted in the paring of the kind hearted Turnip, famous for his absurdly embroidered waistcoats and bumbling antics to our sensible and responsible heroine Arabella. Even though Turnip is thought of as the one who is slower on the uptake, he sees what is important and is attracted to wallflower Arabella while she is sidetracked by Christmas puddings, spies and the social chasm she thinks separates them. How they come together (and you know that they will) is a pleasure to discover.

Rivaling the burlesque comedies of Georgette Heyer and the spy thrillers of Baroness Emma Orczy, I can think of no other contemporary author who can handle high comedy, historical accuracy and espionage as brilliantly as Lauren Willig. I hope that her storyline working in Jane Austen and her unfinished novel The Watsons will send readers off to discover or re-read the original. That gentle readers is a Christmas present rivaled only by the receipt of this novel. “Righty-ho”

5 out of 5 Regency Stars

The Mischief of the Mistletoe: A Pink Carnation Christmas, by Lauren Willig
Dutton (2010)
Hardcover (352) pages
ISBN: 978-0525951872

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For the King, by Catherine Delors – A Review

Posted in Book Reviews, Regency Era Book Reviews, tagged Book Reviews, Books, Catherine Delors, Fiction, For the King, Historical Fiction, Napoleon Bonaparte on 7 August 2010 | 9 Comments »

Summer is upon us and I am taking a bold move and jumping ship from my usual fare of Jane Austen and her offspring to cross the channel into France during the Napoleonic Wars with For the King, a detective thriller set in post-Revolutionary Paris steeped in politics and revenge.

Firstly, this book has an absolutely stunning cover and eye catching title that may be misleading to readers. This is not a novel about the glittering social season in Paris with Napoleon and Josephine resplendent with Ball gowns and romantic entanglements. It is about the plight of the proletariat in Paris, political corruption, honor, and integrity. Caveat emptor.

On Christmas Eve 1800, a devastating explosion by “machine infernale” on rue Saint-Nicaise in Paris kills twenty-two citizens, wounds fifty-six others and destroys dozens of surrounding buildings. Napoleon Bonaparte the newly self-appointed First Consul of France continues by carriage on his route to an evening at the Opera unharmed. This failed assassinated attempt angers many people, but who is responsible?

Napoleon has numerous enemies including his own countrymen. Could it be the Jacobin forces responsible for the French Revolution nine years prior who want their overthrown constitutional government reinstated, or the Chouans, loyal to the Catholic monarchy intent on the restoration of a deposed King? Napoleon is convinced that the Jacobins are to blame and immediately orders the arrest over a hundred known insurgents. The powerful Minister of Police Joseph Fouché is determined to prove to Napoleon that the Royalist’s are at fault requesting Chief Inspector Roch Miguel to investigate two known Chouans, Pierre de Saint-Régent and Francois Carbon. To cover his bet the Minister has also offered a reward of 2,000 gold louis for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the Jacobins who “committed the atrocity.”

Suspicious of Fouché’s speed in delivering these two names, Miguel begins the investigation into the assassins of the rue Saint-Nicaise from evidence and eye witness accounts. Miguel’s superior Prefect of Police Louis-Nicolas Dubois influenced by his boss Fouché also believes the Jacobins are to blame. From the description of the suspects Miguel is not convinced the assassins are any known Jacobins. His boss points out the similarity to the “Conspiracy of Daggers” assassination plot by the Jacobins against Napoleon only two months prior. Miguel suggests they do not know enough yet and should not ignore clues that would lead to the Chouans. Dubois accuses Miguel of favoritism to the Jacobins because of his father’s allegiance and blames him for not knowing of the assassination plot and preventing it. When Miguel’s aged father Old Miguel is arrested as a suspect, Dubois gives Roch one month to prove that the Royalists indeed are behind the plot or his father will be deported as a traitor. Interestingly, the two suspects supplied by Minister of Police Joseph Fouché are quickly linked to the crime, but failing to find the elusive third man with gold spectacles may be Roch’s undoing and his father’s eminent death.

Based on the “Plot of the Rue Saint-Nicaise” author Catherine Delors has crafted a thriller from historical fact; – a police procedural in its infancy. Meticulously researched at the archives of the Ministry and Prefecture of Police in Pairs, the events surrounding the bombing and the eventual investigation give the reader an inside view of the political atmosphere of post-Revolutionary France and Napoleon’s struggle to rule a country manipulated away from the new Republic and the old Royalty.

Psychologically, the conspiracy is viewed from the perspective of the two main male characters, young, honorable Chief Inspector Rouch Miguel and the revengeful mastermind behind the plot Joseph de Limoëlan. Each represent opposite sides of the struggle: Limoëlan a former aristocrat who watched his family guillotined and his property confiscated by the Republic and Miguel, a Jacobin peasant and citizen of the street who rose socially by education and hard work. Both working for their own France. Napoleon on the other hand is working for his own corrupt vision France.

Steeped in incredible detail, I recommend For the King to readers who love to be engulfed in an era and swept away in suspense and intrigue. Since we know the perpetrators of the plot from the beginning, this is not a mystery, but it plays out like one as the main character CI Roch Miguel must solve the crime to save his father and the Jacobin dignity. Those who like a good thriller will be pleased with the plot twists, double dealings and political machinations, however, those looking for emotional depth will be unmoved and short sheeted on the romance.

3 out of 5 Regency Stars

For the King, by Catherine Delors
Dutton Adult (2010)
Hardcover (352) pages
ISBN: 978-0525951742

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The Betrayal of the Blood Lily, by Lauren Willig – A Review

Posted in Regency Era Book Reviews, tagged Book Review, Books, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Lauren Willig, The Betrayal of the Blood Lily on 14 February 2010 | 13 Comments »

A nineteenth-century exotic locale, a handsome officer and a feisty heroine make for archetypical romantic fare, but Lauren Willig’s new novel The Betrayal of the Blood Lily is anything BUT a conventional bodice ripper embellished with historical detail. In her sixth novel in her “Pink Carnation” series, Willig exhibits once again that she is an accomplished raconteur as she weaves an intricate and lively tale involving spies, espionage and romance during the Napoleonic Wars between Britain and France. Whereas the previous novels have taken place in England and France involving a set of interrelated characters, Willig has taken a bold leap in introducing a new ensemble cast and intriguingly transported the narrative to exotic India.

Our new heroine Penelope Deveraux, who we met briefly in the previous novel The Temptation of the Night Jasmine, is as bold as brass. Her unpropitious behavior had always set more than a few fans fluttering and tongue’s wagging in London society, but she never thought a little kanoodling would force her into a hasty marriage with the dissipated Lord Frederick Staines. To avert scandal, the couple is quickly packed off to India where Freddy has accepted the position as Governor General Wellesley’s Special Envoy to the Court of Hyderabad. Married life is more than a bit disappointing as Freddy’s diversions tend toward gambling away her dowry and dalliances with the local bibi, the Indian equivalent of a mistress. One would think that Lady Penelope would be at odds in this strange new world far and away from the tempered drawing rooms of England, but she can ride and shoot and talk politics with the best of the big boys. This is more than a bit disconcerting to Captain Alex Reid who is escorting Lord Staines and his adventurous young wife to Hyderabad. She is a willful, flipant and an opinionated aristocrat. He is a disciplined, by-the-book, level headed solider and more than alarmed by her unconventional behavior. Their sharp banter is reminiscent of Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler on a bad day. Unfortunately, he frankly does give a damn. Pen is a married woman and her overt flirtation and unguarded behavior is sorely testing his honor. The political situation in India is just as tumultuous as the British and French jockey for control after the end of the Maratha War. In the court of the Nizam of Hyderabad, power and deceit go hand-in-hand fueling rumors of a French flower spy the Marigold. Gold and guns are missing which could turn the axis of power back into French hands. Somehow Penelope is connected to the Marigold and Captain Reid reluctantly accepts her help to uncover a dangerous spy, save British interest in India and thwart Bonaparte. Oh, and along the way, a few buttons get popped.

As with all of the previous novels in this series, the parallel plot with contemporary scholar Eloise Kelly prompts the historical story as she conducts her own research into the enigmatic British flower spies during the Napoleonic wars. Her investigation into the Selwick family papers has uncovered more than just primary source material for her doctoral thesis. After a tentative beginning Eloise and Colin, the Selwick family scion and possible modern spy, are a steady item. Since Eloise’s love life is on track she decides to match make for Colin’s younger sister Serena. Like Jane Austen’s famous misapplying heroine Emma Woodhouse, she is clueless about what attracts people to one another and why her choices are so wrong. Eloise’s social insecurities and endearingly flawed personality is what makes her both vulnerable and attractive to us, and Colin. Like the brash over confident Lady Penelope Staines, she does not realize yet that her weaknesses are her greatest strengths. Throughout the novel, Willig proves again and again that she is a nonpareil in the delicate art of characterization supplying an array of personalities whose foibles and strengths rival those penned in classic literature. Queen of the poignant adjective, Willig’s witty dialogue sparkles resplendently with humor and delight. I couldn’t have been more content being back in her world.

A superior addition to the “Pink Carnation” series, readers of The Betrayal of the Blood Lily will be as crestfallen as I when they finish the last page and realize that they must wait a whole year for the next book.

5 out of 5 Regency Stars

The Betrayal of the Blood Lily, by Lauren Willig
Penguin Group, USA (2010)
Hardcover (401) pages
ISBN: 978-0525951506

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Ransome’s Honor, by Kaye Dacus – A Review

Posted in Regency Era Book Reviews, tagged Book Review, Christian Fiction, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Horatio Hornblower, Jane Austen, Kaye Dacus, Ransome's Honor, Regency romance on 30 August 2009 | 3 Comments »

Ransome's Honor, by Kaye Dacus (2009) Men in blue. Need I say more?

If Lydia Bennet was condemned as the most determined flirt to make her family ridiculous in Pride and Prejudice for her fixation on any officer in a red coat, then I am as guilty as changed for a Royal Navy man in blue. Besides pictures of my father in his uniform, my earliest memories of a naval hero was of watching Gregory Peck in the 1951 movie Captain Horatio Hornblower on TV as a teenager. *swoon* Extend that memory into a new story of a dashing naval officer set in post Napoleonic war Portsmouth inspired by the author’s love of Jane Austen and Hornblower, and, I fall in, salute attention, take orders, and read Ransome’s Honor!

Seventeen year old Julia Witherington will never forgive Lieutenant William Ransome for not proposing to her in 1802 when she and all of Portsmouth society expected it. She is the daughter of a Royal Navy captain who made a fortune in prize-money during the war with France and ready to bestow a thirty-thousand pound dowry on the lucky man to win his trust and her affections. He is a promising young naval officer from humble beginnings who has earned his advancement but little money. Fearing being tagged a fortune-hunter with no title or money, at the last moment his pride and honor will not allow him to propose. Heartbroken and humiliated, Julia leaves England believing he didn’t really love her, having only courted her to cozy up to her father and his Navy connections.

Twelve years pass and the war with France has ended with Napoleon’s final surrender. Julia returns to Portsmouth still single and the belle of the social season. A beautiful, confident, and accomplished businesswoman, she has spent the last several years running her family sugar plantation in Jamaica. An only child since the loss of her brother at sea, she joins her widowed father Admiral Sir Edward Witherington and her Aunt Lady Pembroke, now acting as her chaperone since her mother’s death the following year. Among those officers and seamen returning to Portsmouth after the war is also one Captain William Ransome, eager for a new assignment for his ship Alexandra and anxious to be land locked for six weeks while she is refitted. Their inventible reunion after so many years is wrought with tension – she still holding on to her resentment – he regretting his decision. When Julia is pressured into an engagement with her ne’er-do-well cousin Sir Drake Pembroke desperate for her fortune to pay off his debts, she enters into a bargain with Captain Ransome for a one year marriage in exchange for her dowry. He is not interested in her money, but is honor bound by his promise to her father his commanding officer, and his own heart to assist her. Will Ransome’s honor prevail and soften Julia’s resolve and rekindle her affections?

Kaye Dacus has delivered a moving Regency era romance infused with naval lore and engaging characters. Her heroine Julia, intelligent and proud must move beyond her resentment and depend on the one man she vowed never to forgive. Her hero Captain Ransome, well, he had me at the first salute. From Julia’s chatty and energetic friend Susan Yates, to her husband Colin, William’s best friend and fellow officer, we form important impressions of our hero and heroine, discovering their character strengths and flaws. The villains, Sir Drake Pembroke and his mother Lady Augusta slither and scheme dubiously supplying the request evil to thwart the happiness of our protagonists. I smirked and grinned at their wicked doings and rooted for honor and good to prevail in all the right places. Above all, it was refreshing and rewarding to spend a delightful engagement with Captain William Ransome, an honorable and distinguished navy man reminiscent of Jane Austen’s Captain Wentworth, and evoking fond memories of actor Ioan Grufudd’s interpretation of Horatio Hornblower.

An overall enjoyable read, Dacus’ writing style is very spare and could have benefited from a bit more clarity in the dialogue and more detail in her description of settings and action. The begining of the book moved rather slowly but picked up considerably by the second half. In addition, I was puzzled by the character inconsistency in spirited Julia succumbing to the demands and constrictions of her aunt after her father’s departure to London. The Julia that she had set up to that point would not let others run her over so easily. A sweet romance, this novel is actually classified as Christian fiction, but I did not find the religious vein overly preachy or imposing. A most delightful voyage with the distinguished and dishy Captain Ransome, I am all anticipation for his further adventures in romance, and the sea, when the next installment of the Ransome Trilogy, Ransome’s Crossing makes port next July. Until then I shall feel like a Navy sweetheart patiently waiting for her man to return from the sea!

4 out of 5 Regency Stars

Ransome’s Honor, by Kaye Dacus
Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, OR (2009)
Trade paperback (342) pages
ISBN: 978-0736927536

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The Temptation of the Night Jasmine, by Lauren Willig – A Review

Posted in Regency Era Book Reviews, tagged Book Review, Catherine Morland, Evelina, Fiction, Frances Burney, Historical Fiction, Jane Austen, Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, Lauren Willig, Pride and Prejudice, The Pink Carnation, The Temptation of the Night Jasmine on 23 August 2009 | 11 Comments »

In the fifth installment in her Pink Carnation Series, more Napoleonic espionage ensues as Lauren Willig spins her captivating tale of the exploits of Robert Lansdowne, the reluctant Duke of Dovedail, and his bookish young cousin Charlotte in The Temptation of the Night Jasmine. Set in England in 1803, Robert’s unexpected return to his ducal estate in Sussex after a decade in the Army in India rekindles Lady Charlotte’s idealistic fantasies. Fueled by her passion for romantic novels such as Evelina she is hopeful that Robert, her knight in shining amour, has come to rescue her from her from the embarrassment of three failed London seasons and her grandmother’s succession of unacceptable eligible bachelors. However, Robert’s main objective is not romance, but to track down the spy who murdered his mentor during the Battle of Assaye. Even though their reunion sparks a quick romance, Robert abruptly ends their relationship and departs for London in pursuit of the elusive spy whose signature scent is the heady and seductive night jasmine. Infiltrating the notorious Hells Fire Club, he is witness to opium induced orgies and the dissipation of London society – all in the name of duty and honor, mind you. Meanwhile, Charlotte acting as lady in waiting to Queen is witness to the madness of King George, or is she? With the aid of her friend Lady Henrietta Selwick, they undertake a bit of espionage of their own, uncovering a plot to kidnap the king. Robert and Charlotte must join forces to thwart the scheme, and learn to trust each again before they can catch a spy, and, re-fall in love.

All of Willig’s stories in this series unfold as a parallel plot prompted by the investigation of contemporary scholar Eloise Kelly as she conducts her own historical research into the enigmatic British flower spies during the Napoleonic wars. The trail of research has led her to Colin Selwick the descendant of the Pink Carnation who holds the family archive, and her affections under his control. Having read all of the previous novels in the Pink Carnation series, I was uncertain if Willig could continue to pump out fresh and engaging stories to match the intrigue, humor, and suspense of her previous four efforts. In addition, the dubious claim in the publisher’s description of the book that “Pride and Prejudice lives on in Lauren Willig’s acclaimed Pink Carnation series” really shot up an eyebrow. Talk about hitching your star onto a bandwagon! This series is not a Jane Austen sequel, though she does amusingly nod at Austen through allusions to her characters and plot lines, especially in this novel in the early chapters with young, naïve and bookish Charlotte Lansdowne. Any reader of Northanger Abbey will immediately see the similarities to Catherine Morland and smile. But the rest of the characters and plotline is entirely Willig’s own skillful imaginings.

Given my reservations upon reading this new release, I was happy to discover that I cherish it among the best in the series. Willig’s effervescent style in almost tongue-in-cheek in its playfulness. Her strength, however, lies in her rendering of her characters unique and endearing personalities. Like Austen, she chooses an array of foibles and follies in human nature illustrated in her secondary characters to frame her hero and heroine. Charlotte’s grandmother is a great example.

“The Dowager Duchess of Dovedale, the woman who had launched a thousand ships—as their crews rowed for their lives in the opposite direction. She inspired horses to rear, jaded roués to blanch beneath their rouge, and young fops to jump out of ballroom windows. And she enjoyed every moment of it.”

Even though I thoroughly enjoy her writing style, Willig does have a few weaknesses that I hope will improve with experience. She handles comedy, historical context, and dialogue beautifully, but like Austen’s complaint about her own darling child Pride and Prejudice, her plots lack the deep shade necessary to offset the light, bright, sparkly stuff. Not only would I like to see more romantic tension between her protagonists, a bit more dastardly doings in her villains would please me exceedingly. Just channel a bit of Dickens Lauren, and you will succeed. Furthermore, I enjoyed the historical plot line so much more than the contemporary fumbling of her Bridget Jones clone-ish Eloise, mostly due to the fact that I am just really tired of clueless young woman who are so insecure that a run in their nylons ruins their day.

Reverently harkening to her predecessors Austen and Heyer, Willig is one talented author who I hope will enjoy a very long career. In addition to The Temptation of the Night Jasmine, the Pink Carnation series included The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, The Masque of the Black Tulip, The Deception of the Emerald Ring and The Seduction of the Crimson Rose. Her next novel in the series is The Betrayal of the Blood Lily is due out in January, 2010. If you are in the mood for a Regency era romantic spy comedy romp, I recommend this book highly.

4 out of 5 Regency Stars

The Temptation of the Night Jasmine, by Lauren Willig
Dutton Adult, New York (2009)
Hardcover (400) pages
ISBN: 978-0525950967

Visit Lauren Willig’s beautiful website

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The Best Intentions: A Regency Romance, by Candice Hern – A Review

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The Garden Intrigue, by Lauren Willig – A Review

Tides of War, by Stella Tillyard – A Review

The Twelfth Enchantment: A Novel, by David Liss – A Review

Shades of Milk and Honey, by Mary Robinette Kowal – A Review

The Orchid Affair: A Novel, by Lauren Willig – A Review

The Mischief of the Mistletoe: A Pink Carnation Christmas, by Lauren Willig – A Review

For the King, by Catherine Delors – A Review

The Betrayal of the Blood Lily, by Lauren Willig – A Review

Ransome’s Honor, by Kaye Dacus – A Review

The Temptation of the Night Jasmine, by Lauren Willig – A Review

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