Courting Julia - Mary Balogh

A Swarm of Suitors

Miss Julia Maynard never dreamed that she might be the most passionately pursued prize in the Marriage Mart. But then her step-grandfather died. And his legacy drew suitors to her like bees to honey.

She could wed the very friendly Augustus...or the kindly Malcolm...or the most loyal Lesley. Even more tempting, there was the superbly sensual Frederick, whose good looks, charm and masterful skills in matters of love had won him scandalous success as a rake. But that was one marriage she would have to think thrice about. Could she ever become the bride of the arrogant, cavalier Earl of Beaconswood no matter how irresistible he might be...no matter how foolish her heart behaved when he took her in his arms to teach her the dangerous delights of desire...?

I read another of Mary Balogh’s old traditional regencies this weekend. Courting Julia is the first in a trilogy but somehow I managed to read the other 2 first. I really enjoy these smaller books about the regency period where the emphasis is more on the social manners and behaviour of the character.

In this book Julia’s grandfather dies and in his will he leaves his unentailed estate to Julia on the condition she marries one of her 5 cousins within a month of his death. Julia is both surprised and devastated with this clause that leaves her unable to privately grieve for her grandfather and the object of her cousins interest because she is now a great heiress. All the cousins show some interest except for Daniel, the heir to the title. A former play mate of Julia he went away when he inherited his father’s estate and had to deal with new responsibilities. He still sees Julia as an irresponsible young woman, always playing games and having fun. And she sees him has a bore who forgot how to enjoy himself and only cares about convention.

I thought the 2 main characters were planned to be true opposites, Julia is too wild and Daniel too conservative and that was a bit too much imho. It would have been more real if they weren’t such extreme characters that they spent half the book believing that they hated each other and after Julia finds herself in danger suddenly realise they love each other.

Just as a side note the villain in this book is the main character of the next one, Dancing With Clara.

Not Balogh at its best but still an enjoyable read. A 4/5.

A Love For All Seasons - Edith Layton

I usually like Edith Layton's stories and when I discovered she had an anthology out in which all the stories were written by her I couldn't resist till I found it. I had no idea though that all the stories were connected and it was fun to discover it as I went along.

SPRING'S PROMISE
The story of Felicia, a diamond of the first water who unexpectedly sees the man that was courting her marry another and to have a little revenge on fate decides to engage a known rake who is a neighbour of her father's estate. The rake does see through her scheme and ends up being more honourable than his reputation and the two fall in love.

SUMMER'S FRUIT
The story of Adela who married a navy officer and on the few days after the wedding and before he went away become pregnant. Now Adela's time is almost due, she is heavily pregnant and moody and her husband does not know how to deal with the woman she has become. It will take them some adjusting and talking to finally reach their HEA. Adela's husband and Felicia's fiancé are old schoolmates.

AUTUMN LEAVES
Bronwen Penny had been a rich young lady till her father's fortune vanished and she had to become a governess. One day she meets Nick, the Earl of Fairlie and one of her old childhood friends. Bronwen and Nick are attracted to each other but he sees himself has jaded and unworthy. This story had a bit of a magical feel to it and eventually the prince does realise he can't let the damsel get away.

SNOW BROTH
This story starts with the improbable premise that a young lady - Marjorie - attends the wrong wake. She becomes friends with 3 other young people with whom she visiting the city's entertainments. She and one of the gentleman feel attracted to each other and she feels sad and confused when she realises that he is engaged to another young lady but he is eventually released from that commitment and the two reveal their feelings. Marjorie spends part of the action in Felicia and her parent's house.

A LOVE FOR ALL SEASONS
This is Rachel, Felicia's mother story, and how after many years of marriage she and her husband find themselves drifting apart and knowing different people till they eventually have to rethink and work on their relationship. A story of how people change and sometimes have to fall in love with each other again to be happy.

While none of the stories captivated me completely I felt this was a really nice read, maybe not unforgettable but the kind to spend an afternoon reading with a cup of tea by your side and end with a smile on your face.

Grade: 3.5/5

The Soldier's Bride - April Kihlstrom

A Marriage of Convenience

Lisbeth Barlow has never much cared for the notion of marriage--all duty and appearances and submitting to one's husband. But when Lord Thomas Kepley arrives one morning to ask for her hand, he has none of those conventions in mind. He wants only to evade the marriage his father has arranged for him. And for her help in this matter, Lisbeth can enjoy all the benefits of marrying quality without suffering any of the bother--as Lord Thomas will be off to rejoin Wellington's army in Portugal the next day.Kepley's father, the Marquess of Aylsham, hasn't the slightest patience, however, with Thomas's defiant behavior, and when Lisbeth bears a child who does not have the Kepley birthmark, Aylsham believes he has more than sufficient reason to discredit her. But the more the marquess tries to break them apart, the more Lisbeth and Thomas learn how much trust, love, and happiness can be found in their all too practical union.

Lisbeth Barlow's has a special magical locket where the women of the family look and that shows them the face of the man they will marry. That is why she is not surprised when Lord Thomas asks her to marry him all of a sudden and she happily accepts. However Thomas wants to marry right away not because he loves Lisbeth but because he wants to avoid the marriage his father planned for him.

He quickly leaves for the battle front and stays away for many months during which his parents do not accept his marriage or the baby that Lisbeth gives birth to and she has to leave in his old and ruined estate sewing clothes to make ends meet.

When Thomas finally returns he also refuses to accept that the baby is his and believes Lisbeth played him false. Despite that he wants to make the marriage work and only asks her to tell him what happened and why she betrayed him. Lisbeth has a hard time understanding what is happening and feels rightfully wounded that no one believes her. Unfortunately the lack of a birthmark that all male babies of her husband's family bear prevents her husband from believing her.

The story seemed to be stuck at this point with both of them stubborn and determined to maintain their view of events. It is clear that they do deal well with each other but since they are determined not to bend the HEA seems difficult. But the author does manage to solve this with a plot twist that I have to confess I did not see coming. It's always nice in this sort of book to be pleasantly surprised and just because of that I'm going to grade it a bit higher than I initially thought of...

There's a subplot involving Thomas being a spy and another about Lisbeth's aunt but I have to confess I didn't feel they added much to the story.

Grade: 3.5/5

Once Upon A Sofa - Myretta Robens

WILL A MINOR INDISCRETION

In a mad moment, Lady Isabel Ashby surrenders to a passionate kiss from the earl to whom she is betrothed. Then the door flies open and the rest of the party guests stumble in--and Isabel finds that she has kissed not the earl, but his brother! Major Sidney Chamberlayne is a dashing younger son without a feather to fly with, but he'll have to marry her now.

Still, it was an honest mistake and the room was very dark...can Isabel be blamed?...LEAD TO MAJOR HAPPINESS? Sidney is too much of a gentleman to do that--but they must marry in haste, though they know very little of each other.

Fortunately, his darling Isabel seems eager to learn everything she
can...especially when it comes to love...

I usually dislike cartoonish covers in books and I think that's why it took me so long to pick this one up. It just doesn't look like a traditional regency and I had never read Myretta Robens so it's been sitting there for a few months now.

I'm glad to say that overall it was a nice and funny story, definitely on the light side. Isabel Ashby doesn’t start as a very sympathetic character; in fact I had the idea that she might be a villainess being redeemed as she begins the story by planning to be caught in a compromising position with a man so as to force him to marry her. Things don't go according to plan because the man she entraps is not the one she wants but a penniless officer, albeit from a good family, that has just returned from the war.

I think the weakest part of the story is how they are forced to wed. Since Isabel is a widow it’s not like she is a virginal debutante with a reputation to maintain (especially as there are already rumours about her) and since Sydney doesn't hold a prominent place in society he doesn't really need to care about a scandal. And it is quite obvious to everyone that Isabel planned it so... why would he want to marry her? But so he does... it is unclear if he fell in love a little bit or if he feels it’s the gentlemanly thing to do or both but it seemed a bit too weak a motive for a life changing decision as is marriage.

Isabel accepts his proposal but only after her aunts convinces her that it is the best thing to do. She comes across as cold and selfish in the beginning and I was wondering where Robens would go with her character. In fact for much of the beginning of their marriage Sydney and Isabel remain strangers, and while his mother accepts her Sydney's brother is another matter altogether. As they spend more time together Isabel starts appreciating her husband's qualities and realising that she actually likes him and comparing him in a favourable light with the shallow youths she usually keeps company.

Unfortunately the past has a way of catching up with people and one of the fortune hunters that used to surround Isabel decides to pursue her sister-in-law which leads to trouble for Isabel. I didn't particularly like this part of the story and I felt the author had just introduced it to create conflict between the pair so has to bring them together. I really liked the parts just with Isabel and Sydney and so I think the HEA could have been achieved without (especially as Sydney's sister became a really annoying character) but in the end it didn't bother enough to keep me from enjoying the story.

Grade: 4/5

An Unwelcome Alliance - Ellen Fitzgerald

The Mistaken Mismatch
Beautiful Lady Belinda Deveraux and handsome Lord Gerald Courtenay were passionately in love when they were married. Unfortunately they were not in love with each other. Belinda's heart belonged to Lord Anthony Furneaux, whether or not he chose to accept the rest of her. Meanwhile, Gerald was totally devoted to the ravishing Felice D'Aubigny.

Though bride and groom vowed to remain faithful to their own true loves, they were surprised to find that marital duty led to unexpected desire - as their marriage of convenience became something entirely different!

The premise was good - a couple forced to a marriage of convenience who slowly develop feelings for each other. They were both in love with someone else in the beginning and I was looking forward to know how they would deal with that change of feelings and with getting to know each other.

I found that in the end none of that was really explored, the heroine just had a childhood attraction to another man and the hero had a mistress that he gave up when he found himself in love with his wife. There was no big analysis of their feelings and in the end I wondered why he fell in love with her, and why every other man seemed expected to do the same. She was bit too impulsive and naive which led to some bad decisions when she discovers the husband's mistress. After that I was hoping for some confrontation where they would bare their feelings but I didn't even get that as the husband is hurt in a duel and when unconscious speaks in his dreams and proclaims his love for his wife which is enough for her.

I was much more interested in her friend Cornelia who seemed a level headed young woman and fortunately also has a happy ending of her own. The author seems so determined to give happy endings to all that even the husband's mistress gets one. In the end I found too neatly wrapped and not emotional enough.

Grade: 3/5

Marriage a La Mode - Elisabeth Fairchild

A Scandal Over Love

The ton was in an uproar! The King was bringing divorce proceedings against the Queen. And Lady Melody Bainbridge was doing the same against the cruel lord she had wed a fey years before. Now forced to hide her face behind the veil of he fashionable leghorn hat, Melody found she could not stop Dunstan Hays, Earl of Erroll, from gazing at her. He had come to Kent to fetch a cherry-tree sapling for his home in the Highlands. It was perfectly logical for the sightseeing Melody to mistake the strong Scotsman for a gardener--his warm words made hope blossom again in her heart.

As for Dunstan, he was enchanted by Melody, whose voice sounded like a song. Once wounded by a fickle woman, he had sworn to remain a bachelor. Now he was rapidly falling for a lady no respectable gentleman dared court. Could the scandal of the season become a romance to remember as a man and a woman who'd sworn off happiness plunged--heart first--into love?

This book has an original plot. Set during the reign of King George VI Fairchild establishes a parallel between the attempt the king made to divorce his queen and the situation the heroine was suffering through trying to divorce her husband. In both cases the women's rights are gravely injured and are very different from the husband's. Fairchild shows a very sympathetic heroine to Queen Caroline's plight.

Other than that I found the main characters to be interesting and engaging, especially the hero who searches for a way to free the heroine and hopefully in a way that she can remarry. That can only be obtained in a somewhat tortured way as at the time divorced couples could not remarry. I found the way that their relationship, and later courtship, develops really nice and sweet.

There are not many secondary characters, the only major one is the Earl of Erroll's mother who at first doesn't seem very happy with the fact that her son as chosen such a scandalous bride. There seems to be a mystery attached to his cousin and his wife (Erroll's former beloved) and I was left wondering if they have their own book.

Grade: 4/5

From The Heart - Anthology

Another anthology with 5 regency stories, I find them the perfect reading material for when you have little time and want something short.

The Anniversary - Mary Balogh
No doubt one of my favourite Balogh short stories, she has a knack for providing us with enough back story and multi dimensional characters even in so few pages and it was a delight to read about a couple, estranged since their wedding, who come together on their second wedding anniversary. Thanks to Balogh wonderful writing one can feel their pain and fears and truly rejoice in the happy ending.
Grade: 5/5

The Wooing of Lord Walford - Anne Barbour
A young gentleman who needs to win a wager convinces one of his oldest friends that she must marry one of his old school mates. He teaches her everything about how to conquer him but in the process realises he loves her too and doesn't want to lose her. This was a funny story even if somewhat predictable.
Grade: 4/5

Cupid's Dart - Melinda McRae
Another friends to lovers story but this one with an older couple who have in the past enjoyed each other's company. The story takes place during a house party thrown to help the hero find a wife but he realises the one he wants is right there. I'm afraid it was my least favourite because it failed to engage me.
Grade: 3/5

Devil's Luck - Anita Mills
A gentleman wins a young woman's hand in marriage in a card game. In reality he has no intention of going through with it but only to teach an old irresponsible father a lesson. But as soon as he meets his prospective bride he is embroiled in the family's affairs and finds he may have struck gold after all. I did enjoy the storytelling very much but felt the ending was a bit rushed.
Grade - 4/5

The Impostor - Sandra Heath
The hero goes to visit his friend's unknown bride as a favour and ends up being confused with him and leading to a big misunderstanding while he and the heroine can't help falling in love. When the truth is revealed she believes herself betrayed and it will take him some effort to conquer her.
Grade: 4/5

Anthology grade: 4/5

Play of Hearts - Corinna Cunliffe

A MISTRESS OF MAKE-BELIEVE--IN A MARRIAGE OF LET'S-PRETEND

Miss Perdita Chase had been rescued from the scandalous world of the London theater, where her father reigned as king of actors. The wealthy parents of her well-born mother took her in hand and raised her to be the most proper of young ladies.Little did the lovely Perdita dream that she would have to play a role that would daunt any actress, in a real-life drama surpassing any on the stage.

For when the handsome and gallant Sir Jeremy Dole took Perdita as a bride out of duty rather than desire, she had to pretend to the world that her marriage was as perfect as it seemed. But behind her show of wedded bliss her secret heart cried out for the happy ending that only love could provide. It was clear to Perdita that she had been cast in a play that drastically needed a change of
direction....

I have realised this past few weeks that traditional regencies are my comfort reading material. Whenever I feel down this is invariable the genre I turn too. Although there are less stories being published there are still a huge number of authors and stories for me to discover. This was my first read by this author Corinna Cunliffe and while it wasn't a favourite it had some attractive points and I want to read more by her.

Perdita Chase has been raised by her aunt since she was a little girl, her mother died when she was young and her father is an actor and so considered unsuitable to raise her. She has grown up surrounded by her cousin and 2 of the neighborhood boys, Sir Jeremy Dole and his brother. Perdita is secretly in love with Sir Jeremy and always has been but always feels overwhelmed and tongue tied in his presence.
One day, while out walking alone, she is kidnapped by mistake by ruffians who believe her to be a great heiress. Sir Jeremy proceeds to save but they end up having to spend a night at an Inn where a gossipy old Lady sees them and reaches the wrong conclusions. To protect Perdita's reputation Jeremy pretends they have married and the next day proposes to her.

It is clear from the beginning that Perdita and Jeremy do love each other. However they both believe the other loves someone else. Acting on that presumption they are cold and distant with one another and the misunderstanding just grows bigger and bigger till Jeremy, after behaving awfully towards Perdita decides to stay away.

Unable to conquer him Perdita, who has found her father, decides to join the theater company and perform in the play she herself wrote and that reproduces somehow her problems with her husband. It will take the handiwork of friends to bring Jeremy to watch the play and finally realise the truth.

While I always appreciate books full of heart ache and this one certainly has a lot of that going on I never felt immersed in the story and in the characters to the point where I was suffering along with them (which I like!). They felt believable and interesting but somewhat cold to me. There is a secondary love story that develops that I enjoyed too although we see little of it and it also contributes to the problems between Jeremy and Perdita. Their main problem was one of communication and I would certainly have liked more dialogue between them. The only thing that sounded to me a bit unrealistic was that Perdita would take to the stage so well and without fear of creating a possible scandal. Wouldn't that be odd in that period?

But I did enjoy the book as a whole and thought it well written and am now curious to read more (I have another one in the TBR pile). The ending seemed a bit rushed after all that heartache though.

Grade: 3.5/5

Second Thoughts - Sandra Heath

Although Lord Carismont is dashing enough to take any girl of the ton for his wife, the widower has only his daughter's best interests at heart. When Carismont interviews Kate Kingsley for the position of governess, he believes he's discovered a suitable mother for his little girl and readily offers Kate more than she ever expected: a marriage of convenience.

A charming young widow with a son to care for, Kate hesitantly accepts Carismont's proposal and all the security that comes with it. But when she arrives at his castle off the coast of England and learns that someone—or something—is determined to keep them apart, she begins to have second thoughts about their union that only the magic of true love can put to rest.

I have greatly enjoyed some of Sandra Heath's books in the past but I seem to have some trouble with the ones that have magical elements.

In this one a young widow agrees to a marriage of convenience to help an orphaned little girl. But from the beginning she starts to see things, namely a cuckoo determined to help her. When they arrive at her husbands estate it soon becomes obvioous that there is a world of magic from which his first wife came and she not only is still alive in that other world, but keeps wanting to come back to join her lover. To accomplish that she will have to convince her daughter to go to that other world and there's a struggle between the h/h trying to keep the child safe and coping with falling in love and the villains.

Bigger fans of magic and paranormal will probably enjoy it more than I did as that is the most important part of the story. The widow agrees too readily to the marriage of convenience and then they proceed to fall in love too quickly and I really couldn't see the attraction.

Grade: 3/5

An Unconventional Courtship - Dorothy Mack

MISS LATHAM'S LABORS

For one of her tender years, Miss Cleone Latham had a great number of things to do.

As a grateful poor relation in an aristocratic household, she had to manage affairs so that her great-uncle, Lord Brestwick, would not topple over the abyss of financial ruin.

As a fond cousin, she had to help headstrong Philip Hardwicke escape the dreadful consequences of his folly at the gaming tables.

And as a young lady of good conscience, she had to make the enamored Earl of Altern see the selfish, shallow nature that lay under the surface of her ravishing cousin Emerald Hardwicke.

Of course, lithe only way to save Altern from Emerald's clutches was to take this heart quickening gentleman in hand herself, it was a task that Cleone was happy to undertake. It was, in fact, a labor of love...

This was a very enjoyable traditional regency mainly because of two things, a very sensible heroine and an interesting and determined hero. Although the blurb suggests that Cleone is against her cousin's pursuit of the Earl that is not true. She does feel that her cousin and too young and of a shallow nature but she never tries to steal her beau from her.

In fact what one feels is that she almost too good for her own good and determined to not be in the way of her cousin's happiness.

Of course Altern is not stupid and soon realizes that Cleone is a lot more mature and interesting than her beautiful cousin but to woo her he will have to adopt a strategy not to make one woman feel jilted and to convince the other he really loves her. He was a wonderful hero in that sense that he was determined to marry Cleone no matter what and I was left with a happy feeling in the end.

Grade: 4/5

A Highly Respectable Marriage - Sheila Walsh

THE OFFICER’S DAUGHTER

Lovely young Pandora Carlyon was the daughter of a gallant colonel--but now her father was dead, and Pandora was left unprotected in London, far from the battlefields of Europe where she had been raised.

It was up to Pandora to map out a campaign of survival for herself and her two brothers in this strange and scandalous world of English society. It was also up to her to defend her reputation and honour with every weapon at her command when the maddeningly handsome, shockingly notorious Duke of Heron proposed a most unthinkable alliance.

Pandora was about to learn that in love as in war, all was considered fair, every move was fraught with peril, and surrender could be so very tempting...

This book features a young and outspoken heroine and an older jaded rake. It's not that I don't like these types of stories but sometimes it seems to me a bit unbelievable the love story between such different people.

Pandora is an orphan and lives with her brother in the house of her half sister. They are treated like a charity case and since her young brother is always in trouble there's talk of sending him to a severe school. To avoid that Pandora decides to find employment . After a conversation with her godmother, she decides to visit the Duke of Heron who is apparently looking for a governess for his charges. Heron has no idea what Pandora is talking about and thinks she is proposing to become his wife thus creating a misunderstanding and some harsh words are spoken. On learning the truth he finds Pandora and starts to feel attracted to her. His attraction is almost immediate and maybe that is what made it a bit unbelievable to me.

Pandora was a nice girl, very trusting, naive and wanting to help everyone around her while Heron is the consummate rake. In a way I felt he rushed her a bit towards marriage and she might need more time to adjust to marriage, to him and to her new station.

Grade: 3.5/5

Lord Dragoner's Wife - Lynn Kerstan

JUST ONE NIGHT

Six years ago, Delilah was wed to Charles Everett, Lord Dragoner, a man she'd loved from afar. But after only one night, he fled England for France, and was gone from her life... Now the handsome lord has returned, surrounded by scandalous rumors. Although he cloaks his explanation in wit and laughter, Delilah discovers her husband was forced into their marriage by cruel and manipulative parents - and soon understands why Lord Dragoner wants to cut his ties with the past...He assumes his estranged wife wants the same. But Delilah has other plans - for she truly loves her husband, and dreams of a life together, if he could give them a chance at happiness. Only two things stand in their way - Dragoner's bitter past, and his present occupation, which promises danger for them both....And when Delilah resolves to face that danger beside her husband, a fragile chance for love begins to bloom...

I had read Lord Dragoner’s Wife a few years ago but I had never reviewed it so as I found another copy I thought I should reread and write about it. Plot wise it has two of my favourite themes – it’s a marriage of convenience and a marriage in trouble story.

Six years previously Delilah, a tradesman daughter, and the present Lord Dragoner were married. He appeared on church drunk and disappeared right after the wedding night. For five years, Delilah has waited for him to come back so they can form a relationship but when he returns is to speak of a divorce.

While Dragoner believes theirs was only a marriage of convenience, trading a title for money that his parents immediately managed to spend Delilah had in fact examined several candidates and decided to choose him because she was attracted to him. It’s with considerable distress that she finds what he plans when the only thing she wants is to start a family.

It seems divorces are much easier to come by in France and that’s where Dragoner has been living so he assumes it will be as easy in England. When he sees it is not so he lets Delilah persuade him to postpone a decision. While he goes back to France where he performs undercover work for Wellington she decides to follow him and see if his bad reputation is well deserved and if she should indeed forget him and any chances of saving their wedding. But she is welcomed with open arms in Madame de Stael’s salons and given a lot of information on her husband as well as a makeover.

What follows is Dragoner still trying to do his job as a spy but finding his wife in the middle of the action. Delilah is quite a strong and determined woman in her own way and tries her best to help him even if some wrong assumptions do lead to some funny and unexpected scenes. And of course, in the end Dragoner can’t help himself and does fall in love with his wife.

A very enjoyable story where my only complaint is that Delilah was a bit too good, too kind, too intelligent, a business genious… but I still liked it very much!

Grade: 4/5

A Regency Christmas Eve - Anthology

Celebrate the most joyous of seasons with these original stories of holiday romance from five of today's most beloved award-winning Regency authors. Each tale is set on Christmas Eve, capturing the season's true spirit of charity and goodwill, proving time and again why love is the greatest gift of all. This special collection is a perfect present for friends and lovers who find themselves looking forward to the holiday with delicious anticipation, wondering what awaits them under the tree--and under the mistletoe .…

Little Miracles – Barbara Metzger
My favourite story in the anthology this one is about two rodents trying to save a very poor church by sharing the secret only they remember and bringing love and happiness to the vicar and the local lord. I thought the mice were a cute device, the story seems to lack some balance though as they only appear in the beginning and the end.
Grade: 4/5

Marriage Stakes - Allison Lane
Miss Sophie Landess is returning home with her widowed and very pregnant sister when they have a carriage accident and are saved by the Earl of Westlake and soon Sophie finds herself helping him finding the right bride after they are invited to stay at his home during the holiday season. I thought it was odd that Sophie went spying for him and I never really felt the attraction between them.
Grade: 3/5

The Gift of the Spoons – Nancy Butler
A man, desperate to save his son, goes in search of a healer he has heard about but finds her daughter instead. The enmity between the two is immediate but she eventually agrees to go and see his son leading to healing the rift between father and son and the developing of warmer feelings between the two. It was too brief for real development and I was unconvinced by their relationship.
Grade: 2/5

The Reckless Miss Ripley – Diane Farr
A road romance in which the hero finds himself helping Miss Claudia Ripley reaching Bath safely. Miss Ripley is a bit too trusting, naive and sometimes silly for my tastes and after him being so exasperated with her I couldn’t understand how his feelings changed so much. It was actually supposed to be a humorous story but I failed to be entertained by it with humour being such a personal thing.
Grade: 2/5

The Christmas Thief – Edith Layton
The hero, a former captain in the army, believes to have lost all his fortune due to an embezzler and tries his best to arrange a happy Christmas for his niece, even if the means stealing a doll or pawning his hat and boots. He also frees his fiancée from their commitment due to his financial situation but in the end it was all a misunderstanding and all is resolved in the end. The hero is a really nice character but the misunderstanding annoyed me.
Grade: 3/5

Anthology grade: 3/5

The Wood Nymph - Mary Balogh

One of Mary Balogh's older titles and one I knew little about before starting and I'll admit I was a bit worried after reading a few chapters.

Heartbroken at the loss of Elizabeth in A Chance Encounter, William Mainwaring retreats to his country estate and meets the unworldly Helen Wade in the woods one day. She soothes his soul until he flees in panic after seducing her. He then faces the almost impossible task of redeeming himself in her eyes.

Lady Helen Wade and William Mainwaring came together in the woods and forge a relationship without knowing much about each other. Helen, or Nell as she tells him, is attracted to a man who seems to understand her and share her love for poetry. William finds her refreshing and is warmed by her interest in him while he tries to mend his broken heart.

They end up being intimate without really talking about who they really are and William, upset with his feelings for someone whose innocence he used and he doesn't feel he can give a whole heart to (not to mention that he believes her to be a village girl), leaves for his scottish estate. Helen, totally in love with him and planning to tell him the truth of who she really is, is left alone without understanding exactly what happened except that the man she idolized has abandoned her after using her.

In Scotland William can't forget Nell and decides to go back and offer for her but first he goes to London to meet old friends. That's when he finds Nell again, in town with her family for the season. He is shocked when he finds out who she is and wants to do the right thing and marry her but Nell is too hurt by his betrayal and behaves atrociously towards him and his friends.

While their behaviour and problems is certainly a proof of their lack of maturity when Nell finally has a revealing conversation with William's friend I was almost in tears because of how she must be suffering knowing he could be the solution to her problems but unable to accept him because of what she felt was his despicable behaviour.

It couldn't have been an easy choice to know that to restore your honor you must marry the man who ruined you and disappointed you in the first place and I think Balogh shows that inner struggle of Nell very well. If you love intense and poignant reads I think this one fits in that genre very nicely.

Grade: 4/5

Tokens of Love - Anthology

This is an anthology with a Valentine's Day theme. I've read many with a Christmas theme but this was my first with this theme. The short stories are:

Mary Balogh, "The Substitute Guest."
A young lady is invited to a house party during St Valentine's. It's actually a rendez vous for lovers to meet but when one of the women declines the invitation a vicar's sister is invited in her place and wins the heart of the gentleman selected to court her for the weekend.
It was a nice story the hero was a bit bland, either we needed a stronger hero or a bigger story. 4

Margaret Westhaven, "Saint Valentine's Eve."
A second chance at love story when lovers separated 10 years before meet again. It's set in India which his different and the heroine was a young girl shipped to Calcutta for find a husband (I was curious to know if indeed this was common). A pleasant story but nothing to make it stand out. 4

Carol Proctor, "The London Swell."
Hero travels to the country to court and propose the girl he wants to marry. There he meets an eccentric young girl who mistakes him for someone else and speaks about how she is going to marry the London gentleman that is due to arrive. Not badly written but the heroine was too childish. 3.5

Sheila Walsh, "Dear Delight."
Another second chance at love. The hero and the heroine were separated 10 years before when her father rejected his suit and he left without telling her why so she things he abandoned her. They meet again at a christening of one of her nephews but there's a woman determined to separate them again. It was nice and the strong point for me was that the author cleared the misunderstanding pretty early. 4

Sandra Heath, "February Falsehoods."
And the anthology ends with another second chance at love. This time the heroine has jilted the hero after finding out he had a mistress and her friend and her beau (the hero's friend) try to bring them together again. Not bad but nothing memorable. 4

Grade: 4/5 with the Balogh and the Walsh being the favourites. Although nothing really stands out this is the kind of anthology I save for a rainy day, a comfort read.

A Prudent Match - Laura Matthews

A Marriage of Convenience

Desperate to settle a debt regarding his estate, Baron William Ledbetter marries Prudence Stockworth in a hasty ceremony. The wealth she inherited in the wake of her fiance's death is enough to mend his financial affairs. But even if he didn't need the money, he finds himself entranced by her innocent beauty... Prudence remains brokenhearted over the death of her fiancé, but knows the time has come to marry rather than die a spinster. Although she is aware that Ledbetter has wed her only for her money, his forward advances frighten her pure sensibilities. And it will take all of her courage to trust this man whose passion knows no bounds--and find a
love that is the greatest fortune of all...

I found A Prudent Match a very interesting story, not something extraordinary but a solid story to spend an afternoon with.

Following a quick courtship of just two week Prudence and Baron William Ledbetter are married. He needs the money her dowry brings him and Prudence feels it’s time she marries as she is 22 and had been engaged for a few years to a gentleman who, after dying in India, had left her his fortune.

When the story opens, the marriage is already happening so we don’t really get to know them before that. We do however follow them as they start to know each other. Prudence does seem to have a bit of a temper and, what surprises William even more, she is very shy about her body and in fact pretends to be unwell on her wedding night just to avoid him.

Even if this is a marriage of convenience, William is determined to have a good relationship with his wife and after confronting her about her fears proposes a plan to help her overcome her fears. They will sleep together in the same bed but nothing will happen until she is used to him and decides to do it. I thought this was an interesting plot for traditional regency because there’s usually no sex, or very little of it, and this time sex was spoken of all the time as William tried to convince Prudence that it was a very normal thing and that their bodies reactions were just what they were supposed to be.

There was also a mystery subplot about why William’s late mother had left instructions for a huge organ to be bought for the local church and about who the young organist who looked so much like William was but the main story was about William and Prudence and their relationship.

Apart her fear of the bedchamber Prudence is quite a sensible woman and in fact she seems to be able to do everything from organizing a house party, delivering a baby and solving the mysteries, I previously mentioned. My only complaints with the story was that there didn’t seem to be a particular motive for her fears and it seemed just like a convenient excuse that they had met each other at her come out 4 years ago and been attracted to each other. At least it seemed unlikely to me that four years on William would have felt compelled to look for her and offer marriage.

Grade: 4/5

The Second Lady Southvale - Sandra Heath

GAMBLE ON LOVE

Miss Rosalind Carberry defied all warnings when she accepted Lord Philip Southvale's proposal. Her father distrusted the breathtakingly handsome, fabulously wealthy Englishman. Rumors ran riot about his persisting passion for his beautiful first wife. And war fever was rising between his country and Rosalind's America. Nonetheless Rosalind believed Philip's warm words and her heart's ardent answer. Alone she set sail to England to join with him in wedlock. It was only when she landed that she discovered the awesome odds against her--as she faced a rival who seemed to hold all the cards in a game of love with no rules and all risk...

Miss Rosalind Carberry met Philip, Lord Southvale at a ball at her parents’ house in America. They fall in love at first sight and despite her family’s fears that Phillip might not have forgotten his first wife, dead at sea a year earlier, she decides to have faith in him and accepts his proposal. However just a few days before the wedding Lord Southvale is forced to return to England and they decide Rosalind will meet him in London for a Christmas wedding. But the war is very close and Rosalind decides to depart a bit earlier to join Philip before the boats stop crossing the Atlantic.

On arrival, she stays at an Inn in Fallmouth where she knew he had friends. Her maid is sick but they are very well received and in fact the inn keeper’s wife doesn’t hesitate to tell her that Phillip’s first wife was not the paragon he thought and that he was the only one who couldn’t see it. Rosalind eventually continues to London but she finds Philip away from home and if she is civilly received by his aunt and sister the same doesn’t happen with, Celia’s, the dead first wife brother, who thinks she is a fraud at first and then proceeds to tell her that Phillip will never marry her.

Rosalind is always very composed and tries to understand the odd fact that Philip doesn’t seem to have mentioned her to anyone of his family. She spends some time with his aunt and sister and the ladies do get along very well. So well that the sister soon tells her that Celia was an evil woman who ruined her relationship with a young man just to get her revenge on an imagined slight.

When Philip finally comes home his first reaction on seeing Rosalind is quite disagreeable. He had written her a letter saying he couldn’t marry her after all but she left America before the letter arrived so she is quite surprised by this turn of events. While at first Philip doesn’t want to explain anything and just wants to send her away he eventually tells her that Celia is still alive and that’s why their relationship is impossible.

But with all that she has found out about the other woman Rosalind and Philip’s sister eventually find a way to prove Celia’s infidelity and provide Phillip with the motive for a divorce.
I did like Rosalind for the start and found her a very levelheaded heroine, I could see where the story was going but it was such nicely told but I didn’t mind it at all. I think the main weakness of the story was that everyone knew Celia was an egocentric and selfish woman who had never loved her husband nor been faithful. Had she been less of a black character I think we would have felt that Rosalind’s place was more threatened and that would have made for a more poignant read.

Besides we are told several times that Philip was completely blinded to her faults and believed her the best woman on earth. However, when he explains to Rosalind that Celia is alive we see that he finally sees her for who she is, but we never find out what made him change his mind. I think that would have been interesting and made for a more intense read.

Grade: 4/5

A Sea Change - Caroline Brooks

ONCE BITTEN

Miss Augusta Webb was a chit of a girl when she fell in love with handsome, dashing Robert Darnley. She believed his vows, steeled herself to defy her family for him -- only to have him vanish along with her faith in love and her dreams of happiness. Augusta was a woman now, beautiful, sophisticated, an author of enthralling romances, and pursued by suitors she scorned. She told herself that she detested Mr. Darnley and would never let herself be hurt by such a man again. But when she fled the distractions of London for the calm of a seaside cottage to finish her latest romance, she found herself face to face with Robert Darnley again -- and now there could be no escape from testing the strength of her proud resolve against the strength of his hold upon her heart...

I found the back blurb of this book very misleading. Although the book alludes to the events that took place 10 years ago it does so only briefly. Besides the reference to it when the two main characters first meet again, there is no more mention of it except on a very guarded conversation where, to my view, nothing really is explained.

Besides that, Augusta, who I feel should be at least a bit upset and demanding explanations, seems to forget the matter as soon as her brother tells her their father must have had a hand in the fact that she waited in vain, with her bags packed, for Darnley to appear so that they could run away to Gretna Green. At the very least I would expect a full explanation of Darnley on why didn’t he show up and why he never even contacted her later on… after all he was supposed to love her.

However, the book ends up not being about their past. When they meet again Darnley is the guardian of Lady Towson, a nineteen year old girl who is a lady in her own right and owns the cottage where Augusta is staying with her brother and companion. Since they now move in the same social circles and Augusta’s brother is quite taken with the girl they are thrown together often. A perfect opportunity to explain the past I thought, but no, they just pretend nothing happened and deal civilly with each other.

There’s a convoluted mystery about some secrets sold to Napoleon and a French relation of Lady Towson who comes back to woo her and maybe something more. I must say I was never very interested in the mystery and it seemed to me just another plot device to have Augusta and Darnley working together.

In the end we don’t even see them falling in love again, I was unsure if the author was trying to convince me that they had never been out of love or if they suddenly just fell in love again. There was no tension and I never really felt the attraction.

I think the most funny parts were with Augusta writing her new book about a heroine named Horrida. The name just makes me giggle. Still not good enough.

Grade: 2.5/5

Mrs McVinnie's London Season - Carla Kelly

MISCHIEF IN THE MARRIAGE MART

Jeannie McVinnie was young and lovely-but she was also a widow with no intention of marrying again. And if she ever did, it certainly would not be to the high-handed, hot-tempered Captain William Summers.

The swashbuckling Summers was a naval hero who found himself at sea in the London social swim and demanded that Jeannie help his pretty niece take the plunge into the London Marriage Mart. With her innocent charge in tow, Jeannie sailed into action--trying to steer a safe course in a whirlpool of romantic intrigue… and trying to keep herself from being swept away in a wild storm of love...

Although I came late to appreciate Carla Kelly, I did love the latest books I read by her. I was naturally eager to read this Mrs. McVinnie but I'm afraid I had a hard time with the heroine.

Jeannie McVinnie receives a letter inviting her to move to London and play nanny to the niece and nephew of captain Summers. Although she knows that the letter is not in reality for her but for her father in law's sister (who has died) she sees it as a way to stop being a burden to her father in law and she thinks she can play nanny as well as the original Jeannie McVinnie.

Of course, things don’t exactly go smoothly and as soon as Jeannie arrives, she is confused with a seamstress and when the truth is revealed not only she has reached the conclusion that she doesn't want to stay but also the captain is furious at the deception.

Jeannie eventually decides to stay, the captain is in obvious need of a hand to help him (and control his temper), his niece and sister in law are frivolous and snobs, his nephew is craving attention and a young illegitimate child that lives in the house doesn't even speak.

Although a Scottish countrywoman Jeannie eventually manages to teach everyone a lesson about what's important in life. She manages to be a success with Beau Brummell despite a trick Larinda and her friends were planning, she transforms Edward into a healthy young boy, takes him about in London, and with her Clare finally starts to speak. In addition, in the middle of it all she and the captain do fall in love.

I think my main problem with this book was that I found the heroine too perfect for my tastes; she never had a bad word about anyone, never a less than pleasant retort (except for the captain) despite Larinda being very deserving of one. It was too much perfection, I love flawed characters and despite her early deception Jeannie McVinnie is a candidate for sainthood except when she is with the captain or with Brummell.

One thing that Kelly usually does well is to show the hardships of daily life. In fact I think she even favors that over any accuracy matters. Her characters are usually found bending much of the rules of polite society ( Summers and Jennie spend much time together alone in the middle of the night...), unfortunately my lack of interest in Jennie stopped me from enjoying her attempts to make everything right for everyone and I wasn't even very moved when her past problems were revealed.

Grade: 3.5/5

St. Martin's Summer - Diana Brown

THE ARROGANT INVADER

Miss Josephina Trafford was quite happy to live a safe distance from the fashionable frenzy of Regency London. Not only was she a young lady of good breeding and even better sense, she was busy enough trying to save her family estate, curb the extravagance of her flighty mother, and provide for the marriages of her two charming but helpless sisters.

But if Josephina would not go near the temptations of the city, they came to her--in the devilishly handsome form of Lord Conniston Venables. Venables was on an unwilling visit to the countryside, but the sight of Josephina made him eager to stay until he conquered her. He could not imagine she could resist a man who knew so well the ways of the world--until Josephina began to teach him how much he had to learn about the ways of a woman's untamed heart....

I had already read two of Diana Brown’s books before starting this one. I enjoyed both of them very much and so I was saving this one for a special occasion hoping it was as good as the others. I am glad to say that it was and I’m now anxiously looking for the 2 books I’m missing from her back list.

Josephina is a smart, intelligent woman. On her father’s death she becomes responsible not only for her family, Mother and two sisters ,but also with the running of the farm they live in that is heavily in debt. Unlike most heroines Josephina has real knowledge of the agricultural methods and especially what concerns raising sheep.

Lord Venables is newly returned to his ancestral home, which he left as a young man after a fight with his father and the neighbouring squire. On arrival he meets Josephina, through her becomes aware of how much the local people have suffered under his bailiff, and decides to change thing.

For the following month and he and his friends become very much a part of the local society and he and Josephina frequently meet and talk on a variety of subjects. However his sophistication and rakish reputation intimidate Josephina and if she can’t quite believe he may have feelings for her she feels very much attracted to him and is quite angry at herself for it. Fans of Austen and Gaskell will be happy to know that this book follows the exact same type of story. A disastrous first proposal and then, slowly, the road towards new feelings, some regret and finally happiness.

Josephina and Venables have a rocky road to travel; the misunderstandings are more than a few and when they again seem on the brink of something Josephina has to go away due to a financial crisis. The second half of the book is a roller coaster of emotions, I just couldn’t stop reading and I was constantly wondering what would bring them together again, for a while it does seem that they missed the final opportunity and it really is very poignant story. If I have any complaints about the story is that Josephina’s final rash decision was a bit too much, we didn’t need one more failed opportunity, and I would rather have an emotional ending to fit with the rest of the story rather than a funny one but still this was one of my most memorable reads this year.

Grade: 5/5