Bellfield Hall - Anna Dean

1805. An engagement party is taking place for Mr Richard Montague, son of wealthy landowner Sir Edgar Montague, and his fiancee Catherine. During a dance with his beloved, a strange thing happens: a man appears at Richard's shoulder and appears to communicate something to him without saying a word. Instantly breaking off the engagement, he rushes off to speak to his father, never to be seen again. Distraught with worry, Catherine sends for her spinster aunt, Miss Dido Kent, who has a penchant for solving mysteries. Catherine pleads with her to find her fiance and to discover the truth behind his disappearance. It's going to take a lot of logical thinking to untangle the complex threads of this multi-layered mystery, and Miss Dido Kent is just the woman to do it.

Let me start this review by saying that this is a traditional regency mystery and not a traditional regency romance. But I enjoyed it so much that I thought I should share my review with you all...

Miss Dido Kent is a spinster, she never married but she comes from a big family and her brothers occasionally ask for her help when dealing with their children. She has a special fondness for her niece Catherine who lived with her for a while when she was a young child and when she asks for her help Dido runs to her side.

Catherine had just become engaged when, during the celebratory ball at his parent’s estate, Bellfield Hall, the fiancé is approached by a mysterious man who, without a word being spoken, makes him break the betrothal and run away. On the next day the body of a young woman in found murdered in the shrubbery. Although Catherine is more concerned with being reunited with her beau, Dido can't help but think that the two events may well be connected. Is the unwavering faith that Catherine has in Richard well deserved?

I really enjoyed the world that Anna Dean has created; Miss Dido Kent is a very believable maiden aunt, with a great deal of curiosity and a keen eye to observe the world around her. I thought it interesting that part of the story is told through the letters that Dido is writing to her sister relating what happens and how she sees the events. Garnering knowledge not only from the other guests but also from the servants of the house Dido soon realises that all is not as it should be with the family and that some of the guests are not what they appear.

Set in the Regency period Bellfield Hall is a wonderful cosy mystery where an amateur detective has to uncover the truth and find the villain before the house party is over. Dean created a suspenseful plot where the danger increases with each chapter and where the clues are cleverly inserted in the plot in the form of little details... I look forward to revisit Miss Dido Kent and her world in future books of the series.

Grade: 4/5

A Grand Deception - Elizabeth Mansfield

LOVE'S BOLD DISGUISE


Miss Georgy Verney doesn't wish to upset her mother, but she can't bring herself to flirt with the gentlemen of the ton--much less accept a marriage proposal based solely on social status or financial gain. Then she finds herself attracted to the most handsome, eligible catch of the season....

Anthony Maitland, Viscount Ivers, wants nothing more than to return Georgy's affections--then the spirited girl runs away. Desperate to avoid scandal, the girl's mother concocts a bold and daring masquerade, but the viscount's heart is not easily fooled. Amid a flurry of mistaken identities, Anthony embarks on a deception of his own, determined to bring Georgy back home and into his arms....

A Grand Deception is a fun and light story. It's about two couples, Anthony Maitland, Viscount Ivers, and Miss Georgy Verney, to whom he is greatly attracted the night he meets her at a ball but who decides to run away to be an independent woman; and Georgy's brother Jeremy and Peggy, the girl he finds to replace his sister and hold Maitland's affections while they all attend a house party at Maitland's estate in the country.

I thought it was great fun how Georgy and Jeremy's mother was so keen on her making a grand marriage that she doesn't even let her disappearance stop her. When she sees Peggy and her resemblance to Peggy she immediately concocts a scheme in which Peggy will pretend to be Georgy and conquer Maitland till they can find the real Georgy and convince her to return and marry him.

Although Maitland and Georgy's story is supposed to be the main romance I confess that I was more interested in Peggy and Jeremy. They spend more time together and we see their feelings develop while Maitland and Georgy only have that one ball and then she leaves for the country. Georgy's idea was actually an interesting one and I really enjoyed reading about her and her pupils but I couldn't help feeling that first she was attracted to Maitland but never acted on it and then she refused him despite that attraction without really strong reasons... I found her a bit irritating at times and in the end when faced with a real obstacle she gives up and goes back home...

The best part was watching Peggy fool Georgy's friends and her relationship with Jeremy but also Allie's witty conversations. Allie is Georgy and Jeremy's younger sister and she seems just the right kind of girl to give a hero a lot of headaches, I wonder if there is a book about her?

Grade: 4/5

THE TEMPORARY WIFE - MARY BALOGH

The Pernicious Proposal

Miss Charity Duncan had no illusions when she said yes to the marriage proposal of Lord Anthony Earheart. This arrogant aristocrat made it painfully clear what he wanted of her. Would Charity agree to be the wife he needed to enrage the father he hated? Of course. Would Charity then depart from his life in return for the money she and her family desperately needed? Of course. Was Earheart as heartless as he was handsome and as remorseless as he was rich? Of course.

It was only when Charity entered into this mockery of a marriage that she discovered that things were not as simple as they seemed. For when the libertine lord took her in his arms, it was not only her marriage contract that threatened to be broken--but her heart as well...

Where do I begin?! Why is it so hard to write a review about a great book? I know I won’t be able to make it justice, but I shall try nonetheless… Because this is one of my favorite books ever, one of those Desert Isle Keepers, like our friends from *all about romance* use to say…

This is, first of all, a story about 2 people falling in love in a marriage of convenience. Yeah, not so original, but me thinks this is one of the best attempts on making work a relationship of two people who have just met and have to share their lives. The hero, Anthony Earheart, Marques of Staunton, heir to a dukedom, a young man who 8 years ago chose to leave his home and family because he couldn’t live any longer in his father’s house, makes an advertisement in the papers that he looks for a governess. His real reason for it is to choose a very insipid, plain and boring wife from the list of “to be governesses” in order to spite his father who, finally, has summoned him home. He is the typical arrogant, cold, cynical *don’t believe in love*romance hero. The heroine, Charity Duncan, comes from a large, impoverished family, she chooses to work in order to help her brother to pay for the family’s needs. She is also very used to managing her brothers and sisters lives, to speak her own mind and also to care for the people around her. So, as destiny would have it (or just the author :)), she applies to the hero’s ad for a governess, is chosen because of her *brown mouse* appearance and accepts to be his temporary wife for a few weeks, in exchange for financial security. Together they go to the hero’s home, where he can flaunt, in front of his father, his lower born wife.

And now the magic begins…

We enter the world of a very unhappy family, caught at a very difficult moment and we meet His grace, the duke of Willingsby, the most cold, arrogant, toplofty duke from Balogh’s ever-growing list, and by far, the most interesting character of this book. Maybe because he remains almost an enigma throughout the book, maybe because he first appeared as the villain who caused the hero’s pain, or just that the human nature will always have more shades of gray instead of the simple black and white of good or bad characters, the Duke impressed me a lot.

The hero is another interesting character, after 8 years he returns home and has to deal with serious problems, some of them caused by youth folly, some by immaturity, some by miscommunication, and all that is added to the fact that he falls in love with his heroine, a process that is quite visible throughout… Another interesting thing about the hero is the fact that, although 28 and quite independent from his family, he still has a lot to grow up, especially emotionally and in terms of accepting his family ties and his heritage.

And now the heroine… I usually don’t like main female characters, they are either too stupid for their own good, or too sassy, or they try to appear independent, or are portrayed as wounded souls, etc., etc. But in this case, Charity is a charming person, very level-headed, decided, correct, taking everything that happens at it’s face-value, but most of all, she is a very nice character, who’s impossible not to love.

No matter how much or how little I say about this book, I will never make it justice… This book just has to be read, especially if you like good family stories, great characters, a wonderful love story and why not, drama and hurt made well until the end.

Grade 5 / 5

The Notorious Rake - Mary Balogh

~

The Lady and the Libertine


Lord Edmund Waite was everything that Lady Mary Gregg despised in a man. He was lewd, lascivious, mocking---the most notorious and successful rake in the realm. Happily, Mary had nothing to fear from this lord of libertines. A bluestocking like her could never tempt a man whose taste ran to pretty playthings for his pleasures.

How startled Mary was to find herself the object of Lord Waite's determined desires. But even more surprising was her reaction to his shocking advances. How could she remain a lady with this man who knew so well how to make her feel like a woman.

After meeting Lord Edmond Waite in The Trysting Place and Lady Mornington in The Counterfeit Betrothal I couldn't wait to get to their book. I was hoping to find a winner and I wasn't disappointed, this was my favourite book in the trilogy.

Lord Edmond is a rake with a really bad reputation, he is lucky that he is still received by the ton. Lady Mornington is a learned lady who likes to organise literary salons at her home and to spend time with like minded friends to discuss literature and politics. When they are paired up during a visit to Vauxhall Gardens none of them is very entusiastic about the company. Not only that but when they are caught by a thunderstorm that leaves Mary terrified, Edmond finds that the best way to calm her down is though sex. I thought Balogh wrote a powerful and violent scene and for a moment I worried where she was going with this story... They end up spending the night together and on the next day Lord Edmond is determined to make Mary his mistress, while she is quite determined to forget him... and so starts the pursuit.

Mary, a widow, as decided to remarry, she acknowledges she spent a pleasant time in Edmond's arms but she wants a husband not a lover and besides she doesn't think they would suit. They meet at the same events and Edmond even makes an appearance at one of Mary's salons much to the annoyance of her new beau but their relationship is difficult at best.

Edmond finds himself more and more captivated but he doesn't always conform to society rules and when people think the worst of him he can't help but behave according to those expectations. One of the things he has been accused of is the death of his brother and his mother and he acknowledges to Mary that he was indeed responsible. He tries to show her his good side on a one day visit to his aunt and while Mary can't help but feeling that the real Edmond is hidden and might be a lot more honourable and interesting that he lets on she still decides not to accept him. But they do meet again at a house party for his aunt's birthday (that Mary attends with her new fiancé) and when Edmond is confronted with his estranged family it is to Mary that he turns as a friend.

I really loved this story and the fact that both characters start with an idea of the other one that soon will change. Edmond thought Mary was plain and common but after spending time with her he sees her in a whole new light and can't stop thinking about her. Even when he decides not to pursue her anymore to obey her wishes he still thinks about her and decides to change his rakish ways as they give him no more pleasure. Mary thinks he is cold and unfeeling but throughout their relationship sees glimpses of the man behind the mask. Since there are so many mixed signals she takes longer to realise who he is and how she loves him. I also liked that Edmond had a real reason for his self destruction, 15 years seems a long time to be that way but I could accept that it was so. I liked Edmond more than Mary maybe because he seems more human, more fragile, despite his bad behaviour than her, who seemed at times a bit too perfect. Because of whom they are, and how unlikely it seems at times that they will get their happy ending, this was an angsty and poignant story, my favourite kind!

Grade: 5/5

The Counterfeit Betrothal - Mary Balogh

The Tender Trap


Lady Sophia Bryant had no intention of ever marrying. However, her own parents had been estranged for some fourteen years, and her one desire was to bring them together again in love. Surely, if she were to announce her betrothal -- even a false one -- they would be forced to see each other at last.

Lord Francis Sutton was perfect for such deceit. Devilishly handsome and a notorious rake, he was always agreeable to games of passion, especially those in which he had nothing to fear and nothing to lose. The trap was set... if only Lady Sophia could keep her foolish heart from falling prey to her brilliant snares...

After reading The Trysting Place I wasn't sure that I wanted to read the other books in the so called  Waite trilogy, but the reviews were good and the plots were interesting so I decided to try them. Last weekend I finished the Counterfeit Betrothal and I have to say that this was a very enjoyable story.

Lady Sophia Bryant's parents separated when she was four years old. Since that time she has lived with her mother in the country and she spends her holidays one or two weeks a year with her father. This has left her with no wish to marry but one day, on an outing with friends, she concocts a mad scheme... she and her friend Lord Francis Sutton, a perfectly eligible gentleman but with a rakish reputation,  will pretend to be engaged so that her parents will be forced to meet to speak of her future and maybe that will bring about a reconciliation.

So this is a story about two couples, Sophia and Francis and her parents. Sophia's parents were madly in love with each other but when her father did something very wrong her mother was unable to continue living with him. A betrayal is not easy to forget and she felt that she would never be able to live with her husband and trust him the way she did before. While Sophia's idea might seem a bit mad at first the truth is that it works perfectly. Unable to say no to the daughter he loves but with serious misgivings about Lord Francis, Sophia's father asks for her mother's help in convincing her that the she should not go ahead with the betrothal.

I thought it all rather funny, that Sophia's parents were so concerned with her when she was equally concerned about them and determined to keep with her bogus engagement till they are brought together. And the best thing is the witty dialogue between Sophia and Francis, they met as toddlers when Sophia was always chasing Francis and he was always playing pranks on her, now that they are grownups they are both decided to remain single but this counterfeit betrothal makes them spend a lot of time in each others company and the dialogues between these two are absolutely hilarious. I loved Ms Balogh twist for these characters...

Regarding Sophia's parents I liked their storyline a bit less. It was obvious from the beginning that they still loved each other and while I could understand what had happened in the past I think they should have been much quicker in talking about their feelings and who was important to them. As it was they are only made to talk about what they feel due to an outside event. All the time they were together they were assuming wrong things about one another and I thought that was a shame as "marriage in trouble" is one of my favourite storylines in romance.

Still they were both pretty good, it takes a good author to write two such different stories in the same book. One filled with carefree moments and funny lines and the other full of angst and poignant moments, one lighter and the other a more complex relationship. I closed the book with a happy sigh!

Grade: 4.5/5

The Trysting Place - Mary Balogh

A MOST DANGEROUS GAME

Lady Felicity Wren came to London for one purpose. After a marriage in name only to a man old enough to be her father, she was now a young, beautiful and wealthy widow; free at last to enjoy the happiness that her misalliance had denied her. And her first step toward this goal was to find the handsomest and most sophisticated lord in all the realm to be her new mate.
She found him in the elegant person of Lord Edmond Waite. From the moment she met him, she wanted him, and he made it clear be wanted her as well.

But there was one cruel complication. While Felicity wanted Lord Waite as a husband he wanted her as a mistress--and to win this war between decency and desire, Felicity had to risk losing all in the arms of another man...

I am a bit undecided on how I should grade this story, it was an easy read but it left me cold and dissatisfied with the heroine. Lady Wren, Felicity, is a widow in her mid twenties. She married an older man when she was eighteen to save her family from ruin and in doing so she had to give up the man she really loved, her neighbour Tom Russell. Now that she is free, she is determined to find a rich and attractive husband with whom she can enjoy the society life she first got to know with her elderly husband. Her feelings for Tom Russell have turned to those of friendship. She arrives at her parent’s country home for a visit. There she meets her twin sisters, now eighteen and eager for a London season, and Tom Russell. Felicity decides to take her sisters to London for the season and Tom decides to go with them.

While Tom is still very much in love with Felicity he realises that she only considers him a friend and is looking for a gentleman to marry. In London they attend several society functions and they encounter Lord Edmond Waite who pays Felicity marked attention. She at first believes him to be paying court to her with marriage in mind but he soon makes it clear that what he wants is a mistress. Felicity then pretends to be betrothed to Tom to make Waite jealous and force him to a marriage proposal. In the mean time Felicity's twin sisters find their own beaus and have to deal with their own feelings to decide with whom they want to spend the rest of their lives with.

I really disliked that Felicity seemed to be so self centered that she did not realise she was using Tom to gain what she wanted and doing him harm because he loved her. He is definitely too good to be true as although it pains him he is always ready to help her. Then I disliked that she seemed to like Waite only because of what he could give her and what her position in society would be. Even after she realises her true feelings she is still planning to marry Waite because she thinks Tom only sees her as a friend and at least she will get to be a viscountess... she is definitely not a heroine I could like.

What I did like very much were her sisters, they also had their own problems and heartaches to deal with but they did it honestly and examining their own hearts. A pity that they weren't the heroines...

Grade: 3/5

Lord Caliban - Ellen Fitzgerald

THE DREADFUL DEBT

Lord Rodger Colbourue had saved Clemency's life one terrifying day when she was trapped in a collapsing tower; and he came to her rescue.

Now he had come to claim that life he had saved, as he proposed marriage without a promise of love, and demanded she trust him even though he filled her with fear

There was no one to save her now--not Damian, who had stolen her heart and then vanished... not her beautiful cousin Beatrix, who had vanished, too, in a disquieting cloud of mystery... not her parents, who wanted only that Clemency be wed at last.

Clemency knew that debts had to be paid-- but she trembled to discover how high the price would be...

Ok, so it's not every day that I get really annoyed with the characters of a book I'm reading, so annoyed in fact that when I finished reading their story I almost wallbanged the it. I usually like Ellen Fitzgerald’s stories so this one was a very unwelcome surprise.

I don't mind stories with villains, I don't mind the characters being fooled by the bad guy but when a simple conversation would be enough for everything to be uncovered, when people tell the heroine about what a bad character the villain is and she still doesn't believe them... well, sometimes it gets a bit too much and it starts seeming like the characters are too naive to be real. And that is exactly what happened here!

I really felt the story had much potential at first. Clemency met Rodger when in saved her for falling from a tower in ruins but she was in love with her friend Damian. Unbeknownst to both he predicament was arranged by her cousin Beatrix who wanted to see her dead so that she could be the young lady of the house. In time Damian leaves to fight in the colonies and Beatrix elopes with one of his friends. When Damian is thought dead in battle Clemency and Rodger decide to marry since they are friends and could have a happy life. And so they are falling in love with each and living happily till Beatrix returns to live with them and Damian comes back from the dead.

I could accept that Rodger's uncertainty and jealousy over his wife's feelings about Damian were easy to explore by Beatrix but that they stop talking and use Beatrix to carry messages for them, thus allowing her to plant the seeds of doubt in both their minds was a bit too much. And Clemency even abandons her husband still believing her cousin was a good woman! I'm afraid that was all a bit too much for me...

Oh and the blurb above? Is completely wrong, Clemency liked Rodger, she never feared him after she met him and he definitely did not come to "claim" the life he had saved...

Grade: 2/5