Mally - Sandra Heath

HOMECOMING

Mally came to her girlhood castle home in Wales to discover what should become of her as a woman.

With her was Sir Christopher Carlyon. who begged her to be his wife and whose passion was devilishly hard to deny. Missing was her younger sister. Who had vanished with - of all disreputable types of gentlemen - an American.

And making her feel both all-too-comfortable and increasingly uneasy was her extraordinarily charming host. Richard Vallender. who claimed to be Christopher's most loyal friend even as he drew closer and closer to Mally.

The questions of the heart and the seductive lies of love- twin puzzles for a young woman who found that all that was once so safe and familiar was now so menacing and strange....

I am, slowly, getting to the bottom of the TBR pile and this time I found another Sandra Heath book. I have loved a couple of her books and been less sure of other. This one, unfortunately, falls in the second category.

Mally is a young widow, she has a beau in Sir Christopher Carlyon but she doesn't seem much interested in him. At the moment she is more worried with her younger sister who has disappeared and she fears she went away to marry someone her family wouldn't approve of.

My main problem is that I never felt I actually knew Mally and what I did know of her wasn't very interesting. I couldn't understand why she kept Carlyon around if she didn't want him; it seemed kinder than leading him on. I didn't feel like I really got to know Carlyon, by the way, but he seemed a lot more involved with her than she was with him.

Then the mystery did get me a bit, or lot actually, confused. First Mally's sister had run away to marry, then it seemed something darker was afoot.. When she meets Vallender she first believes he may be the villain who took her sister or at least know what happened to her and when they all find themselves at his castle she can't help but being attracted to him despite everything.

I suppose the idea is to introduce a bit of a gothic feel in the story - mysterious man, mysterious castle but maybe because I wasn't really invested in Mally as a character it didn't really work for me.

Grade: 2/5

Mannerby's Lady - Sandra Heath

SHE REFUSED TO BE A BARTERED BRIDE--AND BECAME A CAPTIVE IN AN ARISTOCRATIC CAGE


To some, the great manor of Mannerby might have seemed a lovely country retreat. To beautiful Sarah Jane Stratford, it was a hateful prison to which she had been consigned for the crime of spurning the odious boor whom her noble father had ignobly chosen to be her husband.

Always close at hand was her captor, the infuriatingly arrogant Paul Ransome, who clearly believed every scandalous rumor about Sarah Jane. Frustratingly far away was the handsome, gallant Jack Holland, to whom Sarah Jane was eager to give her hand, her good name, and anything else he chose to desire.

Sarah Jane vowed to brook no obstacle of social censure nor pitfall of prudish propriety on her path to true love--only to discover what sinister snares passion could set, and how treacherous a guide the heart could be....

Heath is a hit and miss author for me. I always open her books with a lot of expectation and sometimes they end being a bit a letdown. Fortunately that was not what happened with this one although I did find it to have some problems. The blurb is also a bit misleading as I thought that what happens before Sarah Jane goes to Mannerby is as important as what happens there and Ransome is not exactly a captor.

Sarah Jane is an illegitimate daughter that her father recognised when she was already an adult so that she could marry his heir. Neither Sarah Jane nor her fiancé love want the marriage but she is practical enough to realise that if she refuses she will be condemning herself to a life of poverty. The only person who has been nice to her is a young man and when he proposes to meet her in the woods she accepts despite some misgivings. Her fears were well founded as he proceeds to try to force but she is saved by the appearance of another gentleman, Jack Holland.

Despite having a terrible reputation Holland behaves in an honourable fashion and takes Sara Jane home. However later in the day he hears the other bragging to friends how he succeeded in forcing Sarah Jane and challenges and kills him. To Sarah Jane he becomes a romantic figure, her saviour who promises to return for her. But his actions and her future mother-in-law malicious gossip make everyone believe that she was his lover and her father decides to send to one of his estates in the country - Mannerby.

Throughout all this Sarah Jane behaves in a dignified manner but on her way to Mannerby her strength is once again tested has her maid, indeed her only friend, dies when crossing a river. Paul Ransome, the tenant of Mannerby, believes the worst of her behaviour but always treats her with proper respect; the same cannot be said of his sister who seems to have something against her. At first Sarah Jane believes that Melissa was the woman her fiancé wanted to marry and that is way she dislikes her but soon is apparent that there is something more at stake as Melissa's behaviour turns more secretive.

The problem I had with this story was that it was part romance and part gothic and there seemed to be a bit of hesitation about which should be the stronger element in the story. Sarah Jane finds herself without friends, and indeed almost surrounded by enemies, during her stay in Mannerby and stranger things keep happening has a mysterious man keeps appearing in the woods, a fire is set in a nearby inn and Melissa ends up running away with tragic results.

Ransome eventually discovers that Sarah Jane is not the person he thought but when they start to spend more time together Holland returns. All the feelings that Sarah Jane had for him come rushing back and they eventually admit their love for each other.

I had a feeling from very early about who the bad guy really was and I was proved correct. The convoluted plot that was behind his actions wasn't as easy to guess but I couldn't believe how Sarah Jane couldn't see it as clearly as I did. That detracted a bit from my enjoyment of the mystery plot and the ending came about so abruptly that I felt a bit cheated on the romance part. It was an interesting story but I think it would have felt stronger if it had been entirely a gothic or entirely a romance.

Grade: 4/5

Regency Christmas Wishes - Anthology

The Regency Christmas Wishes is my last entry for the Winter Holiday Reading Challenge. I found these short stories very pleasant reading material and I think this is my favourite Christmas Anthology for this year.

The Lucky Coin by Barbara Metzger

A funny story about a penniless gentleman who is offered a magic coin and all his wishes become real. He falls in love with the niece of his banker and has to win her uncle's approval and his own fortune back by wishing the right things to come true.  Grade: 4/5

Following Yonder Star by Emma Jensen

8 years ago Alice was left behind when the man she loved ran away to make his fortune and see the world. Now he is back and wants her forgiveness... but still has plans to leave again. I thought Alice forgave him a little too soon and while the story was nice I think she deserved better. Grade: 3.5/5

Merry Magpie by Sandra Heath

A couple became estranged after the lady found out the husband had a mistress but now he decides he wants her back and sets out to win her love. There's a very clever magpie in this story and while I don't usually like when animals behave like people I didn't mind what this one did to bring them together. Grade: 4/5

Best Wishes by Edith Layton

This one was a lot of fun to read. The main couple are newlyweds with very different personalities and both want to spend Christmas their own way. They decide to spend half the time with the hero's friends and half the time with the heroine's family but both solutions will have their own problems and maybe they needed to grow up a bit too. Grade: 4/5

Let Nothing You Dismay by Carla Kelly

Another really nice story about a barrister who blames himself for a past tragedy and his niece's teacher who spends Christmas with them and has some fears of her own. I thought this was a lovely story about family, love and forgiveness. Just right for this season. Grade: 4.5/5

A Regency Homespun Christmas - Anthology

It is a sad thing when one starts a new anthology thinking it will be full of new stories and then realises you've read them all. It was nice to revisit them but I would have preferred new ones.

The Wexford Carol - Emma Jensen

This one was a really nice story about a woman who is trying to keep her ancestral home in order and good repair despite the fact that it has been sold by the cousin who inherited it and the man sent by the new owner to oversee the property. Some funny secondary characters helped keeping this a light story. Grade: 4/5

Mistletoe and Folly - Sandra Heath

A pair of young lovers meets again after 5 years. The hero had his heart broken by the heroine when she left to marry another and now that they meet again he is engaged to be married. A rival for the affections of his current fiancee creates a misunderstanding to have their engagement broken which leads to an explanation of what really happened 5 years earlier. I liked this story, it had an unusual plot, a bit more mystery than you usually find here and an unexpected ending for some of the secondary characters. A 4/5.

An Object of Charity - Carla Kelly

Captain Lynch unexpectedly finds himself taking charge of his dead first mate niece and nephew. He plans to return home to visit the mother and brother he hasn't speak with in 20 years and develops a fondness the Sally Partlow, the mentioned niece. I found this the best story of the book mainly due to the hero who was wonderful. I have two complaints though, Sally is at first shown as a very young girl when she is in fact 25 years old and as in all of my previous Kelly reads I wanted a bit more emotion. Grade: 4/5

Amanda McCabe - Upon a Midnight Clear

This story has an original heroine, a Jamaican girl who makes soaps and perfumes. She has come to England to accompany a childhood friend. Then she meets a British naval officer who thinks he is unworthy of love because of his scars and they fall in love with each other. Grade: 3.5/5

Anthology grade: 4/5

A Regency Christmas III - Anthology

Bringing together five all-new Christmas stories by some of the most highly
acclaimed Regency authors, this rich collection celebrates the joys and
traditions of the holiday season. These are stories that capture the essence of
Christmas - the generosity and goodwill, the love and longing, the hopes and the
heartbreaks. Filled with romance and that joyful spirit that comes only once a
year, this wonderful collection will delight readers all year round.

Ana's review:

I'm not much of an anthology reader except at Christmas. Ever since I found the
Signet Christmas anthologies I've been collecting them and reading a few every
Christmas. This one has 5 stories by well known authors.

In Sandra Heath's MISTLETOE AND FOLLY a pair of young lovers meet again after 5 years. The hero had his heart broken by the heroine when she left to marry another and now that they meet again he is engaged to be married. A rival for the affections of his current fiancee creates a misunderstanding to have their engagement broken which leads to an explanation of what really happened 5 years earlier. I liked this story, it had an unusual plot, a bit more mystery than you usually find here and an unexpected ending for some of the secondary characters. A 4.

In Mary Jo Putney THE CHRISTMAS CUCKOO a misunderstanding leads the wrong man to be invited to spend Christmas at a farmhouse by the heroine. Although misunderstanding plots aren't always easy to believe in I really liked this one. Not only it worked well as the main characters were really likeable people. A 4.

In Mary Balogh's THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER a young child, mute since her mother's death, wishes for a new mother for Christmas and believes she got it when the heroine arrives to the house party the next morning. The hero and the heroine have a past together and it will take them a while to solve things between them. I found the thoughts of the child regarding her mother very emotional. An 5.

In Melinda McRae's HOME FOR CHRISTMAS a man returning from America finds his parents house empty except for the servants and the children's governess. This was a sweet story but the weakest of all as there is not much back story or explanation for the characters feelings. A 3.5

In Edith Layton's THE DARK MAN a young lady newly betrothed has doubts about her fiancé's feelings and ends up breaking up with him. It will take him a while to discover his true feelings and go after her. I did like this story that had a really nice set of secondary characters like the heroine's parents and the hero's friend trying to matchmake. The Duke of Torquay is mentioned briefly and that was a nice touch. A 4.

Grade: 4/5

Ioana’s review:
After having neglected my Regency reading for such a long time, I thought to start anew with a Christmas book, to put me in the mood for… Christmas (catching the Ana bug – who only reads Christmas books in December :) ). So I chose this book, starring 3 of my favorite authors, it should have been palatable :)
And I have to say that it was quite good, well except for the first story, which almost made go back to my not-reading Regencies status…
But let me begin with the review. Oh, I won’t describe each story, I see that Ana did it already, I’ll just say how I liked them and why.

“Mistletoe and Folly” by Sandra Heath was quite bad in my opinion (sorry Ana :)). I’ve never been a fan of misunderstandings, even if I do admit they can work sometimes… But NOT when you have only 70 pages to write a story that brings the spirit of Christmas, a story that should make the reader feel warm inside, and not confused on who does what and why and annoyed because everything is so rushed. Also, the very beautiful heroine, who sacrifices herself for her family and suffers greatly in her arranged marriage with a cruel man, is so hated and misjudged by the hero at the beginning of the story and then SNAP! hero finds out the truth and he is so much in love with her again! Puh-lease! A 2.

“The Christmas Cuckoo” by Mary Jo Putney was my favorite (yeah, even before Mary Balogh’s). It’s such a funny, cheerful story, with some wonderful characters. The hero is to die for! Anyway, he gets to spend Christmas with a very nice family that mistake him for a friend, and in between almost drowning, baking mince pies and decorating the house, you get romance, Christmas cheer and some trepidation about what will happen when the truth is revealed! A 5!

“The best Christmas ever” by Mary Balogh. It was a nice, warm book, I can’t really complain… but I am! What it had best was the little girl, and not the hero or the heroine… he seemed a little dense and she – a long suffering victim… Oh, okay, it was a 4.

Melinda McRae was a new author or me, so I didn’t know what to expect. “Home for Christmas” wasn’t quite bad, but it felt like an empty story: it brought the sense of Christmas (and that was great), but it lacked a lot on the romance level. The two main characters were perfect strangers at the beginning of the story, and did not seem a lot different by the end of the book. And to believe that any sane woman would choose to accompany a man, who she has just met, to a foreign land, in the middle of nowhere, it’s a little too much for me. Yes, romances let us dream about things that can’t really happen in real life, but I will never dream about being insane… Still, it was better than the first story, a 3.5.

“The dark man” was a nice end to the anthology, it showed in very few pages why Edith Layton was such a great author. It was quite an introspective book, with a serious theme, maybe not really fit for Christmas, but a nice touch nevertheless… Anyway, I won’t say more, just that it’s worth reading, especially if you like your characters well explained :) even if I will say that the book deserved a lot more pages… A 5.

Grade: 4/5

Mistletoe Mischief - Sandra Heath

A Christmas Match

A lovely orphan who was unfairly dismissed from her last place of employment, Megan Mortimer can't believe her luck when the notoriously eccentric Lady Evangeline Radcliffe hires her as a companion. Evangeline is well aware of the unjust accusations that ruined the unfortunate girl's reputation-but she fully intends to make this Christmas one Megan will remember forever. ...

Arriving at her home in Brighton with Megan in tow, Evangeline is surprised but delighted to find her distant cousin, Sir Greville Seton, already in residence. As the date of her annual holiday theater extravaganza draws near, Evangeline grows ever more determined to bring Megan and Greville together-despite the fact that Greville despises women who work as companions. But when this bitter bachelor embraces the spirit of the holiday season, his old grudges quickly give way to a joyful and precious new love. ...

Another Christmas read and traditional regency by Sandra Heath, an author I keep reading even if not all her books work for me. This one was a so so, nice enough but not memorable.

Miss Megan Mortimer is a Lady's companion. She is dismissed from her last job after being blamed for the advances the Lady's son and is then employed by Lady Evangeline. Lady Evangeline was actually a really nice character, an older woman decided to right a past wrong and to marry her two nephews happily, who is in love with a family friend and speaks with ghosts. Yes, this story has a ghost, Heath seems to be fond of adding these magical elements to her stories and I keep reading them even if they don't work for me.

One of Lady Evangeline's nephews is Sir Greville, who hates companions because his father run off with one. From the rest of the story one gathers that Sir Greville's mother wasn't happy even before the father run away so may the companion did her a favour but he doesn’t' t seem to see it that way. In the blurb much is made of his attitude but I felt her overcame his dislike for Megan really quickly and from then on the happy ending in sight.

The story revolves around Megan and Sir Greville, how he at first believes what is being said in polite society about how she was dismissed but then believes her and stands by her but also about Lady Evangeline's other nephew Lord Rupert Radcliffe and his problems after realising he may have let slip the woman he loves through his fingers as she is now being courted by another man (and a nasty piece at that). And around the ghost who we realise is a Shakespearean actor waiting to be reunited in death with his lover and that Megan can also see. His actions will give her a help in a much needed situation.

The book has some funny moments but I think it never really stands out; it's entertaining but not memorable. I wish more time would have been devoted to Lady Evangeline's romance with her neighbour and maybe if there weren't so many stories and main characters things would have felt more solid.

Grade: 3.5/5

Regency Christmas Magic - Anthology

5 Regency Christmas short stories with a magical twist, this made for a pleasant afternoon reading.

Amanda McCabe - Upon a Midnight Clear

This story has an original heroine, a Jamaican girl who makes soaps and perfumes. She has come to England to accompany a childhood friend. Then she meets a British naval officer who thinks he is unworthy of love because of his scars and they fall in love with each other. Grade: 3.5/5

Allison Lane - The Ultimate Magic

I was left with the feeling that this was part of a series as the h/h actively dislike each other when the story opens due to events of the past. The heroine is a governess who has to control her charge, a spoiled heiress, till she weds but things are complicated because the heiress keeps flirting with someone other than her fiancé. The hero ends up helping with the charge and looking at the heroine in a new light. Grade: 4/5

Edith Layton - Two Dancing Daughters

This story does have a larger magical element as two girls keep slipping away from their bedrooms at night to meet with a strange character that presents himself as a foreign duke and wants to take them to another world. The worried father hires an ex soldier to investigate and him and one of the daughters fall in love. Grade: 4/5

Barbara Metzger - The Enchanted Earl

I'm not too fond of magic in my regencies and this one has the aggravating problem that the hero is under a spell. The heroine decides to organise a big Christmas party at her late husband home and the hero ends up helping her and protecting her from spells and other magical creatures after she makes a wish for a magician for the party. Grade: 3.5/5

Sandra Heath - The Green Gauze Gown

This one was nice although it included a magical being that could, among other things, change the colors of dresses. It's a second chance story and I actually liked the detail of the letters stolen by the heroine's late husband who wood and proposed with words not his. Of course that if the hero hadn't been so shy the first time around... Grade: 4/5

My Lady Domino - Sandra Heath

Miss Adele Russell knew it was sheer folly to attend the Duke and Duchess of Bellingham's grand masquerade. A year ago, she would have been an honoured guest - before the disgrace and death of her father. Now she was a penniless shop girl, scorned by society and mocked by the memory of her broken engagement to the elegant and handsome Lord David Latimer.

But when by chance she found an invitation to the masquerade, the temptation was too great. What danger could there be in going masked to this dazzling affair? She soon found out. First, in the arms of a stranger as mysterious as he was attractive. And then, face to face with the same David Latimer who had broken her heart once and still had the power to do it again . . .

Adele lost everything, including her fiancé, when her father died in a fire leaving her penniless and in disgrace after some irregularities where discovered in his bank. She now lives with her former governess who manages a shop in Bath where Adele works. She is unable to accept that her father might have been more than the victim of two dangerous man and despite her resentment at how he left her she can't forget her feelings for David Latimer her former fiancé.

When the action starts she receives a visit from her father's former secretary, and one of the men responsible for his ruin, telling her not to interfere when the announcement of the new engagement of Latimer is announced, he is supposedly marrying the daughter of the other man involved in her father's death.

Revolted, Adele decides to have a taste of her former life and attend Lady Bellingham's ball. In disguise she snubs David and makes a conquest of another young gentleman. Although she still loves David she is unable to resist going to meet the young gentleman again and her identity is soon discovered by both the gentleman and Latimer.

In a way this story reminded me of Mary Balogh's earlier books, very emotional with intense scenes where the characters mistaken their feelings and remain at odds when they are clearly in love. Adele finds herself in a dangerous situation as the young gentleman proves himself to be a villain but Latimer rescues her and helps her find the evidence that her father was innocent and the other two men were responsible for stealing the money. They don't seem on the right path to happiness though and they need a little push from Latimer's mother who gets her son to think on what really happened five years ago.

Grade: 4.5/5

A Makeshift Marriage - Sandra Heath

When lovely young Miss Laura Milbanke was asked for her hand in marriage in romantic Venice, the irresistibly handsome Sir Nicholas Grenville was at death's door. He had fought a disastrous duel to defend Laura's honor, and now he would defend her from poverty by leaving her his estate when he died.

But Sir Nicholas did not die. He lived to bring Laura home to King's Cliff manor. Waiting for him was the fabulously beautiful Augustine Townsend, whom Nicholas had long adored and who would be his - if only Laura did not stand in the way.

Should Laura try to fight this ravishing rival? Or should she give her husband his freedom by giving herself to the temptingly attractive Daniel Tregarron, who offered her all the love Sir Nicholas denied her? Never did a young bride find herself in a greater dilemma - as a marriage that broke all the rules threatened to break her heart . . .

This book had no magic, unlike my previous read by the author,  and I liked it a lot better for it. It features a marriage of convenience in which both the h/h believe he will die. They marry so the heroine can have finantial security and since he survives she decides to bring him back to England to recover.

As soon as they arrive it becomes clear that Ausgustine, Nicholas previous fiancee, is determined to separate the newlyweds and gain back her status after an annulment. She starts turning Nicholas' mind against his wife and unable to tell him the truth due to doctors orders, Laura decides to implement in the property some changes that Nicholas wanted to bring about, knowing they won't go well with Augustine and the neighbours. Feeling lonely Laura strikes a friendship with Nicholas' doctor and friend that will end up ruining her reputation and damaging her marriage.

I thought this had the potential to reach keeper status but in the end it didn't. I felt Nicholas was too easily manipulated by Augustine and Laura kept seeing the doctor (and getting into trouble) when she should have realized that that was only making things worse. And even if Laura was the wronged party it was she who ended up making the first steps to the reconciliation. Too much heart ache and not enough happy moments was my final take on the story.

Grade: 3.5/5

A Matter of Duty - Sandra Heath

ALTAR-BOUND

Handsome and wealthy Lord Christopher Highclare made it painfully clear why he was asking a virtual nobody like Miss Louisa Cherington to be his wife. He had made a promise to her dying brother to do so, and was honour-bound to keep that vow.

Proud and beautiful Louisa made it just as clear why she was accepting this man who not only made no pretence of loving her, but made no secret of the ravishing woman who was his mistress. Louisa, too, was bowing to the wishes of her late brother, who wanted to rescue her from poverty and the peril of Captain Geoffrey Lawrence, the notorious rake who was in hot pursuit of her.

Thus these two were bound to marry - and bound to wonder what would happen then.

I really enjoyed the beginning of this story. Both the main characters were nice, sensible people. They were ready to enter in a marriage of convenience and making the best of it.

Although they marry because the hero has made a vow to Louisa's brother and she wants some security after being dismissed from the house she works in as a governess they find themselves pleased with each other and ready to develop warmer feelings to one another. However Louisa had been dismissed because the older brother of the girl she teached was pursuing her and his young stepmother was jealous (yes the stepmother was having an affair with the stepson). Looking for revenge the woman sends Louisa a gift pretending to be her stepson. This originates a huge misunderstanding between Louisa and her husband and everything goes bad after that. Louisa discovers her husband had a mistress and doesn't believe that it is over between them. And Christopher refuses to believe that Louisa did not accept gladly Captain Lawrence's advances.

The tension rises when all four meet for a regatta on the Island of Wight, it made for an interesting setting, and Louisa believes Christopher to be enamoured of Thea still and he still thinks she might have responded to Captain Lawrence's advances. It doesn't help that Thea is determined to get Christopher back and does everything to make Louisa jealous.

Although I do like some conflict I thought this one went on for too long. If they had just talked to one another many a misunderstanding and harsh words could have been avoided. Also the happy ending was a bit rushed as everything is solved in one final scene.

Grade: 3.5/5

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

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

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.

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 Christmas Courtship - Sandra Heath

Beautiful Blanche Amberley knew whom she loved. The lucky gentleman was Antony Mortimer, a banker's son who offered her not only his heart and hand, but also a life of wealth and ease.

Miss Amberley also knew whom she thoroughly disliked. That object of her instant aversion was Sir Edmund Brandon. Blanche was quite immune to the good looks and gallantry that made this arrogant blueblood the most eligible lord in the realm.

But then, as Christmas approached, Cupid gave Miss Blanche Amberley a gift that came as a most shocking surprise....

A really nice story with sensible characters that reads almost more as a mystery with strong romantic elements than a true romance but it perfectly suited my tastes.

I did find the back blurb a bit misleading. Although Miss Amberley doesn’t particularly like Sir Edmund Brandon (the why is never fully explained), all their meetings are perfectly civil. In the beginning she is love with Antony Mortimer yes and disposed to convince her father to agree to a match between them when everyone warns her that the match won’t be a good one. We are introduced early also to Sir Edmund’s betrothed who reveals herself as a very nasty woman and surely not a potential good wife.

But what moves the plot forward is the fact that Blanche Amberley’s brother will be wrongfully accused of a theft and Blanche tries to discover how to clear her brother’s name. Mortimer starts to reveal his true colours when he demands that Blanche repudiates her brother and their relationship ends. At the same time Sir Edmund keeps showing his respect and appreciation for Blanche and her father and she can’t help but start to develop some feelings for him.

It’s soon apparent that Jonathan Amberley is being set up by none other than a fellow officer and that all is not what it seems and Sir Edmund will play a part in solving her brother’s situation.

Although I enjoyed it very much there were two details that that could have made it a better book – Blanche and Sir Edmund don’t spend all that much time together and I think that could have made their connection stronger and the ending just wraps up too quickly. I wanted more time with them assuming their feelings and speaking of their past and future.

Grade: 4/5

Lavender Blue - Sandra Heath

Flight of Fancy

Jovian Cathness, twelfth Luke of Chavanage, was one of the greatest prizes in the Marriage Mart. He had such charm that the ladies of the ton claimed he could coax the birds from the trees. Now he appears to spend all his time befuddled by drink. And the town prattlers have even spread rumors of the duke flying to the upper vyiudowy of his town house.

Despite the fact that Jovian's kisses once seemed to send her sailing high over Westminster Abbey. levelheaded Lady Anthea Wintour won't give credence to the whispers of magic. She wants all the world to believe shell have naught to do with the man who broke her heart. Yet when they meet again, she feels herself filling under the spell of an enchantment that could only be love.

Although I´m finding that I do like the fantasy genre I really do prefer traditional regencies to be...well, traditional and without magic. I keep reading Sandra Heath in hopes of finding a story I enjoy as much as I did Lady Domino but these stories with magic just leave me cold for the most part.

Anthea was almost betrothed to Jovian, the Duke of Chavanage when suddenly he became a drunkard and their engagement was broken. Then, suddenly, her father remarries an soon after became a widower and left to Brazil leaving Anthea with a new stepsister. She goes about in society and keeps meeting Jovian, normally in his cups, and strangely he keeps warning her of great danger while weird things keep happening. It is fairly obvious from the beginning that Jovian is not drunk but pretending. And that there is a mystery surrounding Anthea’s stepsister Corinna.

Heath tries to mix romance, magic and Greek myths and it felt a bit like there were too many twist and turns to keep track of. It seemed odd that Anthea was reviling Jovian one moment and listening to him and following his advice in the other. They never really have a conversation on whether he is drunk or not and despite that she is soon ready to believe everything he says and willing to accept he is the only man she will ever love. I found that part a bit hard to believe and I was at times confused with so many details but I must admit Heath did write an interesting tale and I was looking forward to reach the end and know what was behind so many strange things.

Grade: 3/5