Michele Ann Young's Regency novel No Regrets begins in a very interesting (and romantic) manner: Lucas Rivers, Viscount Foxhaven, rides his horse into the house where our heroine, Caroline "Caro" Torrington is secretly working and carries her off. The couple were childhood friends and Lucas cannot receive inheritance until he marries Caro, but she has stubbornly refused him. Caro, who could be called voluptuous, is very attracted to Lucas, who is rather a Rake, but doesn't believe he could ever find her beautiful. Finally, in order to provide give her sisters a stable financial future, Caro agrees to a marriage of convenience, which will be ended sometime in the future. They agree to "no regrets."
Along the way, Caro receives society-lessons from Lucas' friend's sister, meets a previously unknown French cousin, spends time with Lucas' Aunt Rivers and Cousin Cedric (who looks after a lot of Lucas' business), and tries to win Lucas' affections (though she has actually already done so).
Lucas, in reality, is very attracted to Caro, but does not want to violate their agreement or somehow ruin their longtime friendship. Unfortunately, Caro thinks she disgusts him. This leads to a variety of misunderstandings, including Caro believing Lucas has a mistress. Though the couple grows closer, Caro believes she is doing Lucas a favor by leaving him and traveling to France with her cousin to visit French relatives. Lucas follows her there, but when Caro is kidnapped (or has she voluntarily decided to remarry?), he must decide how he really feels about her. I don't want to spoil the rest of the story, so I will stop there.
I really enjoyed reading No Regrets. It is a well-written and interesting Regency. Young did an excellent job incorporating the proper period elements and crafting a tension-filled love story. Lucas is a very attractive hero, with his dark hair and "chocolate" eyes (yum!). Caro is a woman we can all relate to because she really struggles with her self-esteem and believes herself to be completely unattractive, especially to Lucas. The secondary characters add a lot to the tale, especially Caro's lady's maid Lizzie. She's hilarious.
Fortunately, this book is on the long side (for a Regency), which means the reader gets to enjoy it a little bit longer. Lucas and Caro's difficulties in communicating their true feelings are frustrating---to the characters and to the reader---but that works in this story because the reader understands what they are going through. Obviously Lucas and Caroline have long-held and deep feelings for each other. As we all know, though, sometimes it is hard to express such important emotions to the most important people in our lives.
I highly recommend No Regrets by Michele Ann Young. I had never read any of her work before, but I have visited her blog, Regency Ramble, numerous times before I received No Regrets. I do hope you will find No Regrets at your local bookstore or on Amazon.com.
Book Information: No Regrets by Michele Ann Young (Sourcebooks Casablanca; ISBN: 1-4022-1016-7; $6.99; 384 pages; paperback)
Showing posts with label Romance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Romance. Show all posts
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Book Review: Hundreds of Years to Reform a Rake
I'm not generally a fan of paranormals, science fiction, or fantasy books, though I do like an occasional one, especially if it deals with Regency England. So, it wasn't a hardship in any way to read Laurie Brown's Regency-set paranormal Hundreds of Years to Reform a Rake
.
In Hundreds of Years to Reform a Rake, Josie Drummond is an American paranormal investigator, hired by English lady Amelia Thornton to investigate Castle Waite for the ghost of Lord Deverell Thornton, 9th Earl of Waite. Lord Waite (aka Deverell) was a handsome libertine who died in a duel back in the Regency. Amelia wants Josie to prove his ghostly existence, which will make the castle a tourist spot and generate money for much-needed renovations.
Unfortunately, Josie finds no proof of Deverell's ghost until she is about to leave. Then, in the presence of Amelia, Deverell reveals himself and explains his real purpose for having Amelia call her. Back when he was alive, a charlatan swindled Dev's mother out of the family fortune with a seance. Dev wants Josie to go back in time and help him stop the fake madam.
Of course, Josie is a modern girl and loves her electronic ghost-hunting gear, but Dev won't let her take it with them and insists she have a crash course in Regency manners. Josie is reluctant to undertake this task, at first, but slowly warms to it---and to Dev with his "dark visage, black hair, and deep-seated gray eyes" (8).
Once Dev (well, Dev's ghost) and Josie have gone back to the Regency, Josie has to use her investigative skills to stop Dev's mother from being swindled and navigate a Regency house party without revealing that she is from the future. To top it all off, not only is Josie attracted to Dev-the-Ghost, but Deverell the man seems smitten by her and she sort of likes him too.
The longer Josie stays in the past, the more she forgets her life in the present. And the more Deverell likes Josie, the less power Dev has to remain present in his ghostly form. Even though Dev and Deverell are really the same man, Josie will have to choose between them.
Hundreds of Years to Reform a Rake contemplates an idea that enthralls many modern Regency fans: what would it be like to go back to the Regency? Brown included many little details that Regency fans will find familiar and pleasing.
Other than the fact that Dev is a ghost, the book does not contain an overwhelming amount of paranormal activity, so non-paranormal readers will not be turned off. I certainly found it interesting that Dev could use his ghostly powers to do things like call for a flower delivery or take Josie back in time with him. Another element that I particularly liked was that the longer Josie was in the past, the more she began to lose her modern-day memories. I only wish Brown had included more of this in the story.
It was fun to watch Josie try to manuever through a Regency house party and ball, try to catch the swindler without her modern detecting equipment, and decide between Dev and Deverell. Brown's ending was clever and I never suspected Josie would choose the path she takes.
I would recommend Hundreds of Years to Reform a Rake to anyone who enjoys paranormals, and even Regency fans who don't usually read them. Brown did an excellent job of combining the two genres. There are a couple of love scenes in this book.
Hundreds of Years to Reform a Rake is available online or at your local book stores. Let us know if you read it!
Book Information: Hundreds of Years to Reform a Rake by Laurie Brown (Sourcebooks Casablanca; ISBN: 1-4022-1013-2; $6.99; 400 pages; paperback)
.In Hundreds of Years to Reform a Rake
, Josie Drummond is an American paranormal investigator, hired by English lady Amelia Thornton to investigate Castle Waite for the ghost of Lord Deverell Thornton, 9th Earl of Waite. Lord Waite (aka Deverell) was a handsome libertine who died in a duel back in the Regency. Amelia wants Josie to prove his ghostly existence, which will make the castle a tourist spot and generate money for much-needed renovations.Unfortunately, Josie finds no proof of Deverell's ghost until she is about to leave. Then, in the presence of Amelia, Deverell reveals himself and explains his real purpose for having Amelia call her. Back when he was alive, a charlatan swindled Dev's mother out of the family fortune with a seance. Dev wants Josie to go back in time and help him stop the fake madam.
Of course, Josie is a modern girl and loves her electronic ghost-hunting gear, but Dev won't let her take it with them and insists she have a crash course in Regency manners. Josie is reluctant to undertake this task, at first, but slowly warms to it---and to Dev with his "dark visage, black hair, and deep-seated gray eyes" (8).
Once Dev (well, Dev's ghost) and Josie have gone back to the Regency, Josie has to use her investigative skills to stop Dev's mother from being swindled and navigate a Regency house party without revealing that she is from the future. To top it all off, not only is Josie attracted to Dev-the-Ghost, but Deverell the man seems smitten by her and she sort of likes him too.
The longer Josie stays in the past, the more she forgets her life in the present. And the more Deverell likes Josie, the less power Dev has to remain present in his ghostly form. Even though Dev and Deverell are really the same man, Josie will have to choose between them.
Hundreds of Years to Reform a Rake
contemplates an idea that enthralls many modern Regency fans: what would it be like to go back to the Regency? Brown included many little details that Regency fans will find familiar and pleasing.Other than the fact that Dev is a ghost, the book does not contain an overwhelming amount of paranormal activity, so non-paranormal readers will not be turned off. I certainly found it interesting that Dev could use his ghostly powers to do things like call for a flower delivery or take Josie back in time with him. Another element that I particularly liked was that the longer Josie was in the past, the more she began to lose her modern-day memories. I only wish Brown had included more of this in the story.
It was fun to watch Josie try to manuever through a Regency house party and ball, try to catch the swindler without her modern detecting equipment, and decide between Dev and Deverell. Brown's ending was clever and I never suspected Josie would choose the path she takes.
I would recommend Hundreds of Years to Reform a Rake
to anyone who enjoys paranormals, and even Regency fans who don't usually read them. Brown did an excellent job of combining the two genres. There are a couple of love scenes in this book.Hundreds of Years to Reform a Rake is available online or at your local book stores. Let us know if you read it!
Book Information: Hundreds of Years to Reform a Rake by Laurie Brown (Sourcebooks Casablanca; ISBN: 1-4022-1013-2; $6.99; 400 pages; paperback)
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