Reviews

The Miser of Mayfair by Marion Chesney

rosalie_pearl's review

lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape

helenephoebe's review against another edition

3.0

Review - I loved Rainbird, particularly how he came to Fiona's help so readily. I really didn't like Palmer, though you didn't see him much, or Luke or Joseph as they seemed to have an almost Medieval attitude towards women. Not the best book by M.C. Beaton or the best Regency book by far, but a novel way of writing a story - from the view of the servants rather than the protagonists themselves, although there is a little bit of that.

Genre/s - Romance / Historical

Characters? - Fiona Sinclair / Roderick Sinclair / Earl of Harrington / Rainbird / Lizzie / Luke / Joseph / Palmer

Setting? - London (England)

Series? - A House for the Season #1

Recommend? - Yes

Rating - 15/20

meganjeg's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

frost_booksnbeatles's review

1.0

audiobook.

sophiejuillard's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

haewilya's review against another edition

3.0

There wasn't much romance but I did like the adventures of the Clarges street servants.

burkenschmidt's review against another edition

lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

4.0

see_sadie_read's review against another edition

2.0

Honestly just not very good. Nothing is even remotely consistent. It was going for a Georgette Heyer feel, I think, but didn't manage it.

The book starts out well enough, with the beautiful Miss Fiona's introduction. She's so cow-eyed and dumb you can't help but assume it's a sham. And it is. She's a smart, capable card sharp. (Though we're never told how she came to these skills.) Then about mid book it all evaporates and she becomes just as stupid as she pretends. But only as long as it assists the plot. Then, she's suddenly smart, brave and capable again. The villains are cartoonish and the love interest has several unbelievable changes of heart for no apparent reason and goes against social convention without explanation. Also, he almost rapes Fiona, hardly a hero.

This has a nice new looking cover. So, I borrowed it from the library. But I later learned it was originally written in 1987. Maybe that explains a lot. But even for the late 80s, bad writing is bad writing. To her, credit Lindy Nettleton did as much with the manuscript as a narrator probably could. The narration is just fine. The book is not.

snellreader100's review against another edition

lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

una_macchia's review against another edition

3.0

This is a weird one to rate. I liked the interaction with the servants at 67 Clarges Street, and loved the heroine - she's sort of a master manipulator, which is a character type I'm not a big fan of in romance, but it actually really worked for me here. But that said, I have to add in some imaginary scenes between the hero and heroine to make the romance not alarming and the HEA believable.

Spoiler

The rebound from him sexually assaulting her and regretting it but hoping she'll agree to marry him anyway, to him catching up with her and the man she wanted to elope with, his proposal and her acceptance is just too fast. There needs to be at least some conversation before she accepts his offer! There's even a (definitely intentional) parallel going on as one of the maids says that she's lost interest in her suitor after seeing how he hurt their scullery maid - he was trying to get information from her so he grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back - and she says something along the lines of "if that's what he did to her, what would he do his wife?" This coming right after the hero has tossed the other man out the window in front of the heroine. And you know, the day after he forced himself on her. The book overall lands in a weird medium between playing violence for comedy and taking it seriously enough to make the relationship potentially rather sinister.