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gemmalaszlo's review
4.0
From the back cover:
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...
And my review:
I discovered Elizabeth Mansfield when I picked up one of her books off a discount table at my local department store. Since then, I've snapped up everything of hers that I can get my hands on. Her writing is delightful. Her prose flows easily, is fun to read, her characters are well drawn, and her dialogue witty and fun. Her stories are also clean; no sex, just kisses.
This story was enjoyable as a work of historical fiction, but I think the romance aspect of it was rather poorly done. The hero falls in love with the heroine almost at first sight. However, she runs off, and they are seperated for 2/3 of the book. I read romance to watch the sparks fly as hero and heroine interact; but that can't happen when they aren't even in the same room for more than half the book! Then, when they do meet up again, they are in love almost instantly. The author then has to contrive something to keep them apart, and unfortunately, I felt that it fell flat. The heroine kept refusing the hero because he had money. Huh?
The heroine has promised never to marry for money. So even though she is madly in love with Anthony, she keeps refusing him. It got very grating, very fast. I'm all for having principles, but the heroine was so rigid about it that she drove me insane. And for no good reason. Since she loved the guy, it seemed like a very weak excuse for repeatedly rejecting him.
I actually enjoyed the secondary romance of Peggy (the heroine's look-alike replacement) and the heroine's brother Jeremy more than I enjoyed the relationship between the lead characters. I felt that Peggy and Jeremy's romance was much better developed. For one thing, they didn't fall in love instantly. Instead, their love grew slowly over time--my favorite kind of love story.
Apart from the sometimes irritating heroine, the rest of the characters in this novel were wonderfully drawn. Did this author ever write a book starring Allie, the heroine's younger sister? Because I would love to read it if she did. Allie was enchanting.
All in all, this was an enjoyable read. The only drawback was the primary romance. I think that this book needed another hundred pages to show Anthony and Georgy falling in love more gradually, and to have them spend less time apart, it would have been a five star read. I recommend it if you like this author's other works, or if you want to read a Regency novel, and especially if you like clean romances. This is the kind of book you could lend to your teenaged daughter with no qualms.
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...
And my review:
I discovered Elizabeth Mansfield when I picked up one of her books off a discount table at my local department store. Since then, I've snapped up everything of hers that I can get my hands on. Her writing is delightful. Her prose flows easily, is fun to read, her characters are well drawn, and her dialogue witty and fun. Her stories are also clean; no sex, just kisses.
This story was enjoyable as a work of historical fiction, but I think the romance aspect of it was rather poorly done. The hero falls in love with the heroine almost at first sight. However, she runs off, and they are seperated for 2/3 of the book. I read romance to watch the sparks fly as hero and heroine interact; but that can't happen when they aren't even in the same room for more than half the book! Then, when they do meet up again, they are in love almost instantly. The author then has to contrive something to keep them apart, and unfortunately, I felt that it fell flat. The heroine kept refusing the hero because he had money. Huh?
The heroine has promised never to marry for money. So even though she is madly in love with Anthony, she keeps refusing him. It got very grating, very fast. I'm all for having principles, but the heroine was so rigid about it that she drove me insane. And for no good reason. Since she loved the guy, it seemed like a very weak excuse for repeatedly rejecting him.
I actually enjoyed the secondary romance of Peggy (the heroine's look-alike replacement) and the heroine's brother Jeremy more than I enjoyed the relationship between the lead characters. I felt that Peggy and Jeremy's romance was much better developed. For one thing, they didn't fall in love instantly. Instead, their love grew slowly over time--my favorite kind of love story.
Apart from the sometimes irritating heroine, the rest of the characters in this novel were wonderfully drawn. Did this author ever write a book starring Allie, the heroine's younger sister? Because I would love to read it if she did. Allie was enchanting.
All in all, this was an enjoyable read. The only drawback was the primary romance. I think that this book needed another hundred pages to show Anthony and Georgy falling in love more gradually, and to have them spend less time apart, it would have been a five star read. I recommend it if you like this author's other works, or if you want to read a Regency novel, and especially if you like clean romances. This is the kind of book you could lend to your teenaged daughter with no qualms.
takethyme's review
2.0
Miss Georgy Verney wants to be independent. It is the early 1800's and she is limited in what a respectable single woman can do. Along comes Anthony Maitland, Viscount Ivers, who is THE catch of the season and who does he fall for? Miss Georgy Verney, of course. Her mother is ecstatic and pursues the match against Georgy's wishes. So what does Georgy do? She runs away to become a teacher in a poor village.
In the meantime, Jeremy Verney comes home, after serving in the war with France. He is expecting his first love to be waiting for him and finds out that things have changed. Before arriving home, he avoids a conflict and comes into contact with a young woman who saved him from being victimized. Homeless and in dire straits, he brings Peggy to meet his family. His mother has other ideas and decides to have her take over Georgy's identity, while awaiting her daughter's return, to make a match with Maitland.
I know, I know, too much? Be aware that you will see very little of Georgy and Maitland together. As for Jeremy, I wanted to rap him on the head to knock some sense into him. Early on, you know Peggy will fall for him. And we are to believe that Maitland won't know Peggy is not Georgy. In the intervening time, Georgy has her hands full with a vicar of the village and the parents of her potential students.
I realize others may enjoy this farce but I did not. I felt bad for Peggy who had a heart of gold. She was in precarious circumstances not of her choosing. All she ever wanted was for someone to love her and vice versa. I also felt bad for Maitland because people were taking him for a ride. Because of these two characters I am rating this story as 'OK'. I felt the Verney family deserved their comeuppance because none of them could see goodness in front of their own faces.
In the meantime, Jeremy Verney comes home, after serving in the war with France. He is expecting his first love to be waiting for him and finds out that things have changed. Before arriving home, he avoids a conflict and comes into contact with a young woman who saved him from being victimized. Homeless and in dire straits, he brings Peggy to meet his family. His mother has other ideas and decides to have her take over Georgy's identity, while awaiting her daughter's return, to make a match with Maitland.
I know, I know, too much? Be aware that you will see very little of Georgy and Maitland together. As for Jeremy, I wanted to rap him on the head to knock some sense into him. Early on, you know Peggy will fall for him. And we are to believe that Maitland won't know Peggy is not Georgy. In the intervening time, Georgy has her hands full with a vicar of the village and the parents of her potential students.
I realize others may enjoy this farce but I did not. I felt bad for Peggy who had a heart of gold. She was in precarious circumstances not of her choosing. All she ever wanted was for someone to love her and vice versa. I also felt bad for Maitland because people were taking him for a ride. Because of these two characters I am rating this story as 'OK'. I felt the Verney family deserved their comeuppance because none of them could see goodness in front of their own faces.
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