ladyofbooks's review
4.0
A Fun Tale
Full of predictable cliches, this is a fun book. MC Beat on is a favorite author, and I was pleased with this book. Four stars.
Full of predictable cliches, this is a fun book. MC Beat on is a favorite author, and I was pleased with this book. Four stars.
helenephoebe's review against another edition
4.0
Review - The concept is an intriguing one, but not one that hasn't been explored before by M.C. Beaton. In a lot of ways Beaton rather confines herself in this genre, writing a lot of quite similar stories. Nevertheless a good read. I did like the main characters in this novel, although the other Beverly sisters came across as very shallow, selfish and materialistic. I hope this changes in the later books (though I have no doubt that it will!)
Genre? - Romance / Historical / Drama
Characters? - Isabella Beverly / Jessica Beverly / Lord Fitzpatrick / Lady Beverly / William Beverly / Abigail Beverly / Rachel Beverly / Mr Judd / Lizzie Beverly / Belinda Beverly
Setting? - Mannerling (England)
Series? - Daughters of Mannerling #1
Recommend? - Yes
Rating - 15/20
Genre? - Romance / Historical / Drama
Characters? - Isabella Beverly / Jessica Beverly / Lord Fitzpatrick / Lady Beverly / William Beverly / Abigail Beverly / Rachel Beverly / Mr Judd / Lizzie Beverly / Belinda Beverly
Setting? - Mannerling (England)
Series? - Daughters of Mannerling #1
Recommend? - Yes
Rating - 15/20
calamitymane's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent start to this series. Light, as usual, but not quite fluffy, just the way I like my Regency romances, of which Beaton is a maven.
haewilya's review
4.0
The romance was kinda instalove. I love the darkness though and the heroine's character progression.
calluna_vulgar1s's review
3.0
In all honesty it read as kind of one dimensional. It wasn't poorly written necessarily but it seemed impatient. Like the author has it all in mind and wanted to get to the main points. It was a really short and not altogether unpleasant read. I don't know if I'm interested in reading the books with the other sisters as the plot is super obvious. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
katdid's review against another edition
3.0
I read a LOT of Marion Chesney as a youngster, because even then I loved the Regency period and because her books were available to me at the local libraries. Are they good? Not really, like Heyer Lite (VERY lite) and extremely formulaic: there's always some kind of older (not always wiser) character who either provides a crutch to the heroine (the males) or is a figure of fun (the females); there's usually six somethings (sisters; consecutive inhabitants of a house; etc.); and -- SPOILER! -- the last of them will trump them all and end up marrying a duke!!1! This series has the dependable male figure (servant Barry); the six beautiful sisters; and increasingly high-status marriages. One thing that cracked me up was villainous Judd talking about pulling down the temple at Mannerling, building a ruin, and making John the servant pretend to be a hermit to amuse visitors (and also because John was a bit too uppity) -- I gather that was actually a thing during the period, but the cavalier way it was thrown in was quite funny.
sean67's review
2.0
I borrowed the whole series of six books thinking this was going to be a humorous read based on the author, it wasn't. It felt more like a cheap rip off of novels like Pride & Prejudice - part one was very disappointing - I'll probably persist with the rest though.
lavyourself's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
mskyle's review
2.0
I figured out what this book is: Regency Romance Methadone! Got a historical romance addiction? This book can help you stave off withdrawal symptoms, but won't provide the high you get from an actual enjoyable romance. Or the lows you get from a terrible one.
This book was just... kind of boring? Not frustrating or annoying the way a lot of bad romances can be. Just boring. It was actually kind of useful because it was a book I could pick up for a chapter at bedtime or over breakfast and then just put it down with no need to keep reading. The characters are all pretty loathsome, insofar as they have any characteristics at all. It's also very bloody! One on-page suicide, an attempted suicide, and an off-page suicide plus multiple mentions of hanged men at crossroads. This was a weird book.
This book was just... kind of boring? Not frustrating or annoying the way a lot of bad romances can be. Just boring. It was actually kind of useful because it was a book I could pick up for a chapter at bedtime or over breakfast and then just put it down with no need to keep reading. The characters are all pretty loathsome, insofar as they have any characteristics at all. It's also very bloody! One on-page suicide, an attempted suicide, and an off-page suicide plus multiple mentions of hanged men at crossroads. This was a weird book.