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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
Everything deserves a 4, except the random worry that Arabella has that her love interest might be planning to r*pe her in the last 25 pages of the book...like, what.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault
Okay, so I don't know how to phrase this. As a Georgette Heyer work (historical accuracy of the Regency life, delightful frothy story), it's spectacular. But as a romance and a character study, it's meh. Like, I enjoyed it a lot for what it was, but I don't look back at it with fond memories of Arabella and Beaumarais.
I had quite a time with this book. I only read it to check off the "romance" category in my Read Harder Challenge, because I've been so over romance novels for like thirty years now. But Heyer is relatively inoffensive, so I picked this one (had already read The Grand Sophy.) At first I was bored silly. Then I caught a cold, and reading last night and today was actually kind of soothing as I didn't have to think and I started to kind of enjoy the story. THEN got irritated all over again at the utter predictability, then furious as once again, the main character, who had something of a personality for a while, turns into simpering mess who had to be "rescued" by the handsome rich guy. Why can't the GIRL ever rescue the guy?????? Grrr. Anyway. Challenge category duly checked off.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Arabella is an absolute delight. Arabella and Beaumaris are hilarious when pitted against each other, but I think Beaumaris might be my favourite Heyer hero yet??
I went on a little Georgette Heyer reading binge this week. She wrote so many novels that I still haven't read them all! Arabella, while not matching my favorites, was an excellent read.
Arabella has been sent to London for a season by her mother. She is staying with her Godmother, and she knows she must contract a good marriage, so that she might bring her younger sisters out later. By a series of deceptions, all the Ton believes her to be an heiress, so she despairs of marrying. Fortunately, there is Mr. Beaumaris, who is a quite typical Heyer hero. Although cranky at first, he does bend under the love of Arabella (who is, quite naturally, not such a normal lady).
This does follow the Heyer formula, but it's short and fun to read. I liked the characters, and wanted to see them together. Not my absolute favorite, but well worth the read!
Arabella has been sent to London for a season by her mother. She is staying with her Godmother, and she knows she must contract a good marriage, so that she might bring her younger sisters out later. By a series of deceptions, all the Ton believes her to be an heiress, so she despairs of marrying. Fortunately, there is Mr. Beaumaris, who is a quite typical Heyer hero. Although cranky at first, he does bend under the love of Arabella (who is, quite naturally, not such a normal lady).
This does follow the Heyer formula, but it's short and fun to read. I liked the characters, and wanted to see them together. Not my absolute favorite, but well worth the read!
Clergyman's impetuous daughter wins the heart of a dedicated bachelor. This was really at least a 3 and a half, and I might round it to a four when I find the book. I am enjoying [b:The Corinthian|319033|The Corinthian|Georgette Heyer|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1310712715s/319033.jpg|1364554] more and wanted to leave room for it.
This is one of Heyer’s “naive girl/world weary cynic” pairings, and I can imagine the rather high-handed hero (and the constant miscommunication) might grate on some, but I found it all really charming and fun.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Is it odd that I found the best relationship in this book to be between Mr. Beaumaris and his dog Ulysses? Until he met the dog, Mr. Beaumaris seemed to me to be your run-of-the-mill Heyer protagonist, nothing particular to set him apart from the lot of them. In fact, Heyer might've even failed to turn him up to scratch, had it not been for his almost-monologues to the scruffy and shameless little mutt. I loved how Ulysses confounded him and burrowed his way into Beaumaris's reluctant and scathing affections. The image of him driving around with the ugly little dog next to him was hilarious to me.
It's a shame that their relationship was the best part of the book, because the rest of it had so much potential. I liked that Arabella was putting him off and only treated him as a friend. The lie about her wealth also had great promise, but she was never really put on the spot about it. Arabella herself never really seemed like a solid character. Her impetuous nature sat at odds with the rest of her personality, and there's really only so far you can go with naivete. I honestly can't see how she and Mr. Beaumaris will deal past the last page of this book. Bertram's side plot was also fairly tiresome, and he wasn't nearly endearing enough to make me feel truly sympathetic for his plights.
In short, I was rather disappointed with this book and wouldn't recommend it to first-time Heyer readers. Still, despite the slow beginning and the unimpressive end where Mr. Beaumaris saves the day in a single fell swoop whilst our heroine does nothing but wring her hands, Arabella is well written and an interesting character study.
And also has a man and his very charming dog.
It's a shame that their relationship was the best part of the book, because the rest of it had so much potential. I liked that Arabella was putting him off and only treated him as a friend. The lie about her wealth also had great promise, but she was never really put on the spot about it. Arabella herself never really seemed like a solid character. Her impetuous nature sat at odds with the rest of her personality, and there's really only so far you can go with naivete. I honestly can't see how she and Mr. Beaumaris will deal past the last page of this book. Bertram's side plot was also fairly tiresome, and he wasn't nearly endearing enough to make me feel truly sympathetic for his plights.
In short, I was rather disappointed with this book and wouldn't recommend it to first-time Heyer readers. Still, despite the slow beginning and the unimpressive end where Mr. Beaumaris saves the day in a single fell swoop whilst our heroine does nothing but wring her hands, Arabella is well written and an interesting character study.
And also has a man and his very charming dog.
I like that the much of the narration focused on the two main characters together in the same scene!