You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
Literally couldn’t even make it to the part where Arabella (presumably) makes it to London. I found this mind numbingly boring and really poorly written. I seem to be in the minority in this opinion so perhaps it improves later on but I guess I’ll never know. I did try to read this fairly soon after reading a bunch of Jane Austen novels and there was simply no comparison. Heyer is missing all of the wit and social commentary of Austen which seems to leave a fluff story with no substance.
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I grabbed this book from my bookshelf to be my final read of the year. Since I have no dates associated with most of the Georgette Heyer books I have, I plan to reread them all, and this was the first one alphabetically. I do remember reading this when I was was in high school, but it was never one of my favorites. The plot is a little contrived, and the characters not nearly as amusing as those in other works by Heyer.
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
tense
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:
Yes
Arabella isn't my favorite of Heyer's heroines, nor is Beaumaris my favorite of her heroes, but they are both nice enough and they work well together. This story drags a bit at the beginning but then zips along nicely once our heroine makes it to London and adventures ensue.
Funniest parts: anything to do with the incorrigible Ulysses. Beaumaris gets the best dialog when he's talking to this mutt. Close second for "funniest" interactions are anything included Scudthorpe. (?) Anyway, I think that was his name. He'd be hysterically funny on screen. Where are the adaptations of Heyer? Really wish someone was adapting these for Masterpiece!
Funniest parts: anything to do with the incorrigible Ulysses. Beaumaris gets the best dialog when he's talking to this mutt. Close second for "funniest" interactions are anything included Scudthorpe. (?) Anyway, I think that was his name. He'd be hysterically funny on screen. Where are the adaptations of Heyer? Really wish someone was adapting these for Masterpiece!
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
I still feel like a relative newcomer to the romance genre, but I know enough to know that Georgette Heyer is one of the OGs of regency, even if I'd never read her before, so when a stack of ARCs appeared at the library where I work, including new editions of three of her novels, I figured I should give them a shot. (Plus, I'm pretty sure nobody else at my library reads romances, and I hate to see a book go unloved.)
This is the first of the three, and it was a very entertaining read. The plot, of course, is paper-thin — pure fluff of the fluffiest sort. It's not entirely clear why the leads are attracted to one another, but it says they are, so we'll go with it. The characters are mostly stock, but they're unobjectionable. Arabella is the ingenue extraordinaire, naive but sharp enough to work her situation to her advantage, and good-hearted to a fault. Her wide-eyed innocence gets a little irritating and occasionally stretches believability, but not too badly. Mr. Beaumaris is clearly the star of the show: aloof and a little cynical, but with a sharp wit and ultimately a kind disposition.
Where this book really shines is the writing itself. The prose and dialogue are deliciously old-fashioned, with tons of period slang and a ridiculously wonderful degree of historical detail. The dialogue is genuinely witty - not the sort of "wit" you sometimes find when the author doesn't trust the reader to understand what's happening and so over-explains every joke, but genuinely sharp and fast-paced conversation, to the point where I occasionally had to re-read exchanges to make sure I was catching the gist. It's not a book you should expect to enjoy while only half-paying attention. The style won't be for everyone, and even for myself, it's not something I want to read every day, but in the right mood, this is delightful.
This is the first of the three, and it was a very entertaining read. The plot, of course, is paper-thin — pure fluff of the fluffiest sort. It's not entirely clear why the leads are attracted to one another, but it says they are, so we'll go with it. The characters are mostly stock, but they're unobjectionable. Arabella is the ingenue extraordinaire, naive but sharp enough to work her situation to her advantage, and good-hearted to a fault. Her wide-eyed innocence gets a little irritating and occasionally stretches believability, but not too badly. Mr. Beaumaris is clearly the star of the show: aloof and a little cynical, but with a sharp wit and ultimately a kind disposition.
Where this book really shines is the writing itself. The prose and dialogue are deliciously old-fashioned, with tons of period slang and a ridiculously wonderful degree of historical detail. The dialogue is genuinely witty - not the sort of "wit" you sometimes find when the author doesn't trust the reader to understand what's happening and so over-explains every joke, but genuinely sharp and fast-paced conversation, to the point where I occasionally had to re-read exchanges to make sure I was catching the gist. It's not a book you should expect to enjoy while only half-paying attention. The style won't be for everyone, and even for myself, it's not something I want to read every day, but in the right mood, this is delightful.