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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Sylvester by Georgette Heyer
Narrated by Nicholas Rowe
This book was written in 1957 and there are many versions, abridged and unabridged, with various narrators. I chose this edition because the book was unabridged but I might have preferred the abridged edition narrated by Richard Armitage. He's a favorite narrator of mine and there were several parts of this book that I was wishing I could have missed. Still, I did enjoy the less wacky parts of the story and I plan to read something else by this author to see if I'd like to continue reading her work.
So much of this seems like a fantasy, with plain Phoebe finding herself on a list of women that Sylvester, Duke of Salford, is considering as a marriage partner. He doesn't want to be married, he doesn't even like the women on his list, but he has mostly selfish reasons for desiring a wife to fill out the role he plays in life as the head of his household. Meeting Sylvester and learning his way of seeing things does not endear him to anyone and even his adoring mother is worried about his state of mind and the way he treats others.
Phoebe gets scratched off the potential wife list almost the instant Sylvester meets her because he at least wants an attractive wife and we are told over and over that Phoebe is not attractive. For her part, Phoebe has no intention of marrying this cad of a man no matter how wealthy and titled he is but her parents (mostly the wicked stepmother) are determined to make her do their will.
It's when Phoebe and company end up on a ship with the rich, dastardly Sir Nugent Fotherby (he loves to tell people he's the richest of the rich) that I wanted to jump ship. The man is so over the top, almost in a slap stick way, that I whacked a star off the story because he's TOO much!. The other parts of the story are what keep me interested in reading another book by this author but if there are Sir Nugent type characters in the other books, I'll stay away.
Thanks to my library and Libby for this audiobook.
Narrated by Nicholas Rowe
This book was written in 1957 and there are many versions, abridged and unabridged, with various narrators. I chose this edition because the book was unabridged but I might have preferred the abridged edition narrated by Richard Armitage. He's a favorite narrator of mine and there were several parts of this book that I was wishing I could have missed. Still, I did enjoy the less wacky parts of the story and I plan to read something else by this author to see if I'd like to continue reading her work.
So much of this seems like a fantasy, with plain Phoebe finding herself on a list of women that Sylvester, Duke of Salford, is considering as a marriage partner. He doesn't want to be married, he doesn't even like the women on his list, but he has mostly selfish reasons for desiring a wife to fill out the role he plays in life as the head of his household. Meeting Sylvester and learning his way of seeing things does not endear him to anyone and even his adoring mother is worried about his state of mind and the way he treats others.
Phoebe gets scratched off the potential wife list almost the instant Sylvester meets her because he at least wants an attractive wife and we are told over and over that Phoebe is not attractive. For her part, Phoebe has no intention of marrying this cad of a man no matter how wealthy and titled he is but her parents (mostly the wicked stepmother) are determined to make her do their will.
It's when Phoebe and company end up on a ship with the rich, dastardly Sir Nugent Fotherby (he loves to tell people he's the richest of the rich) that I wanted to jump ship. The man is so over the top, almost in a slap stick way, that I whacked a star off the story because he's TOO much!. The other parts of the story are what keep me interested in reading another book by this author but if there are Sir Nugent type characters in the other books, I'll stay away.
Thanks to my library and Libby for this audiobook.
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty
3/17 for Guilty Pleasures module.
I am going to be SO DONE with romance when this module is over. 'Sylvester' was tedious and slow, and don't even get me started on the proposal. I thought Phoebe had great agency running away to her grandmothers, and publishing her book, but it was still a classic marriage ending...
Also, I can totally see where fan fiction plots originate in these novels. 'Sylvester' is like the original 'girl's journal gets published and her crush reads it' plot. Cheesy stuff.
I am going to be SO DONE with romance when this module is over. 'Sylvester' was tedious and slow, and don't even get me started on the proposal. I thought Phoebe had great agency running away to her grandmothers, and publishing her book, but it was still a classic marriage ending...
Also, I can totally see where fan fiction plots originate in these novels. 'Sylvester' is like the original 'girl's journal gets published and her crush reads it' plot. Cheesy stuff.
I liked Frederica much better than Phoebe until the end. Sylvester was my favorite and Tom was a very nice character.
I just couldn't really warm up to Sylvester and he also calls Phoebe infant from time to time...
This was still entertaining, especially the hilarious coincidences between Sylvester's life and Phoebe's book, however this is not one of my favourite Heyer books.
This was still entertaining, especially the hilarious coincidences between Sylvester's life and Phoebe's book, however this is not one of my favourite Heyer books.
I loved this quick little read. (It helped that Richard Armitage was narrating
Another thoroughly enjoyable book from Georgette Heyer. Humor, angst, romance, and a great cast of characters including a memorable hero and heroine - I really loved it.
Another Ellsworth Public Library book sale find: the reviewer raved about it, and I am a Heyer fan from way back, but I found that the first third was skimmable. I did like the story overall, but I wouldn't say it is one of Heyer's best. Still: a nice novel to read before bed!
A delightful Regency romance from Georgette Heyer. The heroine has spunk but still seems believable for the times. The hero has his adorable side - he loves his mother and nephew - but gets knocked down a peg while falling in love with a women he planned to woo and then dismiss. The language is perfect, the plot and dialog both realistic and amusing, and the side characters delightful. One of the best Heyer romances I've read.
"Sylvester" by Georgette Heyer is a witty, pleasantly fresh Regency romance novel.
The plot is fairly original, the characters truly come alive with all their flaws and little quirks and the choice of Richard Armitage as the audiobook narrator certainly enhances the pleasure of reading - or rather listening to - this story.
I was a bit disappointed to find out that the Audible edition is an abridged one, otherwise I'd have given 5 stars.
The plot is fairly original, the characters truly come alive with all their flaws and little quirks and the choice of Richard Armitage as the audiobook narrator certainly enhances the pleasure of reading - or rather listening to - this story.
I was a bit disappointed to find out that the Audible edition is an abridged one, otherwise I'd have given 5 stars.