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holtfan's review against another edition
4.0
2019 Review--4 stars
I did this book a great disservice by taking it in such strong dislike the first time I read it. April Lady is a gem!
I think I like it more than [b:The Convenient Marriage|32106|The Convenient Marriage|Georgette Heyer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386919934l/32106._SY75_.jpg|3183163], though the two are very similar and the youthful bride trope will never be my favorite. But where The Convenient Marriage relies on madcap misunderstandings with a proper villain to make things worse, April Lady is comedic.
There is a scene where a very inebriated gentleman enters another person's house and thinks it is his own. He thanks everyone for coming and then is appalled to discover he only set out two wine glasses for his party. I quite literally laughed out loud. The last bit of the book kept me continually chuckling thanks to the inebriated brother and his friend.
And then there is Felix. I love Felix. He is Freddy Stanton from [b:Cotillion|311165|Cotillion|Georgette Heyer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1266521416l/311165._SY75_.jpg|2093215] in another form. And did I mention I love Freddy? Felix is going on my favorite characters shelf.
Lady Cardross is a bit silly and frivolous but she has a great deal of dignity and I liked her immensely.
And finally, there is Lord Cardross himself. He is, I suppose, a typical Heyer hero in some regards. But he is a hero driven to the point of distraction because he cannot get his wife to love him. The reader thus sees a different side of the Heyer hero. He has feet of clay, so to speak. He reminded me of Max Ravenscar from [b:Faro's Daughter|311163|Faro's Daughter|Georgette Heyer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320463479l/311163._SY75_.jpg|302246].
Anyway, all this rambling to say, my old review was wrong, as usual. I enjoyed April Lady much more than I expected to when I began it.
2012 Review--2 stars
I have to admit, I was rather disappointed in this one. The plot is so typically Heyer that it is not really original. In my opinion, its a weaker version of [b:The Convenient Marriage|32106|The Convenient Marriage|Georgette Heyer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386919934l/32106._SY75_.jpg|3183163]. Beautiful, enchanting young lady marries a man several years her senior, falls in love with him but thinks he has a mistress, and turns cold. Man really adores bride and can't figure out why he can't seem to win her heart.
That plot plays a rather ramshackle seniority to the also very Heyer-ish side plot of the husband's younger sister, who is madly in love and determined to run off with her respectable beau.
Also very typical is the wife's brother, who is a poster boy Heyer brother. In fact, he was the only thing that made this plot particularly interesting.
Perhaps I have read to many Georgette Heyer books, but they get almost redundant. Her characters, so clever the first time, even the second and third, are simply predictable by the fourth. This particular book had mistaken love, a masquerade, and hold-up! All very, very Heyer.
Anyway, not my favorite from the Queen of the Regency, but not terrible.
I did this book a great disservice by taking it in such strong dislike the first time I read it. April Lady is a gem!
I think I like it more than [b:The Convenient Marriage|32106|The Convenient Marriage|Georgette Heyer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386919934l/32106._SY75_.jpg|3183163], though the two are very similar and the youthful bride trope will never be my favorite. But where The Convenient Marriage relies on madcap misunderstandings with a proper villain to make things worse, April Lady is comedic.
There is a scene where a very inebriated gentleman enters another person's house and thinks it is his own. He thanks everyone for coming and then is appalled to discover he only set out two wine glasses for his party. I quite literally laughed out loud. The last bit of the book kept me continually chuckling thanks to the inebriated brother and his friend.
And then there is Felix. I love Felix. He is Freddy Stanton from [b:Cotillion|311165|Cotillion|Georgette Heyer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1266521416l/311165._SY75_.jpg|2093215] in another form. And did I mention I love Freddy? Felix is going on my favorite characters shelf.
Lady Cardross is a bit silly and frivolous but she has a great deal of dignity and I liked her immensely.
And finally, there is Lord Cardross himself. He is, I suppose, a typical Heyer hero in some regards. But he is a hero driven to the point of distraction because he cannot get his wife to love him. The reader thus sees a different side of the Heyer hero. He has feet of clay, so to speak. He reminded me of Max Ravenscar from [b:Faro's Daughter|311163|Faro's Daughter|Georgette Heyer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320463479l/311163._SY75_.jpg|302246].
Anyway, all this rambling to say, my old review was wrong, as usual. I enjoyed April Lady much more than I expected to when I began it.
2012 Review--2 stars
I have to admit, I was rather disappointed in this one. The plot is so typically Heyer that it is not really original. In my opinion, its a weaker version of [b:The Convenient Marriage|32106|The Convenient Marriage|Georgette Heyer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386919934l/32106._SY75_.jpg|3183163]. Beautiful, enchanting young lady marries a man several years her senior, falls in love with him but thinks he has a mistress, and turns cold. Man really adores bride and can't figure out why he can't seem to win her heart.
That plot plays a rather ramshackle seniority to the also very Heyer-ish side plot of the husband's younger sister, who is madly in love and determined to run off with her respectable beau.
Also very typical is the wife's brother, who is a poster boy Heyer brother. In fact, he was the only thing that made this plot particularly interesting.
Perhaps I have read to many Georgette Heyer books, but they get almost redundant. Her characters, so clever the first time, even the second and third, are simply predictable by the fourth. This particular book had mistaken love, a masquerade, and hold-up! All very, very Heyer.
Anyway, not my favorite from the Queen of the Regency, but not terrible.
elevetha's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars.
Akin to [b:The Convenient Marriage|32106|The Convenient Marriage|Georgette Heyer|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320400640s/32106.jpg|3183163], though it has it's own charm. Nell and Cadross are very cute, always a plus. The story petered out towards the end but I've found that that's pretty typical for Heyer.
Akin to [b:The Convenient Marriage|32106|The Convenient Marriage|Georgette Heyer|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320400640s/32106.jpg|3183163], though it has it's own charm. Nell and Cadross are very cute, always a plus. The story petered out towards the end but I've found that that's pretty typical for Heyer.
anna_hepworth's review against another edition
1.0
I liked that this story is about how an already married couple come to realise that they each love the other, rather than having been married for convenience, as both have been told. What I didn't like was the excruciating plot - I made it as far as page 60, skipped about 100 pages, dipped into the rest of the story. Far too much like farce for my liking.
christinecc's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
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
4.5
I really really enjoyed this one. It's a tough nut and Heyer 100% cracks it.
In "April Lady," Helen, Lady Cardross (aka "Nell" to her friends & family) has been wed to the very well-born and wealthy Lord Cardross for about a year. Nell comes from a family with a lot of debt and money problems and not nearly as much social standing as Cardross. She finds Cardross absolutely charming when they first meet and (more or less) falls in love at first sight. Unfortunately, she soon learns that Cardross has a mistress and, according to her mother, is only interested in Nell so he can have a conveniently discreet and beautiful wife. This is a marriage of convenience, not a love match. And Nell should, as a polite lady of a certain class (says her mother), let Cardross have his space and not demand his attention beyond mere politeness.
So Nell, already reeling at the difficulties of managing more money than she's ever had at her disposal, and trying to fit in with a wealthier circle, has absolutely no idea that Cardross is SMITTEN with her. And, in light of his being older than Nell and essentially a stranger, he wants Nell to have her independence and space so she can get to know him (and hopefully grow to love or at least like him) at her own pace.
He has no idea that when Nell first met him, she had no idea he would propose nor how rich he was. She was just swept off her feet and went along, more sadly, with the idea of a convenient albeit loveless marriage.
The surface conflict begins when Nell, acutely aware and embarrassed of her messy spending & money management, hides a large debt from Cardross. In hiding the debt, she becomes increasingly nervous and distant, all while hijinks happen with her and her brother (who is always in debt and has creative ways of getting money in weird circumstances). Cardross, already insecure at his wife's heretofore distant behavior, begins to really believe she has only married him out of convenience and has not feeling for him whatsoever. It's a horrible situation where Nell realizes why Cardross is so upset but can't exactly fix it when she's badly in debt and will not, under any circumstances, ask for more money while professing her love.
All in all, it's a very interesting exploration of two people who do love each other but do not want to show their feelings lest they be deemed pushy. Not so much a fear of rejection as a fear of imposing oneself on the other, and then feeling the rejection all the more acutely before the actual rejection happens.
Recommended as a very angsty and also hilarious Heyer romance, accessible to anyone who likes historical fiction and character-driven conflict.
In "April Lady," Helen, Lady Cardross (aka "Nell" to her friends & family) has been wed to the very well-born and wealthy Lord Cardross for about a year. Nell comes from a family with a lot of debt and money problems and not nearly as much social standing as Cardross. She finds Cardross absolutely charming when they first meet and (more or less) falls in love at first sight. Unfortunately, she soon learns that Cardross has a mistress and, according to her mother, is only interested in Nell so he can have a conveniently discreet and beautiful wife. This is a marriage of convenience, not a love match. And Nell should, as a polite lady of a certain class (says her mother), let Cardross have his space and not demand his attention beyond mere politeness.
So Nell, already reeling at the difficulties of managing more money than she's ever had at her disposal, and trying to fit in with a wealthier circle, has absolutely no idea that Cardross is SMITTEN with her. And, in light of his being older than Nell and essentially a stranger, he wants Nell to have her independence and space so she can get to know him (and hopefully grow to love or at least like him) at her own pace.
He has no idea that when Nell first met him, she had no idea he would propose nor how rich he was. She was just swept off her feet and went along, more sadly, with the idea of a convenient albeit loveless marriage.
The surface conflict begins when Nell, acutely aware and embarrassed of her messy spending & money management, hides a large debt from Cardross. In hiding the debt, she becomes increasingly nervous and distant, all while hijinks happen with her and her brother (who is always in debt and has creative ways of getting money in weird circumstances). Cardross, already insecure at his wife's heretofore distant behavior, begins to really believe she has only married him out of convenience and has not feeling for him whatsoever. It's a horrible situation where Nell realizes why Cardross is so upset but can't exactly fix it when she's badly in debt and will not, under any circumstances, ask for more money while professing her love.
All in all, it's a very interesting exploration of two people who do love each other but do not want to show their feelings lest they be deemed pushy. Not so much a fear of rejection as a fear of imposing oneself on the other, and then feeling the rejection all the more acutely before the actual rejection happens.
Recommended as a very angsty and also hilarious Heyer romance, accessible to anyone who likes historical fiction and character-driven conflict.
wealhtheow's review against another edition
3.0
At seventeen, at her very first ball, Nell caught the eye of the rich and handsome Cardross. A worldly man who'd taken many lovers and ruled his estate for years, Cardross never expected to fall in love--but he did, and despite his misgivings about Nell's impecunious and wild family, he swiftly married her. Each of them loves the other, but is sure that they only married for convenience. This misunderstanding is made worse when Nell realizes she owes a dressmaker an astounding amount of money and tries to raise the money herself rather than go to Cardross. She doesn't want him to think she married for money, but her tense face and odd behavior just raises Cardross's suspicions. Meanwhile, Cardross's flighty little sister Letty (who is a mere year younger than Nell herself, but Nell is nevertheless supposed to control her) causes huge amounts of trouble with her desperate but stupid plans to get Mr.Allandale to marry her.
This had the makings of a more enjoyable book. If only there had been more between Nell and Cardross and far, far less of Letty. The (slightly) more mature romance gets all of three scenes together, whereas the rest of the book is basically Letty swanning around ruining everything and giggling about it. Making matters worse is the way all the male characters are at least a decade or more older than Nell and Letty, while Nell and Letty are so dumb and innocent that they don't even know what "interest" is, or that stealing valuable jewelry and selling it is a crime. The narrative and love interests often refer to how childlike and adorable this ignorance is, but it just creeped me out.
This had the makings of a more enjoyable book. If only there had been more between Nell and Cardross and far, far less of Letty. The (slightly) more mature romance gets all of three scenes together, whereas the rest of the book is basically Letty swanning around ruining everything and giggling about it. Making matters worse is the way all the male characters are at least a decade or more older than Nell and Letty, while Nell and Letty are so dumb and innocent that they don't even know what "interest" is, or that stealing valuable jewelry and selling it is a crime. The narrative and love interests often refer to how childlike and adorable this ignorance is, but it just creeped me out.
azurelunatic's review
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The main characters are more concerned with not talking to each other than they are with the love story.
threerings's review against another edition
3.0
Ok, I've finally found a Heyer novel I am less than happy with. Although I think her superpower is getting you to care about the romance, even when you can't stand the characters. So I still stayed up till almost 2 last night finishing this book. But, really, the two main characters are pretty horrible. The woman is a complete idiot who really doesn't seem to have any redeeming qualities. The entire plot is that a young bride overspends and then hides a debt with a dressmaker from her husband, becoming more and more upset about it. In short, if people just TALKED, there would be no plot. But then the husband is almost more disturbing. He starts off just being incredibly condescending to his little wife who doesn't understand money, but ends up being almost abusive. He gets more and more suspicious of her as the book goes one, accusing her of being in love with other men, and accusing her of stealing jewelry, and calling her all sorts of names. But obviously, it was really all her fault and then they fall into each other's arms. But, yeah, skeezy gender dynamics.
rosh's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0