Reviews

This book has an intriguing premise—a mid-twenties Regency woman mistaken from her name to be a man—she is a great inventor and possibly has a device that can help turn the tide against Napoleon. The stuffy duke sent to find him (her) discovers the Merlin he is looking for is in fact a very eccentric woman who is so inside her head full of the idea of flight she scarcely registers what is happening around her. She carries a hedgehog in her pocket—now that’s pretty adorable. The upright and strictly a gentleman is concerned with her safety, which she barely acknowledges—she can’t even remember his name and his title means nothing to her—in her mind the outside world does not exist. So what’s a poor, mannered duke to do with no one there to chaperone her? Why, make love to her, of course, before the chapter’s out. So much for those morals. She’s not a simpleton—she’s brilliant and abstracted, and what does he do? He takes advantage of her naïveté. Twice. 😳 WT actual F am I reading here? This may be a good book. I just can’t go on with it starting like that. He just can’t control himself and has to have her. As Lee Mack said of Noel Fielding’s kiss on his cheek after Noel’s truly awesome performance of “Wuthering Heights” by Kate Bush, “I think I just threw up a little in my mouth.” (But Noel does look gorgeous). Also, Lee Mack and Noel Fielding have known each other for years and were actually roommates once—Noel’s performance was glorious and Lee was joking, but I wish I was about this book. Merlin and the Duke of Ramsom or whatever the heck it is are not even communicating on the same level. I am in a rut. Sort of. The Duke of Ransom certainly was. Maybe it’s an early work and I’ll give another of the author’s works a try later. Her name is familiar and maybe a newer work is better. Because I liked the blurb. It could have been awesome. Not even the hedgehog could save it, but it did make me laugh. The hedgehog deserves its own story.

anneram638's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-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

4.0

ruth's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

rlse's review against another edition

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1.0

Ok, so that took a very inappropriate turn about 3/4 through. There's manipulation and then there's gaslighting.
Edit: what am I talking about, the book started out pretty terrible

saltycaroline's review against another edition

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4.0

Included in this absolutely bonkers book:
-multiple kidnappings/kidnapping attempts
-attempted murder
-aphrodisiac (dub con)
-flying machine
-daring rescue from an exploding tower
-brief bout of amnesia
-hedgehog (wreaks havoc but also saves the day)
-big cast of delightful characters ft side romances

Highly recommend the audiobook!

CW: Sexual content, dubious consent, kidnapping, medical content, violence, infidelity

dark_siren's review against another edition

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5.0

Ransom Falconer, Duke of Damerell has come to find the inventor Merlin Lambourne. The government has been told Merlin has invented something that could be of the utmost importance to the war effort. Some hilarity ensues once he gets there and discovers that Mr. Lambourne is actually a Miss Lambourne.
Merlin has invented a few random things but she doesn't think much of them as her driving passion is to invent a flying machine. If it doesn't have to do with flying then she is pretty absentminded about it. In this case the French are coming and in order to keep her safe Ransom decides he will take her back home to Mount Falcon. (I won't say what happens after they eat an awful meal together at her home but the salt thing was pretty funny)
Enter the rest of the cast we have Merlin's pet hedgehog, her crotchety employee Thaddeus Flowerdew (he supposedly has a sick twin Theodore but we never actually see him), Ransom's mother Duchess May, sister Blythe, brother Shelby, Shelby's ex-wife Jaqueline, their son Woodrow and twin daughters Augusta and Aurelia, Reverend Edwin Peale, and Major Quinton O'Sullivan O'Toole O'Shaughnessy.
There is a lot of humor throughout the story and I enjoyed it very much.

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