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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
This is one of my favorite Georgette Heyer books. It makes me laugh every time I read it, even though I've read it over 15 times. This particular edition, however, isn't a very good one. There are words left out, words misspelled (tone, instead of ton), and in one place an entire clause left out of a sentence. Not very good editing, in my opinion.
adventurous
funny
I do love this book. One of my fave Heyers, probably because of that whole episode of collective baldfaced lying and cooperative shenaniganery near the end. Heavy on the sibling ensemble vibes (even if some of them are actually cousins); much lighter on the romance. A lot of fun.
Heyer-specific categories: ensemble-focused; identity shenanigans, Thrilling Adventures(TM), Younger Sibling Hijinks, This Is A Comedy To Them Too; sensible heroine, hero with Deplorable Tendency To Levity, military hero.
Heyer-specific categories: ensemble-focused; identity shenanigans, Thrilling Adventures(TM), Younger Sibling Hijinks, This Is A Comedy To Them Too; sensible heroine, hero with Deplorable Tendency To Levity, military hero.
4.75~too long. I've decided to coin this the Summer of Heyer. Gonna try and run through all of her joints before Labor Day.
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I was disappointed in this one. I couldn’t quite tell who was feeling what. When her lip quivered, was she laughing or crying? When he was horrified, was he really horrified or just pretending to be horrified? Who the hell knows?
The trick on the lieutenant on the end was just awful. They tricked him, probably resulting in action from his superiors, to keep a spoiled young man out of trouble. Am I supposed to admire that?
I did like Claud and his mother, who had some great lines. I’m used to Heyer’s flavor of “cant speak” so understood Claud but I missed a lot of Hugo’s Yorkshire speech. Since he could speak proper English, I wish he’d have done so for clarity once the joke on his family was revealed.
The trick on the lieutenant on the end was just awful. They tricked him, probably resulting in action from his superiors, to keep a spoiled young man out of trouble. Am I supposed to admire that?
I did like Claud and his mother, who had some great lines. I’m used to Heyer’s flavor of “cant speak” so understood Claud but I missed a lot of Hugo’s Yorkshire speech. Since he could speak proper English, I wish he’d have done so for clarity once the joke on his family was revealed.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
The son of a disinherited son is the next in line for family estate and title. The domineering grandfather sends for the heir to see if he can whip him in shape. The heir comes, and when faced with the prejudices of his family he plays the country yokel they think he is.
Lots of humor and by play, but also some interesting ideas on responsible parenting.
Lots of humor and by play, but also some interesting ideas on responsible parenting.
Clever and well-paced story with an interesting cast of characters and a good build to the romance (in the sense that they're attracted to each other immediately, but for various reasons the clinch gets postponed so they can take some time to flirt and hint delightfully). Five stars for the plot and characters, minus one star because this one felt more period-jargon-heavy than even most Heyers and there were some paragraphs where I could only take a vague stab as to what was meant.
Hugo is a fun main character, it is funny to see how he plays into their expectations (and prejudices) so cleverly (they regularly describe his expression as 'bovine'). Anthea quickly sees through his performances to realize he is playing along with their misinterpretation, although then she starts misreading him in the opposite direction and never takes him seriously. In general I felt like you don't get to know Anthea very well. The book mostly revolved around the smuggling storyline which I was not as interested in.
My favorite thing about Heyer's books is the sharp banter between the lead characters, but this book didn't have much of that. It was still enjoyable, more like a regular novel than the style I have come to associate with her.
My favorite thing about Heyer's books is the sharp banter between the lead characters, but this book didn't have much of that. It was still enjoyable, more like a regular novel than the style I have come to associate with her.