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A review by agrippinaes
Miss Fellingham's Rebellion by Lynn Messina
5.0
I love Messina’s writing, and this is one of my favourite regency romances of hers. I’ve read it a few times now, and I enjoy it as much on every re-read. I find her writing style really light, funny and easy to read. She has a lovely turn of phrase and some of the book is quite funny.
The story is quite simple. There are no real shocks or twists or turns, but it’s a nice, easy to follow storyline. It’s familiarity I think is its biggest plus - you know more or less where the story is going, but how it gets you there is quite fun. The characters get up to a few scrapes and watching the romance unfold is quite sweet.
The main character, Catherine, is one of my favourites of Messina’s. She’s strong and intelligent and determined, but is also quite vulnerable. I felt sorry for her at points and how her family treated her, so it was nice to see her come out of her shell and her family realise her worth.
Deverill is a nice, charming hero. He made me think a bit of Kesgrave from Messina’s Beatrice Hyde-Clare series, but with a bit less pedanticness and a bit more cheek. I think it was clear how he was developing feelings for Catherine earlier than she realised, and it was nice to see him unravel as he began to doubt whether the feelings were returned.
Their relationship is very sweet and respectful; there’s nothing too steamy here, but the scenes there are well-written and they have good chemistry. One point I thought was interesting is that on this reread I did notice shades of the Beatrice Hyde-Clare books in this one - this isn't a criticism, but the personality of Catherine and her story of gaining confidence etc. is quite similar to Bea; Deverill is quite similar to Kesgrave in a lot of ways; Catherine's family made me think of the Hyde-Clares (except there was a little sister, the father was a selfish gambler, and the mother was a softer character than Aunt Vera), plus the side story of Lady Courtland made me think of Lady Abercrombie. It was just interesting to me.
There’s not much I don’t like about this book. If I had any complaint it’s that I would prefer a bit more depth to the relationship; it happens very quickly and as it is what I would call a ‘clean’ romance (not that I like the term personally!) there’s not a lot of heat here. Personal preference, I would have liked a bit more, but again - it’s not that kind of book, and I love it anyway.
I would recommend it if you like sweet regency romances with a bit of drama and a sense of humour.
Content Warnings:, mild violence.
Separate warning for very mild OW drama
The story is quite simple. There are no real shocks or twists or turns, but it’s a nice, easy to follow storyline. It’s familiarity I think is its biggest plus - you know more or less where the story is going, but how it gets you there is quite fun. The characters get up to a few scrapes and watching the romance unfold is quite sweet.
The main character, Catherine, is one of my favourites of Messina’s. She’s strong and intelligent and determined, but is also quite vulnerable. I felt sorry for her at points and how her family treated her, so it was nice to see her come out of her shell and her family realise her worth.
Deverill is a nice, charming hero. He made me think a bit of Kesgrave from Messina’s Beatrice Hyde-Clare series, but with a bit less pedanticness and a bit more cheek. I think it was clear how he was developing feelings for Catherine earlier than she realised, and it was nice to see him unravel as he began to doubt whether the feelings were returned.
Their relationship is very sweet and respectful; there’s nothing too steamy here, but the scenes there are well-written and they have good chemistry. One point I thought was interesting is that on this reread I did notice shades of the Beatrice Hyde-Clare books in this one - this isn't a criticism, but the personality of Catherine and her story of gaining confidence etc. is quite similar to Bea; Deverill is quite similar to Kesgrave in a lot of ways; Catherine's family made me think of the Hyde-Clares (except there was a little sister, the father was a selfish gambler, and the mother was a softer character than Aunt Vera), plus the side story of Lady Courtland made me think of Lady Abercrombie. It was just interesting to me.
There’s not much I don’t like about this book. If I had any complaint it’s that I would prefer a bit more depth to the relationship; it happens very quickly and as it is what I would call a ‘clean’ romance (not that I like the term personally!) there’s not a lot of heat here. Personal preference, I would have liked a bit more, but again - it’s not that kind of book, and I love it anyway.
I would recommend it if you like sweet regency romances with a bit of drama and a sense of humour.
Content Warnings:
Spoiler
BlackmailSpoiler
The heroine’s younger sister - I think she’s about 18 - is blackmailed into an engagement by a man. The man is lecherous towards her in when describing his motivations for the blackmail, and it’s just a bit creepy.Separate warning for very mild OW drama