The Story
From the back of the book:
A most unusual hero
Freddy is immensely rich, of course, and not bad-looking, but he’s mild-mannered, a bit hapless – not anything like his virile, handsome, rakish cousin Jack…A heroine in a difficult situation
Young Kitty Charing stands to inherit a vast fortune from her irascible and eccentric guardian – provided she marries one of his great-nephews…A sham betrothal
No sooner does Kitty arrive in London then the race for her hand begins, but between confirmed rakes and bumbling affections, Kitty needs a daring scheme.
The Response
Read this while in England. Figures that just after having a conversation about how much I loved the fact that Heyer’s heroes all happen to be rakes, as opposed to Austen’s books where the rakes never get the girl, that the hero is this one is most certainly 100% NOT a rake and that the guy who doesn’t get the girl is. But it suited this story oh-so-much!
Best part about this book was by far Kitty’s cousin, Lord Dolphinton. He hid in closets when he thought someone was entering the room that he didn’t like. He hid under tables. He was utterly miserable because he was coerced into courting Kitty (even though Kitty had no desire to marry him). Did I mention that he hid in closets?? (Dolph actually reminded me a little bit, in tone, of the wonderful and hilarious Bertie Wooster. And that is a VERY good thing.)
The blossoming romance and love between Kitty and Freddy is definitely a wonderful addition to this book. (Yes, I realize it’s supposed to be the main story, but, really, Dolphinton stole the show.) It’s cute and unlike some stories where the romance sort of pops out at you at the end of the book, you can really see the development of feelings between Kitty and Freddy. It’s so cute!
The Bottom Line
This one was utterly hilarious – one of the more funny of Heyer’s books that I’ve read so far. I feel like I’ve said this about almost every other one of her books that I’ve read, but this is one of my favourite Heyers so far. Highly recommended.
Other Reviews
Dear Author, Becky’s Book Reviews, Genre Reviews, Sassymonkey Reads, S. Krishna’s Books, A Work in Progress. Have you reviewed this book on your blog? Let me know and I’ll add your link.
This is one of my absolute favorite Heyers, too. So many fantastic lines! I love Freddy and his fabulous trains of thought. I love his parents, too. Just an adorably sweet book, and I agree about Dolph :-)
Aarti
October 8th, 2011 at 11:07 pm
This was my first Heyer, but most definitely not my last!
Marg
October 11th, 2011 at 11:26 pm
Aarti – Oh yes! Fantastic lines! :)
Marg – Haha, I’m happy your first introduction to Heyer was such a good one then!
Court
October 12th, 2011 at 2:47 pm