RomanticLeads Recommendations and reviews of romantic fiction
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RomanticLeads Recommendations and reviews of romantic fiction
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August 1999 REGENCY ENGLAND has to be the most common historical setting in the Romance genre. Traditional Regency Romance is a much tamer cousin to the scrappy, and usually racy historical romance. A quick perusal of the Internet indicates a general obsession with the era. In fact, a recent foray into the on-line world resulted in my acquiring A Regency Sampler and a renewed interest in a favourite time period. A Regency Sampler Fantasy to mystery with scads of tiny, traditional romances, this compilation is a highly entertaining package of surprises. Of course, for the romances it was cut to the chase but that’s the best part. A Regency Sampler is the top-ranked short stories in a web-based writing contest (sold through regency_press.com or books.com). Overall, an amazing amount of plot was tightly packed into each entry. Of particular note was A Singular Woman by Nina Caron Davis, a tender tale of a courtesan in love. Additionally, the two mysteries, An Unusual Correspondence by Susan McDuffie and Milady’s Murderer by Sarah Starr were creative and enjoyable. An Unusual Correspondence relies solely on the reading of letters between two young women. Milady’s Murderer is a first person account of a butler who might have done it. Truly a smashing trip, A Regency Sampler will tweak favourable memories about this genre. It certainly sparked my re-immersion in the Byronic world of debutantes and good ton. Swept Away Another all-star novel from Candace Camp, Swept Away is a sexy story of revenge gone awry. Julia Arminger has been shunned by society but is determined to prove her late-brother innocent of embezzlement by exposing his accuser as the criminal. Deverel Grey, Lord Stonehaven has one weakness, beautiful women. The stunning Julia decides to use temptation to trap Stonehaven by making him so comfortable with being with her that he confesses. Although he is drawn to this seductress bent on destroying him, Stonehaven is a man of honour. And it seems that Julia also has one weakness, Stonehaven. Julia is a seductress ill suited to cold vengeance _ hot blooded vengeance is quite another matter. This is the wordy equivalent to an invigorating gallop across rolling hills. Birds of a Feather The shallowness of society is highlighted in this odd little story of a dandy and a ladies companion. No one but their closest friends can see what callous, fashionable Lord Sedgewick Wylie and dowdy Joanna Patterson have in common. As successor to Lord Byron, Sedgewick plays the part of nasty arbiter of social acceptability and he belittles stuttering, graceless Joanna. Lane pulls off an interesting redemption of this villainous hero with a coy reminder that complex human beings hide behind society’s masks. Siege of Hearts The story of an injured war veteran falling for the homely twin of “the season’s beauty”, Siege of Hearts has a nice, realistic hero and heroine, but not much else. Amanda Garfield knows she’s no match for her sister but cannot help her admiration for Lord Jack Maitland. When they are accidentally found in a compromising position during a storm, she cannot credit Jack’s admiration for her. To salvage their reputations, Jack woos Amanda, which turns out to be a fairly arduous proposition. The misunderstanding eavesdropper and the plain-Jane turned incomparable are overused plot ploys. June Calvin is usually better. Janine Taylor is a Halifax writer. She can be reached at romanticleads@hotmail.com -30- Copyright © 1999 Janine Taylor |
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