April lady

Rating:
Summary: An amusing Regency historical
Review: Contrary to another reviewer, I absolutely enjoyed this book (then again, it is a Heyer novel). Because of its light-hearted romantic approach in the midst of "the devil's own scrape," this is one of my first recommendations to readers who I am introducing to Heyer.

Poor Cardross is in love with his wife, but doesn't know how to show it so very well. To make things worse, it's just not the thing to sit in your wife's pocket, and the servants always seem to walk in whenever he wants to display affection.

Nellie, always aware of the fact the she had to marry Cardross/his money since her family didn't have a feather to fly with, finds herself equally attached to her husband, but wondering how she can show him that it's not his money she loves (her pockets-to-let spending isn't very convincing). Due to well-meaning but careless comments from his younger sister, Nellie is aware of his past "liaisons", and figures that his current reserve may very well be due to the same.

The difference in the ages ( 30's vs. 19) accounts for much of the misunderstanding. He's a Man of the Town and she's still a bit of a green girl. She is not the cleverest of heroine's but very likable. He is not the completely rakish fellow one loves to laugh at, but the reader feels that he is indeed the strong and wise hero able to smooth over all the heroine's mistakes.

Her unwise choices create many doubts in her husband's mind that he is trying to overlook. His overlooking makes him reserved, causing Nellie to fear his final rejection. Her foolish but generous use of money has created a bit of tension, and sets them up for an amusing conflict that is carried through the book, with laughable little twists-and-turns until the end.

Also, the secondary characters - Cardross's friend and younger sister - add tons of color and wit to the story.

Rating:
Summary: An amusing Regency historical
Review: Contrary to another reviewer, I absolutely enjoyed this book (then again, it is a Heyer novel). Because of its light-hearted romantic approach in the midst of "the devil's own scrape," this is one of my first recommendations to readers who I am introducing to Heyer.

Poor Cardross is in love with his wife, but doesn't know how to show it so very well. To make things worse, it's just not the thing to sit in your wife's pocket, and the servants always seem to walk in whenever he wants to display affection.

Nellie, always aware of the fact the she had to marry Cardross/his money since her family didn't have a feather to fly with, finds herself equally attached to her husband, but wondering how she can show him that it's not his money she loves (her pockets-to-let spending isn't very convincing). Due to well-meaning but careless comments from his younger sister, Nellie is aware of his past "liaisons", and figures that his current reserve may very well be due to the same.

The difference in the ages ( 30's vs. 19) accounts for much of the misunderstanding. He's a Man of the Town and she's still a bit of a green girl. She is not the cleverest of heroine's but very likable. He is not the completely rakish fellow one loves to laugh at, but the reader feels that he is indeed the strong and wise hero able to smooth over all the heroine's mistakes.

Her unwise choices create many doubts in her husband's mind that he is trying to overlook. His overlooking makes him reserved, causing Nellie to fear his final rejection. Her foolish but generous use of money has created a bit of tension, and sets them up for an amusing conflict that is carried through the book, with laughable little twists-and-turns until the end.

Also, the secondary characters - Cardross's friend and younger sister - add tons of color and wit to the story.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable but flawed
Review: If this were anyone but Heyer, I'd probably give it 3 stars. Her ability to write vivid characters, and her sense of fun, earn this one an extra star.

I haven't checked, but I'm sure this must be one of her earlier Regencies. You can see her experimenting with characters who become archetypes, like the gamester brother, or the perfect gentleman friend who supports the heroine in her trials.

She includes some details that don't appear in later novels, hinting at the darker side of Regency society.

My biggest problem is the hero, Lord Cardross. Her heroes often have a harsh streak, but he comes across as too harsh and cold, without the humor that usually softens her heroes. He and Nell are at outs for most of the story, which doesn't help.

He's a man in his thirties, while Nell is barely nineteen, and that makes them an uneven match. And he has an unkind and ungracious habit of baiting Nell for marrying him for his money. Since she came from a noble but bankrupt family, the rules of their world dictated she didn't have a choice. He knows that as well as she does. It's unpleasant to watch him holding it over her head.

Since Cardross isn't the most sympathetic hero, it's hard to identify with Nell's love for him. She can seem like a bit of a twit. That's especially true since she's got a debt she won't tell her husband about, and all kinds of silly, frustrating scruples about how to get the money to pay it back. She's not all bad, but she reminds me of the kind of female Heyer satirized in later books.

Also strange is that we are asked to believe they both fell in love at first site, and that neither one of them has even suspected it, even though the marriage has been consummated for several months. Possible, I suppose, but not pleasant to think about.

What saves this story for me is the tempestuous Letty, Cardross' half sister and ward. She's more of a risk taker than Heyer's later young ladies. Of course she is head over heels in love with an unsuitable young man. Letty's attempts to get her own way and marry him before he sails abroad are very entertaining. The lover himself is certainly not what you'd expect.

In short, this is not Heyer at the top of her form. For the true fan it is worth collecting, and certainly worth re-reading, but not as often as her best.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best romantic COMEDIES of the Regency period
Review: Once again, Georgette Heyer takes the reader on a rambuncious ride with laughs and surpises at every twist and turn and doesn't stop until the very last page. This is a great novel for first-time readers of Regency stories, as the plot and character descriptions sweep you away even as you acclimate yourself to the idioms, mannerisms and delightful dialogue of the English Ton. One of Heyer's more outlandishly comedic novels, you will find yourself laughing at Nell's antics as she tries to settle her debts, which in and of themselves do not seem terribly outrageous but taken in the context of the time period are undoubtably hilarious. I challenge you to be able to put this one down once you realize Nell's predictament -- and wonder how it will resolve.