Under a Lucky Star

Rating:
Summary: Vanilla pudding!
Review: This was a very nice book, but I felt it was like vanilla pudding--bland and easy to swallow. I feel it was okay, but the characters just never came to life for me. I thought the premise was a good one. I had read Under a Wishing Star and liked that book better. I think it was Cynthia's character that I really didn't care for. I know she had her reasons for behaving the way she did and she did make a turn for the better, but I felt it came too late. I know it did for me, because I was just reading the book to finish it by then. There was nothing bad about this book, but there was nothing to make it stand out. I do feel that the author has a lot of talent. I would like to see her really hit a home one with her next book. I feel she could do it and forget about the pudding.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: I loved this book the characters are very well drawn and perfect for each other. Its gotten great reviews all over the web so I picked it up and thought it was great. I'm a sucker for love at 1st sight and this was the best depiction of that I have seen, Farr really made it belivable, which is hard to do. Also the heroine is the type of heroine who usuually makes you roll your eyes, wishy washy, with heroines like this you usually wish she'd just get a clue and go be with the hero, but the author showed us all the reasons for her behavior and made me sympathisize and root for her. Very well done and the hero is to die for.

Rating:
Summary: a Keeper for me
Review: I loved this book. So far I've liked everything by Farr but this one really hit all the right chords. Memorable characters, lovely prose, poignant story, great fantasy. Including the comeuppance for the "villain" of the piece toward the end which I thought was perfect. Very satisfying on many levels. What I think this author does best is she leaves you smiling at the end of every book, but she does it a different way every time. I can't understand why some people who post reviews admit in the reviews that they haven't even read the book. Lots of us have Farr on our auto-buy list. I guess I'm just a fan, but I read a lot of romance and I think this author is something special. I recommend this book for anyone looking for a really good read that will leave you with a smile on your face.

Rating:
Summary: Mediocre at best
Review: I picked this book up because of the recent reviews but I have to say that it is mediocre at best. It starts out well but by the middle goes downhill. It just didn't hold my interest at all. I couldn't even finish it. I didn't care if they got together or not. The main characters where pretty one-dimentional. I give it three stars for drawing me in at the beginning. Maybe one day I'll go back and finish it. Maybe. Also, one thing that really annoys(sp) me is when I'm reading a Regency-era book and it's filled with contractions!).

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic regency
Review: In 1803, a bored Derek Whittaker wanders around the theater when he meets Lady Cynthia Fitzwilliam. He rescues her from her suitor Sir James Filey and the two soon share a delightful kiss before she returns to her family's box. A few days later, Cynthia, the daughter of an Earl, snubs Derek, a landless secretary. Not long afterward her parents announce that Cynthia and James will marry.

Three yeas later, Derek now owns property. He travels to visit his pregnant sister, but is distraught to find Cynthia and her mother there. Since James died before she married him, Cynthia's new target is a young wealthy lord. However, Derek realizes that he still loves Cynthia and believes she feels the same way. Now if she would only show the backbone to rid herself of her family of leeches that blame their poverty on her not their gambling father.

Regency romance readers will delight in Diane Farr's UNDER A LUCKY STAR. The story line stars an atypical female protagonist who seems to reflect the era more than the usual fiery independent in your face heroine. Instead Cynthia is under the thumb of her mother and is responsible for taking care of her family by marrying money. Only love and the desperate urging of Derek and her best friend give Cynthia the courage to go after what she desires while providing sub-genre fans with a great treat.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic regency
Review: In 1803, a bored Derek Whittaker wanders around the theater when he meets Lady Cynthia Fitzwilliam. He rescues her from her suitor Sir James Filey and the two soon share a delightful kiss before she returns to her family's box. A few days later, Cynthia, the daughter of an Earl, snubs Derek, a landless secretary. Not long afterward her parents announce that Cynthia and James will marry.

Three yeas later, Derek now owns property. He travels to visit his pregnant sister, but is distraught to find Cynthia and her mother there. Since James died before she married him, Cynthia's new target is a young wealthy lord. However, Derek realizes that he still loves Cynthia and believes she feels the same way. Now if she would only show the backbone to rid herself of her family of leeches that blame their poverty on her not their gambling father.

Regency romance readers will delight in Diane Farr's UNDER A LUCKY STAR. The story line stars an atypical female protagonist who seems to reflect the era more than the usual fiery independent in your face heroine. Instead Cynthia is under the thumb of her mother and is responsible for taking care of her family by marrying money. Only love and the desperate urging of Derek and her best friend give Cynthia the courage to go after what she desires while providing sub-genre fans with a great treat.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't bear to read it all
Review: It was slow, the heroine was annoying, and the hero not memorable. After 4-5 chapters, I skipped to the end to see how they got together. It, too, was nothing apecial.

Not much of a review, but it wasn't much of a book either.

Rating:
Summary: Love this Author!
Review: Once again Diane Farr has created a wonderful and entertaining story. Farr's storytelling ability is exceptional as she has the ability to keep the reader's attention with her witty and humorous dialog. I have read all of her books and found each one to be entertaining, but not repetitious. I look forward to more works from this delightful author.

Rating:
Summary: a gem of a read
Review: The lovely Lady Cynthia Fitzwilliam (also known as 'Frost Fair' because of her excessive icy reserve) was only seventeen when her parents launched her on London society, with the stern admonishment that she reserve all her charms for her excessive rich suitors. In fact, Lady Cynthia's mother, Lady Ballymere, has already set upon the repulsive, but rich, Sir James Filey as a potential husband for Lady Cynthia. But one magical night, Lady Cynthia meets Derek Whittaker at the opera. Handsome, honourable and kind, Derek is everything that Sir James is not, and fits Lady Cynthia's notion of what the ideal husband should be. But Derek is also poor, and knowing full well that her parents will never countenance Derek as a potential suitor, the dutiful Lady Cynthia deliberately cuts him out of her life even though the deed costs her a lot of pain and anguish. Now, three years later, Derek and Lady Cynthia meet again at Oldham Park, the Duke of Oldham's family estate. Derek is visiting his heavily pregnant sister, Natalie (Natalie's married to Lord Malcolm, the duke's younger son), while Lady Cynthia and her mother are guests of Lady Hannah (the duke's granddaughter & Lord Malcolm's niece). And while Lady Cynthia feels quite overwrought about meeting Derek again, esp after their painful parting, she's nevertheless quite surprised to find that the feelings he aroused in her is still there and as strong as ever. But her mother wants her to snare yet another rich young man. Suddenly the dutiful Lady Cynthia is filled with rebellious thoughts about fulfilling her own needs and desires. Can a young lady who has spent years bending towards her mother's will suddenly rebel? And does Derek still care for her, or has she destroyed whatever tender feelings he ever had for her? For a meek young lady used to doing whatever her mother has told her to do, Lady Cynthia is going to have to do some hard thinking about her future, and whether or not Derek and love will have any part in it...

"Under a Lucky Star" is a follow-up to "Under a Wishing Star;" and again Diane Farr has penned another quiet little gem of a Regency-era romance novel. While the story is a very simple one with very few frills and fancies, Ms Farr's vivid portrayal of the love and attraction that bounds Lady Cynthia and Derek together is affecting and is what makes this novel an engrossing read. Will the Lady Cynthia and Derek be successful in their quest for a happily ever-after ending or will Lady Ballymere thwart them at the very end? Even though this is a romance novel and we know that a happily ever-after ending is ensured, there were a few suspenseful moments when I really did wonder about how this sought after ending would be achieved! Another thing that made this novel a fresh and compelling read was Ms Farr's wonderful portrayal of Lady Cynthia. Lady Cynthia as a heroine may not be everyone's cup of tea. She's almost too passive and gives in to her mother's demands at almost every turn. On the other hand the authour's portrayal of the heroine is very accurate and in keeping with what she's was trying to convey: the anguish an obedient and dutiful child would have to face as she tries to balance her own needs and desires with the needs and wants of her parents. And Lady Cynthia's moments of rebellion, when they came, were most welcome.

While not everyone may appreciate this quiet little gem, readers who enjoy character driven novels that are smoothly paced and intelligently executed will indeed enjoy "Under a Lucky Star."

Rating:
Summary: bland
Review: The romance was only so-so and the Cynthia's mother along with Cynthia's coldness was just not interesting. I was glad to see the story take place when Derek was a bit older as well as Cynthia and was best pleased by the return of Natalie and Malcolm. I liked the setting at the Duke's estate awaiting for the baby to be born. I enjoyed their return but that only heightened, for me, the blandness of Derek and Cynthia compared with Nat and Malcolm. Also, what ever happened to Derek's and Natalie's Mom? She was in the last book - where did she go? And what happened to Hector and his wife and their new baby? I felt these things should have been included to make this story more well rounded. I had no problem with Derek and Cynthia in the Orange room anticipating their marriage vows. For a regency, that is not typical but it was a nice surprise in an otherwise bland so-so book. I notice that this is a star trilogy and I wonder who is next and last up in this trilogy but I hope whoever it is, it is more entertaining!