The Trouble With Harry

Rating:
Summary: Another fun historical Romance by MacAlister
Review: "Plum" is a 30+ year old single woman who has many secrets. She is the secret author of "Connubial Calisthenics" and she was embroiled in a scandal years ago which has made her one wish in life to have children look like it will never happen. Not only is she getting to old to have children but no one will let her forget the scandal. Years earlier she had married a man she was in love in only to find out after six weeks that he was already married to another. This makes society "the ton" decide that she was his mistress.

Marques Harry Haversham is a 40+ year old widow with five "hellion" children. He decided that he needs a wife to keep him company and to help raise his children. Feeling that it would be a waste of time to spend a season trying to find someone that would fit him he decided to put an add in a local paper for a wife.

Plum is the 33rd applicant and it is decided that they will be wed the next day.

After they marry, Plum learns that Harry is a Marques and that he doesn't want any more children. She is so taken aback she tosses him out of her room on their wedding night. But, the next morning she has realized that she has just as many secret. When she reveals them to Harry she is surprised that they don't seem to worry him. In fact their attention is immediately drawn to the fact that the children seem to be more than a little accident prone. When they are almost run down by a carriage and Harry's godson is there to see that the driver had not really been passed out, they both come together and try to determine who is trying to hurt their family.

As usual this was a fun and lighthearted offering from MacAlister. You even get to see a couple of characters from her earlier books. Her writing and "spunky" character continue to keep me waiting for her next book.


Rating:
Summary: Another Winner!!
Review: A wonderful, funny and touching story by Katie MacAlister. Besides getting to know Harry and Plum, there is the pleasure of revisiting Noble and his son Nick. Also Plum's niece Thom is a delight. Harry's staff including his overenthusiastic butler is also a well rounded cast. After finishing The Trouble With Harry you will be left with a smile on your face and a yearning to have Nick's and Thom's story.

Rating:
Summary: I want more historicals Katie!!!
Review: Don't get me wrong, I love Katie Macalister's contemporaries but she's a breath of fresh air with her historicals. It's so nice to read a historical with such a great sense of humor and such strong and fiesty female leads.

Harry needs a wife. He's got five out of control children and is in desperate need of a woman to run his household and, er, attend to his needs. Enter Plum, a woman who's been ruined by her first husband over 20 years before. She's also the mysterious author of a very racy sex book. Both the romantic leads are over 40, something that pleased me compared to books with 19 year old women married to 35 year old men.

Of course, this being a Macalister book, silly hijinks ensue, the kids are wild, the household staff are a wild assortment from the lothario butler to the bodyguard footmen and Harry and Plum engage in all manner of bedroom gymnastics with great energy and creativity. Plum is no pushover and even when it becomes obvious that someone is out to harm her new family, she does not waver. You gotta love the heroine who doesn't wilt at the first difficulty. You also have to love Harry for loving Plum so much.

All in all, The Trouble with Harry is an amazingly entertaining read that will supply plenty of laughs and more than a little heat between Plum and Harry.

Rating:
Summary: MacAlister is Totally Delightful
Review: Harry, the Marquis Rosse is a 45 year old widower with five precocious and lively children who are rapidly driving him insane. When his 13 year old daughter, Lady India, comes to him demanding an explanation on the reasons behind her bleeding, he knows he is in way over his head and must make the ultimate sacrifice -- find himself a woman to be both wife and mother to his brood of hellions. Having his fill of society females, he placed an ad in the "Rams Bottom Gazette" so that no one would really know that he was a marquis. This way, he would sort out the women looking for rich man and find a woman who liked children (not that he wanted any more) but would also be a bedmate for Harry.

Twenty years ago, Frederica Pelham (Plum) had been married for 6 weeks to a man who neglected to tell her he already had a wife. Upon discovering his deception, his family sent him to the continent, Plum's family disowned her over the `scandal' she caused! Plum's life was ruined, she was disowned with barely enough to live on. With few options left to her, and more than enough unsavory offers of protection, she retired to the country where she penned the highly popular but controversial "Guide to Connubial Calisthenics" under the pen name of Vyvyan La Bleu. The book was so controversial (yet ordered by most of the ton) that it was even banned by the government. Really needing some security, not only for herself but for her orphaned niece, and wanting a child of her own, Plum rationaled that she was not really lying about her past, but just an omitting some of the truths.

This was a hilariously funny tale of two middle-aged people who take their bedsport to a new level. Harry's accident-prone children are a trip whose non-stop antics enliven and grace the pages with joy and laughter! Along with a superb secondary cast of unforgettable characters from the entertaining and irreverent Spanish butler Juan, to Harry's rapscallion brood of hellions - India, Digger, McTavis and twins Andrew and Anne -- who do their best to drive Plum crazy the reader should find themselves howling on the floor with straight from the gut belly laughs. Bottom Line - For outrageous fun in a can't put it down rapid page-turner delight from start to finish - look no further than this gem by Katie Macalister! (...)


Rating:
Summary: Not sure about this one! Some comments ............
Review: I am not sure what Katie MacAlister was trying to achieve with this novel. Others have summed up the plot so I'd rather just give some comments.

Yes, it's an amusing story. The concept of our heroine having written a Guide to Connubial Calisthenics was quite unusual and clever but never really added much to the character of Plum except to give her some surprising sexual tastes and knowledge. Our heroine was, I am afraid, rather two dimensional and, as one reviewer has said, her actions and overall character were terribly inconsistent. Harry was amusing - how nice to have a hero wearing spectacles but as a real, genuine man (and father), he was totally unbelieveable.

Was this meant to be a regency historical? If so, I could not find a single sentence that fixed the timeframe. The story and characters could have been from any genre timeframe you care to mention as there was no narrative description to speak of.

All in all, the child characters were so over-drawn that they were beyond even farce - they were simply irritating. Too bad because I quite like a story with naughty children but Barbara Mezger could have done them much better.

I won't be put off by this author but I do nonetheless feel that the ecstatic rave reviews were a bit surprising. Not enough meat to the story, characters that were, in the end, non-engaging, and nothing here to indicate this was a regency-set story. The author's prose is reasonably good and she obviously has a great imagination but as a sum of its parts, this book just was not memorable for me.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully written!
Review: I couldn't put this book down, simply outstanding. The characters were wonderful and I love how it went with the a-typical...a more mature relationship started in the most unusual way...through a newspaper advertisement. Strongly recommend this story. I plan on reading more of Katie's works.

Rating:
Summary: The best Katie Macalister yet!
Review: I love Katie Macalisters fun books. And this has to be the best one yet. I loved Men in Kilts and Improper English, but this has to top them. I simply adored Harry!

Harry and his children and Plum are just so endearing! I am looking forward to Thom and Nick's tale. Soon please please please!

Rating:
Summary: So so..
Review: It seems that I have a love hate relationship with Katie McAlister. I absolutely couldn't stand her vampire novels but on the other hand, I absolutely loved The Corset Diaries. The Trouble with Harry is very clear from the beginning - Plum. I couldn't stand the main character. She lacked consistency, at times completely self involved and delusional and at others selfless and matronly. I got no true sense of who she was because she never developed completely. I gave the book two stars because the plot was interesting, but the mystery only remains a mystery because MacAlister witholds information from the reader. The children were a bright spot, and incredibly funny. All in all not the worst book I've ever read, but I probably won't be rereading it.

Rating:
Summary: Katie's back with another witty tale!
Review: Katie Macalister is one of the most delightful (and prolific) writers in Romance today. She is not Shakespeare, but then I, for one, thank goodness for that! We already have old Will. When I want the Scottish Play, I blow the dust of my very ancient copies and read it. When I want sheer fun, I look to Lynsay Sands and Katie Macalister. I love British humour (works out nice since I am Scot!), but that dry wit is often missing in the works of a lot of American writers. I am not talking about highbrow humour, but that you-can't-help-but-howl-aloud Benny Hill wacko laughs! The kind that has your erupting with buffos, has people looking at you as if you have gone around the bend one too many times, the kind that has your husband exiling you from the living room while he is trying to watch CASI because you are making too much noise. Many writers can provoke a giggle. Few make me laugh so hard I hurt. There is nothing more special a writer can do for you. They leave you feeling good all over.

And Trouble With Harry is a sheer delight from page one! One of my favourite Hitchcock movies carries this name. It was deadpan humour that was just so on target, so it's not surprising to find this book is the same. It's a delightful Regency - and from the opening scene where beleaguered Harry is trying to explain the facts of "womanhood" to his eldest daughter - you are already laughing out loud!

The Trouble with Harry, 45-years-old- is a father, coming to parenthood late in life. There in little India - no longer the little angel sent to grace her life since she is in urgent need to know about the birds and the bees, the twins trying to "fly" from the barn roof again, Marston - Harry's heir - who thinks he would rather be a blacksmith than the next Marquis Rosse, and MacTavish who presents his father dear with his latest "finds". Harry, left to raise his five hellions...um, precocious darlings on his own, faces the decision he has to remarry, find a good stable woman who can bring some semblance to his chaotic life. Being a smart man, he immediately instructs Templeton, his man of affairs to find him a suitable wife by advertising for one.

He would like a companion suited to him, and one who could bring peace to his herd, so he wants Templeton to move quickly before word gets out Lord Harry needs a wife. He dictates he wants a woman between 35-50, who must like children and be possesses a "certain charm to her appearance", though it's not absolutely necessary. While she might not have to be toothsome, he would like to look at her and not think of a bulldog!

Enters Plum. She desperately wants a family, would love children, but no man in all of Dorset would accept her "after the scandal" - well, no man except Harry. She was married once, well almost married. Charles her husband, forgot to mention one little thing before their marriage - that he already had a wife! But Plum is understanding and does not judge all men by Charles. Also, she is an author of "The Guide to Connubial Calisthenics" - a book deemed so obscene to be banned by the government. Plum answers the ad in the paper and is shocked to find after answering three questions that Harry and she are engaged to be married the day after tomorrow. And the fun begins.

Katie Macalister gives us a wonderful, funny tale of middle-age people who think romance has past them by. Three cheers for Macalister and let's hope she keeps them coming! No one does them quite like her!

Rating:
Summary: Katie's back with more brilliantly witty fun!
Review: Katie Macalister is one of the most delightful (and prolific) writers in Romance today. She is not Shakespeare, but then I, for one, thank goodness for that! We already have old Will. When I want the Scottish Play, I blow the dust of my very ancient copies and read it. When I want sheer fun, I look to Lynsay Sands and Katie Macalister. I love British humor (works out nice since I am Scot!), but that dry wit is often missing in the works of a lot of American writers. I am not talking about highbrow humor, but that you-can't-help-but-howl-aloud Benny Hill wacko laughs! The kind that has your erupting with buffos, has people looking at you as if you have gone around the bend one too many times, the kind that has your husband exiling you from the living room while he is trying to watch CSI because you are making too much noise. Many writers can provoke a giggle. Few make me laugh so hard I hurt. There is nothing more special a writer can do for you. They leave you feeling good all over.

And Trouble With Harry is a sheer delight from page one! One of my favorite Hitchcock movies carries this name. It was deadpan humor that was just so on target, so it's not surprising to find this book is the same. It's a delightful Regency - and from the opening scene where beleaguered Harry is trying to explain the facts of "womanhood" to his eldest daughter - you are already laughing out loud!

The Trouble with Harry, 45-years-old- is a father, coming to parenthood late in life. There in little India - no longer the little angel sent to grace her life since she is in urgent need to know about the birds and the bees, the twins trying to "fly" from the barn roof again, Marston - Harry's heir - who thinks he would rather be a blacksmith than the next Marquis Rosse, and MacTavish who presents his father dear with his latest "finds". Harry, left to raise his five hellions...um, precocious darlings on his own, faces the decision he has to remarry, find a good stable woman who can bring some semblance to his chaotic life. Being a smart man, he immediately instructs Templeton, his man of affairs to find him a suitable wife by advertising for one.

He would like a companion suited to him, and one who could bring peace to his herd, so he wants Templeton to move quickly before word gets out Lord Harry needs a wife. He dictates he wants a woman between 35-50, who must like children and be possesses a "certain charm to her appearance", though it's not absolutely necessary. While she might not have to be toothsome, he would like to look at her and not think of a bulldog!

Enters Plum. She desperately wants a family, would love children, but no man in all of Dorset would accept her "after the scandal" - well, no man except Harry. She was married once, well almost married. Charles her husband, forgot to mention one little thing before their marriage - that he already had a wife! But Plum is understanding and does not judge all men by Charles. Also, she is an author of "The Guide to Connubial Calisthenics" - a book deemed so obscene to be banned by the government. Plum answers the ad in the paper and is shocked to find after answering three questions that Harry and she are engaged to be married the day after tomorrow. And the fun begins.

Katie Macalister gives us a wonderful, funny tale of middle-age people who think romance has past them by. Three cheers for Macalister and let's hope she keeps them coming! No one does them quite like her!