A Slight Change of Plans (Zebra Regency Romance)

Rating:
Summary: Great new author on the horizon!
Review: A friend of mine told me to buy this book - what a welcome surprise! I'm not usually a fan of romances - too predictable, not much more going on than boy meets and wants girl, etc. But this book had a story that was fun and twisty and made you root for the characters!

I look forward to reading more from this author - she's great!

Rating:
Summary: Regency Mystery?
Review: Lucas Pargetter, former Naval Captain, is the newly appointed Lord Worthington. The former rake, who has no interest in his noble title, is determined to uncover the mystery that surrounds the death of Edmund, the previous Lord Worthington. He befriends a local girl who inevitably ends up helping him unravel the murder plot.

For her own reasons, Penelope Lindon is somewhat wary of men. She is also wary of Lucas (Lord Worthington to her) because of his tarnished reputation. Penelope was the one who discovered the dead body of the previous Lord Worthington.

Of course, the story is much more in-depth than this. In fact, the "mystery" plot was rather entertaining. As a mystery, I'd give it 3 stars. There were plenty of twists, and Glenda Garland managed to bring some new things to the table. However, I thought the book was overloaded with characters. There were a few dialogue sessions where I thought I was reading a watered-down screenplay of Gosford Park. I lost interest a few times, and I had to re-read a few things.

As a romance, this book falls short. There is little-to-no chemistry between the characters. Their dialogue has minimal spark. They had forged a solid friendship, but I don't know if it went much further than that.

If you like mysteries, you might want to pick this up. However... I wouldn't really recommend it to someone who was looking for a good romance. Overall, 2 1/2 stars.

Rating:
Summary: Regency Mystery?
Review: Lucas Pargetter, former Naval Captain, is the newly appointed Lord Worthington. The former rake, who has no interest in his noble title, is determined to uncover the mystery that surrounds the death of Edmund, the previous Lord Worthington. He befriends a local girl who inevitably ends up helping him unravel the murder plot.

For her own reasons, Penelope Lindon is somewhat wary of men. She is also wary of Lucas (Lord Worthington to her) because of his tarnished reputation. Penelope was the one who discovered the dead body of the previous Lord Worthington.

Of course, the story is much more in-depth than this. In fact, the "mystery" plot was rather entertaining. As a mystery, I'd give it 3 stars. There were plenty of twists, and Glenda Garland managed to bring some new things to the table. However, I thought the book was overloaded with characters. There were a few dialogue sessions where I thought I was reading a watered-down screenplay of Gosford Park. I lost interest a few times, and I had to re-read a few things.

As a romance, this book falls short. There is little-to-no chemistry between the characters. Their dialogue has minimal spark. They had forged a solid friendship, but I don't know if it went much further than that.

If you like mysteries, you might want to pick this up. However... I wouldn't really recommend it to someone who was looking for a good romance. Overall, 2 1/2 stars.

Rating:
Summary: a wonderful debut
Review: Penelope Lindon was really shocked when she discovered the murdered body of her neighbour, the Marquess of Worthington one bright morning, but she never gave a thought as to how much this discovery would change her life. For the death of Edmund Pargetter meant that Edmund's rogue of a cousin, Lucas would now be the new Marquess of Worthington. A bit of a rake, Lucas had been shipped off to the navy 11 years ago when his indiscretions became too much for the family and the little community of Four Corners. Now the gentleman, who has risen to the rank of captain by his own merits, has come home to a family in shambles and an estate in disrepair. Will Lucas be able to unite his family and turn the estate around? Or will he, too, turn out to be a scoundrel just like his cousin, Edmund? Penelope is all for giving Lucas a chance to prove that he has changed and to lend a helping hand in establishing him with his wary tenants and a gossip hungry community of, but is she willing to allow the rakish, handsome and charming man access to her heart? For Lucas shows every sign of being quite the interested parti, but can Penelope who has so many responsibilities (taking care of her nephew and niece, the estate and the tenants) afford to take a chance on a one time rogue?

I really liked "A Slight Change of Plans." The novel had two main subplots: Lucas's attempts to woo Penelope, and the murder investigation. And I thought that Glenda Garland did a rather good job of merging these two subplots so that they became one seamless whole, and for allowing both plots to develop at a more sedate speed. The more sedate pacing allowed for the authour to show readers why Penelope needed to be careful and wary about her feelings for Lucas in very credible manner, and also allowed for readers to get a wider picture of how things stood and unfolded in the small community of Four Corners where many villagers were related to each other in one way or the other. And while I did think that the resolution of the mystery subplot left a little something to be desired, I did like the quiet little romance that blossomed between Penelope and Lucas. "A Slight Change of Plans" may not be to everyone's taste, but I certainly enjoyed it very much.

Rating:
Summary: Not just a romance --
Review: There have been more than a few books bearing the category title of Romance published lately that combine other elements with the romance. A SLIGHT CHANGE OF PLANS is one of the better examples of this trend, mixing a strong mystery plot along with a good bit of village life into the plot. I'd not read anything by this author previously, but will willingly read her other books.

One forgets sometimes about the deadly effects of village gossip on the inhabitants of such a small geographical area, in the days before radio, television or telephone. Many a reputation was totally ruined by word-of-mouth, whether made-up or factual stories.

If I had to find a quibble here, it might be that Penelope comes across as just too good and nice and sweet. Too nearly perfect. Of course, the cover is another problem, but that one isn't the author's fault!

Neither of those comments should discourage any reader, however. This really is an excellent, well-written, interesting and enjoyable tale of everyday life in a small village and the surrounding areas, where an unlikeable man meets an untimely death, and what happens next to his family and his neighbors, in an attempt to find out who was responsible.

Rating:
Summary: Pleasure to read
Review: Yes this first Regency by Glenda Garland was a pleasure - a balanced combination of romance and mystery.
Penelope Lindon is sketching the apparently sleeping Edmund, Lord Worthington when she discovers he is in fact dead. Most unpleasant to say the least.
Edmund's heir is his cousin Lucas, a naval Captain who had been forced into the service by his family, after some youthful wild oat sowing scandals in the neighbourhood. He did not want to be in the navy, but found his feet - now he does not want to be land-locked. He is especially hamstrung by the reputation of his youth, which has made him into a rake to be avoided at all costs. This is not helped by his cousin's own very slimy behaviour towards every female in the district, as well as his delinquencies regarding the estate. A tough introduction, especially when the neighbourhood gossips are out in full force!
Penelope is by way of being his greatest help, very much against her will - but not her attraction to him. She has been allegedly mourning the death of her betrothed some years ago at Salamanca, while also looking after her dead sister's twins, ruthlessly left in her care by her brother-in-law. Her status as permanently bereaved is however a smokescreen to protect herself from men.
These two are believable characters, drawn with enough depth to give us insight into them. Penelope is extremely wary of Lucas, due to his shockingly over the top reputation and her own resistance to the pull of his charm. Every woman appears to her to be all too easily mown down by his smile and easy manner.
Their mutual game of one step forward and two steps back is not too overdone to become annoying.
This is pulled along irresistably by the necessity of finding the murderer - as the neighbourhood has viciously decided Lucas is prime suspect (after all one vice muct breed all the rest).
One oddity, however, was the way Penelope's parents were portayed. The father was not there at all, while the mother was presented as lost in a book all the time. Most odd - and made one wonder just how did Penelope grow up so sensibly in the first place.
A good, pleasantly enjoyable read - not a nasty jolt anywhere regarding modernity.