Call Down the Moon

Rating:
Summary: My favorite Kingsley book
Review: Call Down the Moon is a wonderful, witty, funny, and devastatingly emotional book. The characters are very sympathetic. I really felt for Meggie in her fear of letting Hugo know she is a lucid and intelligent woman, and for Hugo in his fear of letting Meggie know about his need for her fortune. This book also provides a lesson in perception, similar to Mary Jo Putney in her book The Wild Child; Hugo's reactions to realizing that Meggie is normal and in learning the truth about his childhood are very touching. The emotions building between the two main characters are utterly believable and extremely palpable. It was from reading Call Down the Moon that I purchased all of Katherine Kingsley's books, but this one will still be her best in my eyes.

Rating:
Summary: Ok book, redeemed by interesting heroine and plot device...
Review: I have to confess from the outset that I am not usually fond of paranormal Regencies, although I have made the occasional exception here and there. So, if you don't like paranormal elements, this might not be the book for you. CALL DOWN THE MOON has a wonderful title (appropriate given both the heroine's supposed insanity and her strange pet); it has a fascinating heroine and some wonderfully zany relatives and servants. So what is wrong? The hero. If you don't like heros who behave irresponsibly through most of the book, this is not the book for you. While Hugo (brother of the Duke who appears as the hero in ONCE UPON A DREAM) is a scapegrace, a gambler who has wasted his inheritance, and who cold-bloodedly plans to marry an apparently crazy heiress for her heir, he is not actually as bad as he seems. Kingsley does a fine job in showing how addicts can be tempted easily, especially by supposed friends. Hugo's decision to court someone he believes to be insane and illegitimate is a result of his succumbing to temptation. I found this plot device both interesting and believable.

What I found hard to take was that the heroine would fall hopelessly in love with him, despite his belief that she was both insane and a dimwit. And I also found his wilful blindness to her sanity, her intelligence and all her excellent qualities hard to take. This is Hugo's book, but we do learn a bit more about his family, including the cause of his father's suicide and the effect it has had on the survivors. [Contrary to what some reviewers wrote, we also learn a bit more about Raphael and Lucy]. I read this book first, and I have to admit that I had an entirely different picture of the way Raphael courted Lucy...

A good read, but with a rather flawed hero. And, as others have pointed out, there is no assurance that Hugo has learned that he will never be entirely free from gambling, nor has he learned to fully appreciate his wife. I thought this novel badly needed an epilogue, showing that he had indeed reformed, learned to deal with his gambling addiction, and also learned to treat his wife as an equal.

Rating:
Summary: Ok book, redeemed by interesting heroine and plot device...
Review: I have to confess from the outset that I am not usually fond of paranormal Regencies, although I have made the occasional exception here and there. So, if you don't like paranormal elements, this might not be the book for you. CALL DOWN THE MOON has a wonderful title (appropriate given both the heroine's supposed insanity and her strange pet); it has a fascinating heroine and some wonderfully zany relatives and servants. So what is wrong? The hero. If you don't like heros who behave irresponsibly through most of the book, this is not the book for you. While Hugo (brother of the Duke who appears as the hero in ONCE UPON A DREAM) is a scapegrace, a gambler who has wasted his inheritance, and who cold-bloodedly plans to marry an apparently crazy heiress for her heir, he is not actually as bad as he seems. Kingsley does a fine job in showing how addicts can be tempted easily, especially by supposed friends. Hugo's decision to court someone he believes to be insane and illegitimate is a result of his succumbing to temptation. I found this plot device both interesting and believable.

What I found hard to take was that the heroine would fall hopelessly in love with him, despite his belief that she was both insane and a dimwit. And I also found his wilful blindness to her sanity, her intelligence and all her excellent qualities hard to take. This is Hugo's book, but we do learn a bit more about his family, including the cause of his father's suicide and the effect it has had on the survivors. [Contrary to what some reviewers wrote, we also learn a bit more about Raphael and Lucy]. I read this book first, and I have to admit that I had an entirely different picture of the way Raphael courted Lucy...

A good read, but with a rather flawed hero. And, as others have pointed out, there is no assurance that Hugo has learned that he will never be entirely free from gambling, nor has he learned to fully appreciate his wife. I thought this novel badly needed an epilogue, showing that he had indeed reformed, learned to deal with his gambling addiction, and also learned to treat his wife as an equal.

Rating:
Summary: I laughed aloud
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this comedy of misunderstandings. The hero talks down to the heroine because he assumes she is mad; she talks down to him because it's what men expect. I enjoyed this new twist on the usual romance formula. It's not perfect, but it's fun.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting
Review: In "Call Down the Moon," Kingsley portrays an unlikely love between an orphaned girl with a supernatural ability and an irresponsible aristocrat facing potential ruin from excessive living. Hugo Montagu is trying to reform and get his life together. But like many gambling addicts, Hugo finds it hard not to go back to his old ways. Circumstances eventually force him to find a way to recoup his losses, which leads to Meggie Bloom. He convinces her that he wants to marry her because he fell in love with her at first sight. Meggie, who is very sheltered and naive, believes him. Meggie believes in Hugo's noble character which helps him to reform. He eventually falls in love with her, but is afraid of his lies catching up with him. Thus, the stage is set for discoveries of betrayal, reconciliation and eventually, the happy ending (which is why we read this stuff, right?).
The supernatural factor adds an interesting sub-plot. I admit that I had to suspend my disbelief at some of the "coincidences" in the book. But I enjoyed Hugo and Meggie's blooming romance because I found myself cheering for Hugo to become the better man and truly deserve Meggie's love.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting
Review: In "Call Down the Moon," Kingsley portrays an unlikely love between an orphaned girl with a supernatural ability and an irresponsible aristocrat facing potential ruin from excessive living. Hugo Montagu is trying to reform and get his life together. But like many gambling addicts, Hugo finds it hard not to go back to his old ways. Circumstances eventually force him to find a way to recoup his losses, which leads to Meggie Bloom. He convinces her that he wants to marry her because he fell in love with her at first sight. Meggie, who is very sheltered and naive, believes him. Meggie believes in Hugo's noble character which helps him to reform. He eventually falls in love with her, but is afraid of his lies catching up with him. Thus, the stage is set for discoveries of betrayal, reconciliation and eventually, the happy ending (which is why we read this stuff, right?).
The supernatural factor adds an interesting sub-plot. I admit that I had to suspend my disbelief at some of the "coincidences" in the book. But I enjoyed Hugo and Meggie's blooming romance because I found myself cheering for Hugo to become the better man and truly deserve Meggie's love.

Rating:
Summary: pleasantly entertaining
Review: Kingsley spins a pleasant tale with a different take on the "strangers who marry" premise. She creates an appealing heroine, humorous situations and charmingly eccentric characters like the "aunties." Unfortunately, the hero is smug, selfish, and arrogant for most of the story. Kingsley tries to provide a traumatic past to explain the hero's shortcomings but as he is unaware of it, it didn't engender any sympathy for his constant lying. Hugo finally does begin to mature and grow, but then the story abruptly ends! Hugo doesn't really suffer any consequences for his selfish behavior and no one, not even Meggie, ever sees the depths of his deceptions. Kingsley's plot is clever and her story is skillfully written, but the rushed ending was disappointing.

Rating:
Summary: pleasantly entertaining
Review: Kingsley spins a pleasant tale with a different take on the "strangers who marry" premise. She creates an appealing heroine, humorous situations and charmingly eccentric characters like the "aunties." Unfortunately, the hero is smug, selfish, and arrogant for most of the story. Kingsley tries to provide a traumatic past to explain the hero's shortcomings but as he is unaware of it, it didn't engender any sympathy for his constant lying. Hugo finally does begin to mature and grow, but then the story abruptly ends! Hugo doesn't really suffer any consequences for his selfish behavior and no one, not even Meggie, ever sees the depths of his deceptions. Kingsley's plot is clever and her story is skillfully written, but the rushed ending was disappointing.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful 3rd book in the series
Review: This is the 3rd book in the series. I loved the other two but I really found this one to be the best. This is Hugo's story. He is the younger brother to Rafe who was the hero in "Once Upon a Dream".
Hugo has finally decided tho settle down. He has quit gambling and buys an estate. Nearby this estate is a sanitarium which his mother has asked him to visit in order to find out how one of the patients is doing and to deliver a check. He goes very reluctlantly. While there he sees a vision. An angel walks by the window and their eyes meet and he is left very shaken. He can't get out of there fast enough. He flees to London where he falls back into his old life of gambling and now has lost his fortune and his new home in one hand. He must now marry for money. He soon finds out that the angel he saw at the sanitarium is a missing heiress and is very wealthy. He convinces her to marry and the adventure begins. He never really knows what hits him.

The angel is Meggie. She is not a patient but an orphan that was sent to work at the sanitarium. She can read minds but when she sees Hugo she can't read him at all. She is very strangly effected by him and when he comes back to get her she thinks he's mad. She has no idea of her new found wealth and thinks he wants to marry her because he has fallen in love with her at first sight. She soon realizes that she loves him but is afraid to tell him for fear of his discovering her gift.

There are two wonderful aunties in this story and we get to find out a bit of what has happened to Rafe and Lucy. This story has a lot of humor in it and the love scenes are hot and steamy. I liked the way Katherine Kingsley made both the hero and the heroine human with emotions that can go awry at any time. I will definately reread this book many times. I can't wait to read other books from her.

Rating:
Summary: very very sweet story
Review: This is the first book I've ever read from Katherine Kingsley and I really love it that I start hunting for all of her books once I finished reading it.