The Deception

Rating:
Summary: Joan Wolf Surpasses Herself
Review: I love, and reread, all of Joan Wolf's first person romances, but The Deception is my very favorite. A tall, blond hero of Waterloo is forced into marriage with a horse trainer's daughter, the heroine is wrenched out of a poor but (relatively) happy existence to be married to a peer of the realm, the hero's younger brother is charming, the villian is thoroughly villianous. This story has everything. Our heroine has spunk, our hero desires her against her will, our hero's brother lurches from escapade to escapade as he tries to emulate his brother. And weaving through the story is a weak mystery - just enough to keep the plot moving - and a wealth of fascinating detail on dressage and the wonderful horses that perform it. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A light, enjoyable romance
Review: Joan Wolf has been a favorite of mine ever since I read the regencies she wrote years ago. This latest book seems like a return to her most successful style of writing -- a high-spirited heroine, an aristocratic hero and the Regency period. Kate is a really engaging heroine and writing the story in the first person made it accessible.

Rating:
Summary: More Mystery than Romance
Review: Ms Wolf's writing was excellent as usually, but I found the novel a little lacking the romance category. I also found the heroine Cathleen to be silly and very immature. Cathleen is forced into a marriage with Adrian the Earl of Greystone by Cathleen's sinister uncle Lord Charlwood. Soon after the wedding, Adrian is called to Paris to help the Duke of Wellington, and Harry (the Earl's younger brother) appears on the scene. Kate and Harry hit it off right away and soon they become bosom buddies. They have a grand time searching for a missing groom, gathering clues, and hunting down and confronting a murder. Adrian appears sporadically through the story, but he is never included in the action. I think the story would have been more "romantic" if Adrian had been the one to solve the mystery rather than his brother Harry.

Rating:
Summary: More Mystery than Romance
Review: Ms Wolf's writing was excellent as usually, but I found the novel a little lacking the romance category. I also found the heroine Cathleen to be silly and very immature. Cathleen is forced into a marriage with Adrian the Earl of Greystone by Cathleen's sinister uncle Lord Charlwood. Soon after the wedding, Adrian is called to Paris to help the Duke of Wellington, and Harry (the Earl's younger brother) appears on the scene. Kate and Harry hit it off right away and soon they become bosom buddies. They have a grand time searching for a missing groom, gathering clues, and hunting down and confronting a murder. Adrian appears sporadically through the story, but he is never included in the action. I think the story would have been more "romantic" if Adrian had been the one to solve the mystery rather than his brother Harry.

Rating:
Summary: Mistake in Reed Business Bureau commentary
Review: The Joan Wolf of the Reindeer Hunters is *not* the same novelist as this one, as incorrectly stated above. Writing style is completely different -- this Wolf is a much better writer and addresses a different type of story.

Rating:
Summary: Mistake in Reed Business Bureau commentary
Review: The plot of this novel is a Regency standard, an innocent encounter compromises the heroine and forces the hero to marry her. What Joan Wolf does with this plot is not typical. She adds mystery and humor with a dash of horse trivia thrown in. The characters are all interesting. It's definitely entertaining.

Rating:
Summary: Really good
Review: The plot of this novel is a Regency standard, an innocent encounter compromises the heroine and forces the hero to marry her. What Joan Wolf does with this plot is not typical. She adds mystery and humor with a dash of horse trivia thrown in. The characters are all interesting. It's definitely entertaining.

Rating:
Summary: Great Regency Era Romantic Suspense
Review: This is a thoroughly enjoyable romantic suspense tale by Joan Wolf set in the Regency period. The tone of the story is light and the action a bit improbable, but it is a fun story with an engaging hero and heroine. The story is told in the first person past-tense, reminiscent of an old Victoria Holt novel.

The heroine is Kate Fitzgerald, granddaughter of a viscount but daughter of an Irish horse trader, who has been raised poor but happy by her nomadic father. Kate is a typical regency heroine--young (18 years old), spunky (this is "romance novel code" for idioticly reckless), beautiful and charmingly unaffected. She is also horse-mad and a fabulous rider (seemingly a prerequisite for a Joan Wolf regency heroine.) After her father's death, Kate is sent to live with her villainous uncle Martin, the current viscount, and unwittingly is used by him to trick his arch-enemy, Adrian, the Earl of Greystone into compromising her and thus an unwanted marriage.

Adrian is a fine hero--handsome, rich, noble and a hero of Waterloo (he is also good with horses!), and Kate soon finds herself falling in love with her husband. The familiar "Doomed to a Loveless Marriage" and "Big Misunderstanding" plot devices are trotted out--of course, both Kate and Adrian mistakenly think that the other is in love with someone else and are afraid to confess their growing love for each other.

This book has plenty of action--kidnappings, murder, sword fights, an incognito visit to a gaming hell, and two *very* evil villains. Kate is charming but a bit gullible--she is constantly needing to be rescued by Adrian or his brother, Harry.

In summary, this a fun historical romantic suspense story--well-written and very entertaining. If you like this book, definitely read "The Arrangement" and "The Pretenders"--also by Joan Wolf.

Rating:
Summary: A good read
Review: Told in first person, this book has interesting characters and an evil plot. I enjoyed it alot and was quick to add this author to my list of favorites