The Husband Hunt

Rating:
Summary: Never made it off the ground.
Review: Catriona Grant has fled her home in Scotland and the man old enough to be her father that her brother was forcing her to wed. She arrives at Rutleigh Hall in the middle of the night searching for the cousin who had been so kind to her only to find that he has been killed in the war and Knight Dennison, the Viscount Rutleigh, may be a fate worse than the one she had fled as Knight appears to have taken an instant dislike of her and her unannounced, unconventional and suspiciously late arrival. He doesn't believe her claims of kinship either until she produces a ring given to her by his deceased brother-in-law. Olivia, Knight's kindly sister, recognizes the resemblance of eyes and is only too happy to take her in resolving to help her in any way she can which is to find her a suitable husband. By the light of the day, Knight is surprised to find Catriona quite striking, once the raggedy clothing has been removed and he gets his first good look at her. As his sister and aunt proceed to launch her into society on the husband hunt - Knight fights the knowledge that the only man to possess her must be him!

Although, this is a historical romance in nature, I was delighted to find some very magical and whimsical elements with tones of the paranormal genre. The heroine's saucy and irreverent comments to the baiting sarcasm of Knight are extremely funny as they both do the `mating dance'. The final capitulation of the pompous Knight and very earthy, and straightforward Catriona was wonderful. The household staff, relatives, and friends were all delightfully eccentric and/or irreverent, with some I hope to see with their own stories some day. This book will make you smile a lot while reading if not laughing right out loud. It's a superb read for the keeper shelf and definitely a new author I will be reading in the future.

Rating:
Summary: Historical Romance with a Supernatural Twist
Review: Catriona Grant has fled her home in Scotland and the man old enough to be her father that her brother was forcing her to wed. She arrives at Rutleigh Hall in the middle of the night searching for the cousin who had been so kind to her only to find that he has been killed in the war and Knight Dennison, the Viscount Rutleigh, may be a fate worse than the one she had fled as Knight appears to have taken an instant dislike of her and her unannounced, unconventional and suspiciously late arrival. He doesn't believe her claims of kinship either until she produces a ring given to her by his deceased brother-in-law. Olivia, Knight's kindly sister, recognizes the resemblance of eyes and is only too happy to take her in resolving to help her in any way she can which is to find her a suitable husband. By the light of the day, Knight is surprised to find Catriona quite striking, once the raggedy clothing has been removed and he gets his first good look at her. As his sister and aunt proceed to launch her into society on the husband hunt - Knight fights the knowledge that the only man to possess her must be him!

Although, this is a historical romance in nature, I was delighted to find some very magical and whimsical elements with tones of the paranormal genre. The heroine's saucy and irreverent comments to the baiting sarcasm of Knight are extremely funny as they both do the 'mating dance'. The final capitulation of the pompous Knight and very earthy, and straightforward Catriona was wonderful. The household staff, relatives, and friends were all delightfully eccentric and/or irreverent, with some I hope to see with their own stories some day. This book will make you smile a lot while reading if not laughing right out loud. It's a superb read for the keeper shelf and definitely a new author I will be reading in the future.

Rating:
Summary: Fun story
Review: Here is the description from the back cover: Catriona Grant is desperate. Fleeing a forced marriage in Scotland, she arrives on the doorstep of Rutleigh Hall seeking shelter as a distant relation, only to find that Knight Dennison, the Viscount Rutleigh, may be worse than the man she fled. True to his dangerous reputation, Knight threatens to toss the penniless, flame-haired impostor out-until she produces the family ring as proof of her identity. Thrust into the role of guardian, the dark, compelling Knight has his doubts about the lovely Scottish lass, who's clearly keeping secrets-but her wit, beauty, and artless grace are hard to resist. When his sister starts husband-hunting for Catriona, the idea of any other man possessing her is suddenly unthinkable. For Knight realizes that there's only one possible groom for her: himself.

This description of the plot doesn't do justice to the story. What a terrific bunch of characters-from the nobles to the servants, famliy members and friends, you'll like them all. Catriona has the 'sight', but so does the housekeeper. This is a friendly, happy book. I found myself smiling as I read various parts, mostly between Catriona and Knight. What a nice hero, and when he realizes he loves her, he becomes playful. Even the villians are nice. I hope the author does two more books, one about the brother, James and another about Lamont.

Rating:
Summary: Romantic but too superficial...
Review: I thought the romance between Knight and Catriona was very sweet, especially when they were "practice dancing" in the ballroom. I also loved his friend, Wendell. But his sister, Olivia was supposed to be so nice and she was to a degree, but she was out-of-line many times with her "opinions" in Knight's house. Good lord, she was like an annoying mother hen to him. The guy couldn't turn around in his own house without his sister and his servants waiting in the wings to berate him. I didn't really care for Catriona's uncle, Murdo. Truth be told, he gave me the creeps. I did like Lamont Montgomery, although I could never figure out if he was supposed to be a good guy or a bad guy. I found that annoying in the extreme, I guess because I liked him and I wasn't sure if I was supposed to like him. The author never made it clear.

Rating:
Summary: Never made it off the ground.
Review: I will give it 2 stars because the characters were likeable; however, the plot never did catch my interest. Also, there were several sub-plots that were thrown in that made it confusing.
What was the deal with Catriona's uncle and his mysterious assistant? This was some other story entirely. Does the author intend a sequel? Also, Catriona's brother had some serious problems including a missing child who was later found. Again, this was another story. Even if there is a sequel that might explain, I am not interested enough to read them. Sorry.

Rating:
Summary: humorous offbeat Regency
Review: In 1814, escaping from her odious brother's latest nasty scheme of marrying her to a geriatric widower old enough to be her grandfather, Catriona Grant flees her home. In abject poverty, she seeks shelter at a third cousin's estate only to learn he died in battle three years ago. His widow, Olivia resides in the home of her brother, Viscount Rutleigh. Seeing her choices being between her brother and the rakish sibling of her cousin's widow, Catriona takes a chance on the unknown because the known is too devilish for her.

The Viscount Knight Dennison is suspicious of Catriona's claims of blood to his deceased brother-in-law even though she shows a family resemblance and display a family heirloom as proof. Knight investigates his guest while his sister befriends and offers to sponsor her with local society. Knight holds off tossing out Cat because her presence has revitalized his mourning sibling. Soon he finds himself charmed by this Celtic with the gift of sight falling in love with Cat.

Readers need to understand that THE HUSBAND HUNT is an atypical Regency romance though on the surface it contains all the necessary elements of the sub-genre. Instead, the interesting story line includes magical and otherworldly elements that embellish an engaging plot. The characters are a delight as the lead couple is fun to watch as they squabble while falling in love. The support cast comprises of several amusing eccentrics as well as a secondary romance. Readers who relish a humorous offbeat novel need hunt no further than this charming book.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: humorous offbeat Regency
Review: In 1814, escaping from her odious brother's latest nasty scheme of marrying her to a geriatric widower old enough to be her grandfather, Catriona Grant flees her home. In abject poverty, she seeks shelter at a third cousin's estate only to learn he died in battle three years ago. His widow, Olivia resides in the home of her brother, Viscount Rutleigh. Seeing her choices being between her brother and the rakish sibling of her cousin's widow, Catriona takes a chance on the unknown because the known is too devilish for her.

The Viscount Knight Dennison is suspicious of Catriona's claims of blood to his deceased brother-in-law even though she shows a family resemblance and display a family heirloom as proof. Knight investigates his guest while his sister befriends and offers to sponsor her with local society. Knight holds off tossing out Cat because her presence has revitalized his mourning sibling. Soon he finds himself charmed by this Celtic with the gift of sight falling in love with Cat.

Readers need to understand that THE HUSBAND HUNT is an atypical Regency romance though on the surface it contains all the necessary elements of the sub-genre. Instead, the interesting story line includes magical and otherworldly elements that embellish an engaging plot. The characters are a delight as the lead couple is fun to watch as they squabble while falling in love. The support cast comprises of several amusing eccentrics as well as a secondary romance. Readers who relish a humorous offbeat novel need hunt no further than this charming book.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: It's okay.
Review: The hero is quite nice, but the heroine is a bit too odd sometimes. The repartee between them is good and there are steamy love scenes. But the secondary characters are weak or unintentionally creepy and the "magic" is silly, dragging the story down.

A very mixed bag. If I'd read it more recently, I might actually lower the rating.