Rating: 
Summary: I laughed, I cried (well, I sniffled).
Review: Carla Kelly has quickly beccome one of my favorite authors of regency novels, and "Mrs. McVinnie's London Season" is a prime example of why. Jeannie McVinnie and Captain Will Summers are wonderful, tenderly drawn characters who make you care about what happens to them and the choices they make. Ms. Kelly's excellent writing pulled me into this book and kept me reading all night. A must read.
Rating:
Summary: A scotch widow meets her match in a crusty navel officer
Review: For a recent widow, an invitation to companion a young miss through her first London season becomes a solution to all problems. So what if she has to ignore the fact that the invitation was intended for an older aunt of the same name!
More occurs in the first 30 pages of this book than in many
full-blown regencies. All Carla Kelly books are "must reads" -- this is one of the best of the best.
Rating: 
Summary: Definately not up to Kelly's usual standards
Review: I agree with most of the reviews posted here that this book is not typical of Carla Kelly's talents. While it's readable, especially the first half of the book, it seems to fall apart as the plot "thickens."
It's true that Kelly does not explain how a nobody from the country, a young nobody at that, could be considered a suitable chaparone for a young woman of the ton. But more troublesome than that, to me, was the fact the hero decides to more or less abandon the heroine after asking her to marry him(!) Kelly does not explain the hero's change of heart whatsoever, except to indicate he's decided she can do better than him. Very poorly handled and unusual for Kelly who usually has extremely well thought out motivations for her character's actions.
Even with these major issues, however, this is still a Carla Kelly book and still has her usual well written descriptions and heart stopping dialogue. I especially liked her portrayal of Beau Brummel. He usually comes off as a foppish twit in regencies and it was fun to see him a more multi-dimensional character here. Don't know if that's the way he really was but it was interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Mrs. McVinnie's London Season
Review: I received this book as a 'hand-me-down' and I'm now totally hooked on Carla Kelly as an author of Regency Romances. The story is warm, funny, touching, wise and full of suprises. Her characters are delightful. The very best thing about the book is the sparkling repartee between the witty, fiesty and throughly practical Scots war widow, Mrs. Jeanne McVinnie, and the commanding, much- decorated captain of a warship who heads the household in which she finds herself reluctantly employed as a nanney. Called back from his command under protest, the sea captain and the equally unwilling Mrs. McVinnie must carry out orders to manage his orphaned niece's debut into Regency London's high society. Stormy waters result because the diminutive, red-headed Mrs. McVinnie finds herself speaking her mind and standing her ground even though doing so may lead to conflict with impeccable and socially powerful dandy, Beau Brummell -- who it is said could ruin anyone by the least look askance -- and her tall, intimidating employer who is far more accustomed to instant obedience from subordinates he could order whipped or hanged for the smallest hesitation than to negotiating with opinionated Scots nanneys. I re-read this book frequently and enjoy it more with each reading.
Rating:
Summary: Mrs. McVinnie's London Season
Review: I received this book as a 'hand-me-down' and I'm now totally hooked on Carla Kelly as an author of Regency Romances. The story is warm, funny, touching, wise and full of suprises. Her characters are delightful. The very best thing about the book is the sparkling repartee between the witty, fiesty and throughly practical Scots war widow, Mrs. Jeanne McVinnie, and the commanding, much- decorated captain of a warship who heads the household in which she finds herself reluctantly employed as a nanney. Called back from his command under protest, the sea captain and the equally unwilling Mrs. McVinnie must carry out orders to manage his orphaned niece's debut into Regency London's high society. Stormy waters result because the diminutive, red-headed Mrs. McVinnie finds herself speaking her mind and standing her ground even though doing so may lead to conflict with impeccable and socially powerful dandy, Beau Brummell -- who it is said could ruin anyone by the least look askance -- and her tall, intimidating employer who is far more accustomed to instant obedience from subordinates he could order whipped or hanged for the smallest hesitation than to negotiating with opinionated Scots nanneys. I re-read this book frequently and enjoy it more with each reading.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but... Other Kellys are far better
Review: Mrs Jeannie McVinnie, widow, shares her name with her dead husband's late aunt, and as a result she opens a letter which commands her to come to London immediately to help out Captain Will Summers, who is in the unfortunate position of looking after his brother's family temporarily and bringing out his niece. Lost and without any real role in life, Jeannie goes to London and persuades Captain Summers to let her help, instead of the elderly lady (his former nurse) who he was expecting. There follows an entertaining account of what could have been a disastrous Season, just saved from being so by the intervention of Beau Brummell, who takes to Jeannie and her young charge (just a bit cliched, that part). And, of course, Jeannie and Will grow close to each other, close enough to realise that each has a dark secret of which they are ashamed... and to confide in each other. But Will loves the sea and will go back as soon as he can escape his escorting duties. So what future do they have? This is a sweet romance, for the most part, though it is in some ways similar to Miss Whittier Makes A List: Will proposes to Jeannie and later withdraws his proposal, just as Daniel Sharp does to Hannah Whittier. I also have the same problem with this book as with the other: Will is a Naval captain and will go back to sea, and so we know that if he and Jeannie end up together they'll be apart for months, if not years, on end. I can't really see that as a happy ending. However, this book is better than Miss Whittier, in particular in that I can actually see the characters falling in love. There are some delightful secondary characters, in addition - and the ending brought tears to my eyes.
Rating:
Summary: This is a must have/keeper for romance lovers
Review: Mrs. McVinnie is an original. The exploits of Mrs. McVinnie,her "charges", and Will, will have you laughing out loud. You know you're in for a real treat after just one chapter. This is a book to keep and enjoy over and over again. Carla Kelly is a writer with a great sense of humor. Her characters come alive and you become totally engrossed in their lives, loves,and losses. Once you start reading you are hooked
Rating: 
Summary: One of the very best
Review: Still have my old copy, but bought new one - I'm a pusher (of romances) and I enjoy sharing stories like this, with its perfect proportion of tears to laughter.
Rating:
Summary: One of the very best
Review: Still have my old copy, but bought new one - I'm a pusher (of romances) and I enjoy sharing stories like this, with its perfect proportion of tears to laughter.
Rating:
Summary: Requires a major suspension of disbelief
Review: Whatever happened to Carla Kelly in this book? Usually, while she builds up her stories and gives her characters suitable backgrounds, she makes them somewhat credible. Quite often, her heroines are placed in truly desperate situations (her heroes do like to make them suffer), but we can believe in the romance and how the couple met - be it a Marquess's brother and heir rescuing the illegitimate-born foster-daughter of a deceased country vicar, or a young woman with a past rivalling the best and worst of Dickensian bathos. In MRS MCVINNIE, while the characters were delightful and said funny things etc, I could not suspend my disbelief. How is Mrs McVinnie, a woman of no birth, no family and no connections, considered a suitable chaperone in *society* for the daughter of a late peer? Funny - I must have been reading the wrong books all along, since it is apparent in this book that the relative of a servant in class-conscious Regency England will do just fine. [I thought that privilege limited to Beau Brummell and to persons of some wealth]. And all the Regency romances I have read to date insist that a young lady must be chaperoned by another lady if she is make her come-out. It was not that I did not emphathize with Jeanie McVinnie's situation at the outset or her efforts to get the household in working order (having been "impressed" into duty) or her problems with one of her charges. But, for me, the first question - how do a couple get together credibly? - was not answered very well (and it did not show Mrs McVinnie in a very good light either). Why could she not tell her father-in-law the truth? Was she really that desperate that she had to commit a small spot of fraud to get away from her home situation? This did not indicate a smart heroine, or one thinking deeply. And the corollary question - how does Mrs McVinnie fit into English high society? - was not answered either. Not to mention wondering whether the hero could indeed impress a woman on land for non-naval duties, as is done in this book. Pleasant book, nice characters, but a plot premise that defies my suspension of disbelief. Rated 2.7 (the lowest grade I have awarded to a Kelly book)
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