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)
Rating: 
Summary: Great book, but not up to Kelly's usual standards
Review: While still better than your average Regency romance, after reading all the great reviews posted about this book beforehand, I found myself a bit disappointed in this Kelly title. It might've been just a case of unrealistically high expectations, but the fact of the matter is that I just didn't enjoy this book as much as the other Kelly novels I've read (and I am a HUGE Kelly fan). I can't say exactly what it was that didn't quite meet my expectations, the usual Kelly ingredients were present: witty dialogue, independent and intelligent yet vulnerable heroine, an open-minded and gentlemanly but not-without-his-flaws leading male with whom the audience can sympathize, and conflicts that are real (as opposed to the usual superficial ones you often find when dealing with novels about the ton), and not to mention a very adorable little girl. But even given all that, I was never really drawn into the story and found the book difficult to finish, which rarely happens when I'm reading a book by this author. I'm not trying to deter anyone from reading this book--as said, it's still better than your run-of-the-mill regency and well worth the read, but be forewarned, it's not up to the usual Kelly standards (for that, check out With This Ring--it's GREAT!)
Rating:
Summary: Great book, but not up to Kelly's usual standards
Review: While still better than your average Regency romance, after reading all the great reviews posted about this book beforehand, I found myself a bit disappointed in this Kelly title. It might've been just a case of unrealistically high expectations, but the fact of the matter is that I just didn't enjoy this book as much as the other Kelly novels I've read (and I am a HUGE Kelly fan). I can't say exactly what it was that didn't quite meet my expectations, the usual Kelly ingredients were present: witty dialogue, independent and intelligent yet vulnerable heroine, an open-minded and gentlemanly but not-without-his-flaws leading male with whom the audience can sympathize, and conflicts that are real (as opposed to the usual superficial ones you often find when dealing with novels about the ton), and not to mention a very adorable little girl. But even given all that, I was never really drawn into the story and found the book difficult to finish, which rarely happens when I'm reading a book by this author. I'm not trying to deter anyone from reading this book--as said, it's still better than your run-of-the-mill regency and well worth the read, but be forewarned, it's not up to the usual Kelly standards (for that, check out With This Ring--it's GREAT!)
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