Autumn Vows (Signet Regency Romance)

Rating:
Summary: GREAT
Review: I loved this book! Anyone who likes regency romance;jealous husbands, doubtful wives in love, and arranged marriages blossming into love matches will love this book!

Rating:
Summary: A Disappointment
Review: I've liked previous Barbara Hazard books, but this one was exasperating. The internal conflict was silly; it was obvious that it could be resolved with one short conversation, which they (thankfully) finally had. The external conflicts were numerous but likewise trivial. It might have been amusing but I was too annoyed at the heroine's stupid behavior -- if a woman wants a man to fall in love with her, she shouldn't act like a shrew.

Rating:
Summary: Nice premise but peters off....
Review: The book starts out promisingly with Theodora, the eldest and most sensible Meredith daughter, talking to her lazy and once-again-pregnant mother over a letter sent by her father. The situation of Theodora is intriguing - she is the eldest of a large family, the mother is lazy and cannot discipline her children or run her household, the father neglects his wife and family and prefers to live in London. The younger children are real brats. This then is the family that Lucas (an earl) chooses to marry into, based on a conversation overheard between Theodora and her cousin. Unfortunately, an interesting premise (based a little on Pride and Prejudice IMO) deteriorates into a silly plot. Would a sane and sensible man, even one desperate to marry before his birthday, really choose a bride based on one overheard conversation and not bothering even to be introduced to her? Would such a man choose to marry into a family like the Merediths, with all the scandal that the father and younger children are likely to bring about? Would Theodora's parents not have hired a house in London, rather than staying with her aunt - given that they are wealthy enough? These and other implausibilities deteriorate from the plot.

The heroine has been described by another reviewer as a shrew, and yes, in at least one scene (where she is somewhat drunk) she rips up at the earl. But the earl is no fine hero himself. He marries a woman he hardly knows, he leaves her casually in the country, and so forth. The scenes in the ducal seat are somewhat intriguing, although I found some of the conversations somewhat contrived. [I also wondered what the duke had ever seen in his duchess, and in the re-reading, I discovered why another woman was suffering from depression].

The scenes between the mother and the daughter (Theodora, our heroine) are interesting. Still, I wondered how the mother had ever managed to run the household while Theodora was still young. Indolence and indulgence is one thing, incompetence is another. It was at this point that I wondered why the earl had chosen Theodora, knowing about her father's lifestyle in London - and even allowing for her alleged wittiness and her mother's fertility.

The fact that the earl is so quickly besotten (OK in lust with) his bride is also a little hard to believe. There is little lead-up to this - it is unbelievable to me at least that physical passion alone leads him to fall for a woman who apparently dislikes him and detests intimacy with him.

The scene where a heavily pregnant Fanny (Theodora's mother) and an equally heavily pregnant Eugenia (Theodora's sister-in-law) both travel to London borders on farce. Surely, in that day and age, heavily pregnant women did not travel around the country whether to escape measles or because they were simply bored. [The roads were terrible, travelling took a lot of time, and so forth].

I found the ending somewhat contrived, even after Theodora delivers her new nephew. The ending made me feel sorry for Eugenia's husband (despite his temporary joy) and also sorry for both Theodora and Lucas. Although he has managed to wean Theodora away from her family, those relatives are going to continue to embarrass them. I also did not get the sense that either of them was truly mature (as in realizing and understanding each others' flaws and merits) at the end.

A disappointing read overall, although I would not rate it as badly as some others I have read recently.

Rating:
Summary: Nice premise but peters off....
Review: The book starts out promisingly with Theodora, the eldest and most sensible Meredith daughter, talking to her lazy and once-again-pregnant mother over a letter sent by her father. The situation of Theodora is intriguing - she is the eldest of a large family, the mother is lazy and cannot discipline her children or run her household, the father neglects his wife and family and prefers to live in London. The younger children are real brats. This then is the family that Lucas (an earl) chooses to marry into, based on a conversation overheard between Theodora and her cousin. Unfortunately, an interesting premise (based a little on Pride and Prejudice IMO) deteriorates into a silly plot. Would a sane and sensible man, even one desperate to marry before his birthday, really choose a bride based on one overheard conversation and not bothering even to be introduced to her? Would such a man choose to marry into a family like the Merediths, with all the scandal that the father and younger children are likely to bring about? Would Theodora's parents not have hired a house in London, rather than staying with her aunt - given that they are wealthy enough? These and other implausibilities deteriorate from the plot.

The heroine has been described by another reviewer as a shrew, and yes, in at least one scene (where she is somewhat drunk) she rips up at the earl. But the earl is no fine hero himself. He marries a woman he hardly knows, he leaves her casually in the country, and so forth. The scenes in the ducal seat are somewhat intriguing, although I found some of the conversations somewhat contrived. [I also wondered what the duke had ever seen in his duchess, and in the re-reading, I discovered why another woman was suffering from depression].

The scenes between the mother and the daughter (Theodora, our heroine) are interesting. Still, I wondered how the mother had ever managed to run the household while Theodora was still young. Indolence and indulgence is one thing, incompetence is another. It was at this point that I wondered why the earl had chosen Theodora, knowing about her father's lifestyle in London - and even allowing for her alleged wittiness and her mother's fertility.

The fact that the earl is so quickly besotten (OK in lust with) his bride is also a little hard to believe. There is little lead-up to this - it is unbelievable to me at least that physical passion alone leads him to fall for a woman who apparently dislikes him and detests intimacy with him.

The scene where a heavily pregnant Fanny (Theodora's mother) and an equally heavily pregnant Eugenia (Theodora's sister-in-law) both travel to London borders on farce. Surely, in that day and age, heavily pregnant women did not travel around the country whether to escape measles or because they were simply bored. [The roads were terrible, travelling took a lot of time, and so forth].

I found the ending somewhat contrived, even after Theodora delivers her new nephew. The ending made me feel sorry for Eugenia's husband (despite his temporary joy) and also sorry for both Theodora and Lucas. Although he has managed to wean Theodora away from her family, those relatives are going to continue to embarrass them. I also did not get the sense that either of them was truly mature (as in realizing and understanding each others' flaws and merits) at the end.

A disappointing read overall, although I would not rate it as badly as some others I have read recently.

Rating:
Summary: I love this book!
Review: This book really shows how easy it is for other people to interpret your actions in an entirely different light. Unlike other people, I don't really blame the girl too much. But if she would have just asked him why he married her or just let herself enjoy her husband and show it, they could've ended this more quickly. It was funny how close they came to resolving everything, then one of them would feel insulted or someone would get in their way. If you love a good romance, this book is for you.