The Rake's Fiancee

Rating:
Summary: remember the love
Review: Ben wanted revenge on Phoebe when Phoebe left him 8 years ago. She left him because she thought that Ben was a rake and now Phoebe is a factory worker and Ben has land and a title. By chance, they meet together in bed. They were snowed in together so for the next few days they were stuck together. But Ben has this scheme to make her pay for the pain she caused him. He makes up a story about how he had amnesia and forgot about the past, a convenient way to take revenge on Phoebe. But the problem is that the revenge plan would backfire and he would remember why he had loved Phoebe 8 years ago...

Also incorporated into this story is a mystery. The furniture and the prized possesions in Ben's family home all disappeared save for some not so glamorous chairs and tables. Where has all the furniture gone and what's with Ben's dotty old aunt who believes there are ghosts in the house ? Read to find out!

I enjoyed this book, the story and the plot. I love how everything played out but I didn't rate it with a 5 (it really could have been a 5 but i didn't) because it ended too quickly. The setting, the plot, the scemes and the characters were all played out very beautifully but I found the ending to be bum-rushed, as if the printing press, editor or author were trying to finish up THE RAKE'S FIANCEE quickly and to just sell it off.

The characters were most deffinitely most fun to read, especially Ben because he's so devillish and Phoebe with her elegance and dignity. So enjoy this tale with the delight I had while reading THE RAKE'S FIANCEE !!

^_^ ~ Izzy

Rating:
Summary: Snow bound and loving it
Review: I love all Ms. Kirkland's books, and though it took me a few more pages than most to get into RAKE, it was worth the effort. I loved it. Romantic, highly amusing, and informative to boot.

Rating:
Summary: The Rake's Fiancee
Review: Many years ago, Phoebe Lowell's guardian advised her against accepting Lt. Bennett Holden's proposal of marriage, painting him as a profligate and a rake. And when Phoebe confronted Bennett with her uncle's charges, the angry young man refused to refute the accussations -- Bennett believed strongly in 'never apologise, never explain' school of thought, and felt that Phoebe should trust him. And so the couple parted with a lot of hurt and angry feelings between them. Now almost ten years later, Phoebe is alone in the world and penniless, reduced to being a porcelain painter in Shropshire. Often she's wondered if there was any truth to her uncle's accusations against Bennett at all, or if he made up the whole thing up. However all that is in the past and Phoebe is firmly resolved to put the past behind her especially now when as luck would have it she is about to cross paths with Bennett Holden again. For Bennett is no longer in the army and has inherited a barony in the very village that Phoebe currently works and lives in. Phoebe is resolved to avoid Bennett as much as possible; however a snow storm and a wrenched knee conspire against her.

On her way home from work on day, Phoebe is caught in a storm, and wrenches her knee. The closest thing to any kind of shelter is Holden Hall. Thinking that Bennett is not in residence, Phoebe inveigles her way in by pretending to be Holden's fiance. Imagine her horror and consternation when she finds herself sharing his bed! Bennett for his part is astounded at seeing Phoebe again after all these years, and still bitter that she broke his heart with her rejection, comes up with a nasty little plan to exact revenge on Phoebe by first seducing her and then rejecting her. To this end, he pretends to have lost his memory, and asks Phoebe to help him recover his memory by telling him of their past. Feeling sorry for Bennett and wanting to help, Phoebe agrees to help him. But Bennett's plan begins to work in ways that he himself did not expect, for as Bennett begins to relive his past, he also begins to fall in love with Phoebe all over again, esp with this new Phoebe who seems older, wiser and more compassionate. Where will this deception end? And will Phoebe forgive Bennett when she discovers his nasty plan?

A while back I ranted against this kind of seduction-revenge plot motif, wondering how the heroine could forgive the hero for being so ignoble as to use seduction as revenge. And I'll admit that while I'm still not a fan of this plot device, I do think that Martha Kirkland has made this novel a little more appetising by providing Phoebe and Bennett with an enclosed environment (Holden Hall), so that they can each work out their feelings about the past and each other. The added subplots involving Bennett's eccentric grand aunt and the mysterious goings on at Holden Hall, allow for Bennett and Phoebe to get to know each other all over again, and to grow closer. The fact that Phoebe is not at all the patient Griselda type also helps. This is a romance novel, so we all know how it will end, so might I also add that unlike other novels with similar plot lines where I have almost screamed in frustration, I actually sighed with relief when I finished "The Rake's Fiancee." I'm still not a fan of the seduction-revenge plot, but this novel won me over and was definitely a good read.

Rating:
Summary: Witty, endearing Regency.
Review: Miss Phoebe Lowell had thought nothing of taking a position at the Coalport Pottery Works, but Lieutenant Bennett Holden and his contemporaries thought it beneath a woman to have such menial employment. As Phoebe tired of her lodging in a women's dormitory, she wished to live at Holden House. Posing as Ben Holden's fiancée, she sneaked into the house, but it wasn't long that the engagement would soon become real. Martha Kirkland writes a very endearing story of Regency life here. Phoebe is a strong heroine, doing what some consider menial, but it is truly work that she loves. The interplay between Phoebe and Ben is witty, and the conflicts strong.