A Perfect Gentleman

Rating:
Summary: What could have been...
Review: "A Perfect Gentleman" could have been a keeper for me, as are most of Ms. Metzger's books. However, while the love story between the very attractive and nice Stony and rich Elliane was well written and most of the sub-characters were fun,the two subplots, the missing sister and the serial murderer, actually took away from the story. Ms. Metzger wrote a longer regency than she usually does and this might be part of the reason that the story was not as engaging as it might have been since she might have been just trying to fill up the pages.

Also, how could Elliane go from being a scarecrow to a beauty? Stony liked women, he would have picked up on her finer qualities before he really did.

I am also finding the tried and true regency plot of the spinster rich gal who refuses to marry sort of silly. Sure, there were and are are women who do not feel the urge to marry but for Elliane, she actually met someone she really fell for. If she was so smart, would she not perhaps realize that marriage might not be a bad thing? Stony, too, was sort of silly with his anti-marriage issue but in a way, his voice against marriage was based on the fact he had an empty title and pockets to let.

All in all, love story was good but too maybe weak subplots.

Rating:
Summary: Despite a few flaws...
Review: ...such as the too easy ending for the missing sister, not enough urgency regarding said sister, and a mildly written and easy to figure out but creepy murder mystery...Metzger creates a delightful hero in Stony, a strong, independent heroine, and some truly wonderful and unique secondary characters. Moreover, her wit just sparkles, causing me to laugh out loud more often than I could possibly keep up with.

While I have found Metzger's short stories to be hit or miss, this book made me a believer, and I'll try another of her full-length works soon. This one was delightful!

Rating:
Summary: a pleasant 3 1/2 star read
Review: Almost completely penniless and with little to no prospects or vocation, Viscount Aubrey Wellstone is at his wit's end when an unexpected career as a paid escort falls into his lap. But Wellstone is no ordinary escort: completely honourable, he doesn't believe in compromising the reputations of the ladies he has been "asked" to see about town, and so refuses to dally with any of them; and instead of crassly excepting money over the counter for a job done, Wellstone has his debts paid off in exchange. His latest client however is unlike anyone he has had to deal with before: a rich young heiress, used to running her father's bank, Miss Elliane Kane wants to hire Wellstone not so much to help launch her into London society, but to help her find her missing younger sister, Isabelle, who had gone up to London in order to make her debut a few months ago. But with the death of the autocratic aunt she was staying with, had come the discovery that Isabelle was missing. Has Isabelle run off with some disreputable scoundrel after her money? Was she kidnapped by unscrupulous villains? Is she even still alive? Unwilling to believe that Isabelle is dead, Elliane clings to the hope that Isabelle has eloped, and it is her hope to discover the name of the cad who has led her sister so astray by infiltrating London society. And to do that, she needs Wellstone's help. But how can she keep her mind on the seriousness of the situation when all she can do is moon over Wellstone's spectacular looks? And anyway it's a well known fact that Wellstone isn't in the market for a wife; and even if he was, he's bound to choose a better born, younger and less managing woman anyway -- or wouldn't he? For something in the manner in which Wellstone looks at her makes Elliane wonder about Wellstone's feelings for her afterall ...

I had mixed feelings about "A Perfect Gentleman." For me, the book made for good reading when the author was concentrating on Wellstone and Elliane -- the attraction that felt for each other, and their blossoming friendship and their efforts to keep their feelings for each other under control -- all this wonderfully accompllished. And the introduction of a set of quirky characters that include a ex-tippling-gambling-newly-discovered-religion butler, a teary young stepmother and a foul-mouthed aunt, made for enjoyable reading too. But I did think that the entire serial murder subplot was underdone and totally unsatisfactory; ditto the entire subplot involving Elliane's missing younger sister, Isabelle. Perhaps if the author had concentrated more on the missing sister subplot and given up on the serial murder subplot, one wouldn't have come away with that lack of focus feeling. Which is a shame because Barbara Metzger is one of my favourite authors, and the main plot, involving the evolving romance between Wellstone and Elliane, two nice, intelligent and likable people, who had decided completely against marriage, but who had more or less fallen in love at first sight with each other, and are in some small denial about their feelings, was a lot of fun and very engaging. So that all in all, "A Perfect Gentleman" turned out to be a 3 1/2 star read for me.

Rating:
Summary: A Totally Charming Regency - Superbly Zany Characters 4-1/2*
Review: Brought up as a gentleman, with no marketable skills - not that a `gentleman' would actually `work' for a living - left the Viscount Aubrey "Stony" Wellstone just about at the end of his rope. He was a confirmed bachelor, with too much honor to do as other impoverished peers would do and set out to marry an heiress with a healthy dowry to bail him out of debt. As luck would have it, with his good looks, immeasurable charm, and spotless character with the ton, it occurred to one beleaguered gentleman to write off one of his IOU's if Stony would provide escort and attention to said gentleman's daughter to one of the many tedious balls and social functions that fathers with marriageable age daughters were duty bound to attend. Before he knew it, Stony's services as an eligible and willing escort was born and little by little his debts were being paid.

So busy with such a full schedule Stony had enlisted the help of two friends, one of which, purely by accident, ended up compromising the young woman. From the hullabaloo that followed, the `ton' discovered that Stony was being `paid' for these services and suddenly found himself shunned by the people who once sought him out. It was about this time the very independent Ellianne Kane was to enter his life. An heiress in her own right she was not looking for a husband, but needed Stony's knowledge of proper society to discover who might have last seen her sister who had gone missing. Ellianne initially didn't want to hire the handsome Viscount, having no use for the idle life of a gentleman and fearing that they were only attracted to her money. Stony, who had always thought himself immune to the lovely misses he squired about town, soon found himself immensely attracted to the very unique and independent would be spinster and would indeed have his work cut out in proving to her that there was more to life than money.

This book was so totally charming. Stony was not only a perfect gentleman, but a perfectly wonderful hero. The secondary characters of Ellianne's eccentric household with her Aunt Lally, her butler Timms, and Ajax, the toothless bulldog as she tried to keep Stony ignorant of the origin of the `bawdy' comments that emanated from behind closed doors was an absolute hoot! The entire book was a total enjoyment with so many humorous situations and a touching love story that I truly wanted to give it a perfect rating but the thought the lame excuse for the missing sister was too fast a wrap up and not quite believable. Bottom line - I truly did love this book with the snappy prose and wonderfully funny characters, including the hero and heroine. So my little nit-picking aside - read this book and you won't be sorry in the least! --- Marilyn Rondeau, for www.historicalromancewriters.com ---


Rating:
Summary: Another hit from Barbara Metzger
Review: Here are some thoughts to share. The author is one of my auto-buys and she rarely lets the discerning reader down for no one, in my view, does the comic regency as well. The cast of characters in A Perfect Gentleman was wonderful: the usual collection of romantics, eccentrics, weird and wonderful servants and the obligatory Metzger animals.

Aubrey, Viscount Wellstone, was a wonderful hero - and I particularly enjoyed the scenes where he was luxuriating in the long, lustrous and very red hair of Ellianne, our heroine. This author's sex scenes are always about fostering sexual tensions and reflect the deep passion bubbling below the surface of the relationship between her protagonists: she does not go in for explicit, mechanical descriptions. I thought the scene of mad, near consumation in the butler's pantry was delicious and very, very funny. You can't help falling in love with Stony - very well drawn character and a perfect complement for Ellianne whom I also liked very much!

However, on this occasion, I have to agree with another reviewer who said that the sub-plots let the story down. Metzger is obviously making the leap to longer format regencies (hooray!!!) but to do it well, she needs to be sure that the subplots are a little tighter. The story of Capt Brisbane and Ellianne's missing sister just didn't make the cut, unfortunately. The subplot with the serial killer was good but very much out of synch with the general tenor of the story.

For me, a fun and entertaining read. I would give this one 4-1/2 stars if I could. I want to give it five but that would just reflect my love of the author and not an honest assessment of what she had produced. Roll on the next book!

Rating:
Summary: Liked the story
Review: I did like the story. It was indeed very zany, witty and I almost couldn't stand it. Every other sentence had wit and was very funny. It was almost too much. The words put together to make sentences were very clever and Ms Metzger definitely delivers wonderful punch lines. I was just alittle antsy to get thru the book though. I thought trying to find the sister with no clues atall dragged on a bit. I did like this better than the last one, Wedded Bliss. All in all a good read.

Rating:
Summary: Charming, endearing regency with just a hint of trouble
Review: I was suprised at how endearing A PERFECT GENTLEMAN by Barbara Metzger is. Viscount Aubrey "Stony" Wellstone has been earning his keep and paying his inherited debts by acting escort for ladies that need a little extra push into society. He's liked his "work," what with the ton being so very discreet about paying him, he hardly feels like it is "work."

Latley, though, he's been getting too many winks from men, and even direct looks from ladies--he's beginning to feel the whore. Then comes Miss Ellianne Kane--the skinny, dowdy, bankling heiress in search of her disappearing sister. He'll help her investigate her way through the ton for some enumeration but hates her forthright way of making him feel so, um, employed.

It doesn't help matters, that with a few pointers about dress and style Ellianne has a surprising taste of her own attractiveness--her fiery red hair has Stony thinking all sorts of thoughts he ought not think about his employer, partner, friend. Pride makes them do funny things in the name of partnership. Will it take some danger along the way to finding Ellianne's sister that will finally get them together? Or will another man sweep Ellianne off her feet?

Charming, funny, original characters compliment this well-plotted treat. Might be a tad gruesome for some purists, but loads of fun for those of us who love a little murder mystery with our romance. Lots of sexual tension enlives the story. And now I'm longing for long, luxurious, locks of fire and gold. Alas, brown hair is my fate, I loved being along for the Ellianne and Stony's romance.

Rating:
Summary: A Fun Read
Review: This is a very witty and thoroughly enjoyable novel, with some highly interesting characters, even if the premise of escort-for-hire is a little offbeat for Regency England. The plot is clever and the author neatly resolves all of the issues, though the missing sister matter ended a little abruptly.

Definitely recommended.

Rating:
Summary: invigorating Regency romance
Review: Viscount Aubrey "Stony" Wellstone is broke with creditors breathing down his neck demanding reparations. He tries gambling, but that just increases his astronomical debts. He sees no relief until a friend Lord Parkhurst who he owes money to mentions escort duty he does not want to perform. Stony and Parkhurst agree to erase his gambling debts if he provides proper escort to a young debutante. Aubrey agrees and realizes he has a way to earn money without getting married or dirtying himself in trade. He will become an aristocratic escort.

Independent and feisty Ellianne Kane arrives in London seeking her missing sister. She prefers to ignore the Ton especially losers like handsome Stony, but needs the services of a professional escort if she is to make progress on her quest because she must be able to enter the homes of the elite. To his shock, Stony falls in love with his client, but how to persuade Ellianne that he wants her not her money when he knows to her he is a lowly paid escort.

A PERFECT GENTLEMAN is an invigorating Regency romance that turns the aristocracy upside down through Ellianne's disdain of the upper crust especially the cash strapped Stony. The story line is very humorous as Ellianne keeps boxing Stony's ears with fabulous set downs, but he keeps coming back for more blows and not because the fee is good. Ellianne is a wonderful feisty heroine, who pretends indifference to Stony insisting her heart is made of stone when it comes to the likes of him, but knows deep down that she him like he does her. Fans will value this amusing historical tale.

Harriet Klausner