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Rating: 
Summary: a heroine that is easy to empathise with
Review: "The Incorrigible Lady Catherine" is a retelling of that age-old story of how a young girl, told over and over again by her family that she's wild and wanton, begins to believe her own bad press, and seems poised to make the biggest mistake of her life. Elena Greene took such great care to paint Catherine's plight in such a sympathetic manner, that my feelings of compassion and empathy were easily aroused on Catherine's behalf, and I rooted for her to find the love and understanding that was so absent for her within her own immediate family before she did something totally rash that would blight her life forever.
When Catherine's father foils her attempt to elope with Lord Vernwood, Catherine little expects (eventhough she realises that he has little love for her) that he would exile her to her grandaunts' home in the Lake District. And in order to ensure that she does not runaway from them, he even provides her with two jailers in the form of two rather burly and surly servants. However, Catherine is determined to runaway to Vernwood. Apparently her 'nearest and dearest' have done a very good job of convincing her that she is a very wild and wanton young girl, and she's sure that only marriage to a rake could save her from becoming a "fallen" woman. A rake like Vernwood, although she doesn't love him, should "save" her. Unfortunately, her plans fall through when Catherine comes across a young child who has fallen into a fast moving stream. Catherine saves the child's life; but before she can effect a quick getaway, her jailers turn up and grimly escort her back to her grandaunts' home. The next day, the child's brother, Philip Woodmere, turns up at her grandaunts' home to thank her properly for her gallant rescue of his sister. Philip is drawn to Catherine's beauty and defiant air, and senses that there is more to this complex young woman than meets the eye. With her grandaunts' approval, he attempts to become her friend, and to entertain her during her stay at the Lake District. It doesn't take too long before the pair begin to fall in love with each other. However there are several obstacles to their blossoming relationship. To begin with everyone expects Philip to marry his childhood friend and neighbour, Charlotte. Furthermore, Catherine is the daughter of a duke, and Philip is only a gentleman farmer. Her father would never countenance such a match no matter that he wants Catherine off his hands. And then there is Catherine's notion that the love of a good man would not be enough to keep her from straying. Can true love prevail against such overwhelming odds?
The one thing one must keep in mind when reading "The Incorrigible Lady Catherine" is that Catherine is quite young, and has never really had the benefit of an affectionate and older woman's counsel, so that she easily believes what everyone tells her about her wildness. Add to that the stifling and loveless atmosphere in her father's house, and you get a young girl ripe to commit the biggest folly of her life. Elena Greene depicts all this brilliantly. This uncertainty, if Catherine will fall into folly, or if Philip's love will save her, is maintained throughout the novel, right till the very end. And it this doubt that makes this novel such compelling reading -- in spite of the fact that this is a 'light' Regency romance novel, things look as if they could go either way. And this is what makes "The Incorrigible Lady Catherine" worthwhile reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Spicy ending, Slow to start --
Review: "The Incorrigible Lady Catherine" is a retelling of that age-old story of how a young girl, told over and over again by her family that she's wild and wanton, begins to believe her own bad press, and seems poised to make the biggest mistake of her life. Elena Greene took such great care to paint Catherine's plight in such a sympathetic manner, that my feelings of compassion and empathy were easily aroused on Catherine's behalf, and I rooted for her to find the love and understanding that was so absent for her within her own immediate family before she did something totally rash that would blight her life forever.
When Catherine's father foils her attempt to elope with Lord Vernwood, Catherine little expects (eventhough she realises that he has little love for her) that he would exile her to her grandaunts' home in the Lake District. And in order to ensure that she does not runaway from them, he even provides her with two jailers in the form of two rather burly and surly servants. However, Catherine is determined to runaway to Vernwood. Apparently her 'nearest and dearest' have done a very good job of convincing her that she is a very wild and wanton young girl, and she's sure that only marriage to a rake could save her from becoming a "fallen" woman. A rake like Vernwood, although she doesn't love him, should "save" her. Unfortunately, her plans fall through when Catherine comes across a young child who has fallen into a fast moving stream. Catherine saves the child's life; but before she can effect a quick getaway, her jailers turn up and grimly escort her back to her grandaunts' home. The next day, the child's brother, Philip Woodmere, turns up at her grandaunts' home to thank her properly for her gallant rescue of his sister. Philip is drawn to Catherine's beauty and defiant air, and senses that there is more to this complex young woman than meets the eye. With her grandaunts' approval, he attempts to become her friend, and to entertain her during her stay at the Lake District. It doesn't take too long before the pair begin to fall in love with each other. However there are several obstacles to their blossoming relationship. To begin with everyone expects Philip to marry his childhood friend and neighbour, Charlotte. Furthermore, Catherine is the daughter of a duke, and Philip is only a gentleman farmer. Her father would never countenance such a match no matter that he wants Catherine off his hands. And then there is Catherine's notion that the love of a good man would not be enough to keep her from straying. Can true love prevail against such overwhelming odds?
The one thing one must keep in mind when reading "The Incorrigible Lady Catherine" is that Catherine is quite young, and has never really had the benefit of an affectionate and older woman's counsel, so that she easily believes what everyone tells her about her wildness. Add to that the stifling and loveless atmosphere in her father's house, and you get a young girl ripe to commit the biggest folly of her life. Elena Greene depicts all this brilliantly. This uncertainty, if Catherine will fall into folly, or if Philip's love will save her, is maintained throughout the novel, right till the very end. And it this doubt that makes this novel such compelling reading -- in spite of the fact that this is a 'light' Regency romance novel, things look as if they could go either way. And this is what makes "The Incorrigible Lady Catherine" worthwhile reading.
Rating:
Summary: Spicy ending, Slow to start --
Review: I was three-quarters through the book before I found out why Lady Catherine was walking down the path to self-destruction. She believed she was a "wanton." A prologue or flash-back to earlier incidents [later revealed] would have helped in this. I did enjoy the "good-guy" gentleman farmer Philip Woodmere. He made the book worth reading. Also, the ending is a little spicier than most Regencies but appropriate to the over-all storyline. Other characters in the book are not well-developed. The reasons WHY they felt the way they did was not made known. WHY did her father feel that the scandal of rejection by Staverton meant she had lost her virtue? If he had suspected Verwood of it, I might have believed it. WHY did Verwood want to marry her? The interaction of Lady Catherine and the two great aunts and the "civilization" of the servants was a very strange side story. I also found her friends to be an annoyance rather than useful to this tale. Perhaps they are to be introduced again in later books. An ok read, but won't make my favorites listing.
Rating: 
Summary: Main character is too modern
Review: When I read Regency genre books I expect Regency period behavior, not contemporary culture in masquerade, and I certainly don't expect a two or three page sex scene, either. If you want to write sex scenes, do it in a Regency Historical or a contemporary. It's not really a bad book, but the main character does not act anything like a young girl of 18 or 20 should behave in this time period, and I also wasn't able to sympathize with her, even if she did have a lot of problems with her family life. In fact, there wasn't ANYONE in the book I found really likeable or to whom I cared what happened, with the exception of Lizzie, the cute little five year old, and the two great aunts. On the plus side, Ms. Greene does know how to write. Her words flow nicely and it reads well... Perhaps with more work on making her Regencies fit the period better, her next book will be better.
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