<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: One cannot imagine a more patient or determined hero!
Review: Cymberly's life in London turns sour when she refuses to marry a lord who inadvertently compromised her in a carriage accident. So she decides to travel to Portugal to be with her general father, even though "following the drum" is not considered "good ton." While there, she rolls up her sleeves and steels herself to help nurse the wounded and dying soldiers. After her father's death, she decides to stick around a bit longer. During this time, she has two suitors: Geoffrey Ryder, a quiet but seemingly honorable man, and Reggie Fleming, a popular lieutenant who's always the life of any party. Although attracted to Major Ryder, she cannot forget the fact that he is a distant member of her mother's family and is, indeed, the heir to her grandfather's title. The grandfather--an earl--disinherited his daughter when she married Cymberly's father and heartlessly refused to see them later on when Cymberly and her mother tried to heal the breach. Even worse, he refused to come to his own daughter's deathbed when Cymberly begged him to come and make things right so that her mother could die in peace. Cymberly's bitter feelings toward her grandfather make it impossible for her to trust any member of that family, including Major Ryder. How many men would keep trying after being rejected and insulted as many times as Geoffrey Ryder? Especially when the woman he loves appears to be in love with another--less worthy--man? How many men would keep their mouths shut when they had the means of ruining their rival's reputation? Especially when they themselves are unjustly accused of manipulating that rival's death in order to have a clear playing field with Cymberly? Not too many. One is left with the impression that Major Ryder is far too good for Cymberly! I guess that is why I don't think this book deserves a fifth star. Cymberly's prejudice against Major Ryder and her blindness at Reggie's weak character go on far too long and cause the book to drag a bit in the middle. Everyone around her knows the truth about these two men; it just doesn't ring true that she would take so long to realize it herself. And the name Cymberly doesn't seem appropriate for the period either. But I simply cannot imagine any man waiting around so long after being so badly treated again and again by the woman he cares about. Quite extraordinary!
Rating: 
Summary: Traditional Regency, parts set in Portugal
Review: I almost didn't buy the book because of the undeservedly poor review it received from Romantic Times but I'm very glad I did. The book is well researched and well written. The military characters in particular are rather fun and well drawn. The author has managed to weave a number of bits of history into the story and they blend in very well to make a very plausible tale. From the back cover of the Zebra paperback edition... An Independent Woman Braving the censure of the ton, Cymberly Winthrop decides to follow the drum by joining her father, Colonel Charles Winthrop, in Portugal. No sooner is Cymberly in Lisbon than she witnesses a handsome man rescuing a drowning child. That man is Geoffrey Ryder, a distant member of the family that cruelly disinherited Cymberly's mother. She'd rather ignore her attraction to him- and welcome the attentions of another soldier- even though it is Geoffrey's kisses, and not her suitor's, that light the deepest ardor in her... An Honorable Soldier Geoffrey Ryder has never come upon anyone like Cymberly Winthrop. Unlike most well bred ladies, Miss Winthrop is not above the unpleasant task of caring for the wounded. If only she weren't so besotted with Lieutenant Fleming, a man of deceptive character. But Geoffrey is up for the challenge, and somehow he will find a way to convince the woman he loves that he isn't the rogue she believes him to be-and that her heart belongs with him.
Rating: 
Summary: Huge potenial - sadly unrealised
Review: With my interest in military history and Wellington's Peninsular Campaign coupled with love of regencies, this should have fitted the bill. However, it failed, in my view, to live up to its potential and was, in the end, thin, superficial and a disappointment. Three stars because of the subject matter! Others have summed up the plot of a young woman of a socially mixed marriage getting into a social pickle and joining her general father in Portugal. Whilst following the drum during Wellington's push towards Toulouse and the exile of Napoleon, we learn about the difficulties of campaigning for those who accompanied the armies of Wellington. However, the characterisations of the main players, the quality of the dialogue and the superficiality of some of the plot streams in this novel only made me wish someone else had written it. I think Carla Kelly would, without doubt, have realised the potential here or Emma Drummond could have added great depth and power to the story. So, sadly, one of those disappointments that crop up from time to time. Two stars for characters and three for the plot. I really would not recommend this one.
<< 1 >>
| 
