Passing Fancies by Elizabeth Mansfield

Title: Passing Fancies

Author: Elizabeth Mansfield

Genre: Romance/Historical/Regency

Publisher: Berkley

ISBN: 0425063356

Format: Mass Market Paperback, 217 pages

List Price: Out-of-print

Reviewed: July 19, 2009

Rating: 4 stars (4.4)

Warnings: None

Synopsis: Lovely Lady Philippa Wyckfield gets drawn into any number of unfortunate situations due to her generous nature. Staying with friends she'd known since childhood, she manages to catch the eye of two of the brothers. One wrestles with his disgust of her supposed madcap nature while the other wrestles with his invisibility.

What I liked: I loved the characters with their varied idiosyncrasies. There is Lady Philippa (Pippa), whose generous nature lands her in more trouble than any normal human can handle; William, the stiffly proper head of the Sturtevant household and oldest child of Lady Georgina; Lady Georgina, air-headed, well-meaning mother and lady of the house; Simon, a scientist whose head is more often cloudy with his work than not; Sybil, only daughter and incorrigible madcap; and Dolly, the youngest son whose madness for horseflesh leads to at least one of the unfortunate situations I mentioned earlier. These characters are fleshed-out rather well despite the shortness of this book. Even the Oxbroughs, the lady and her son who are more or less the antagonists of the tale, have their quirks, making them more believable.

There was something I noticed with this book that struck me as interesting. It is written in third person omniscient. Perhaps this POV was more acceptable in 1983 when this book was written. From the research I've done in regard to publishing houses, this POV is not acceptable now. However, I feel Elizabeth Mansfield pulled it off rather well. While reading, I knew what was happening in each character's head, the POV switches were graceful and hardly noticeable. Considering this book is not a mystery in any way, I see no reason why we should not know what everyone is thinking.

The story was entertaining, light and fun. Love scenes were limited to kissing and even those were few and far between. I laughed more than once and at one point I thought I might cry. All that aside, this book is a good choice if you want a delightful, light read.

The Desirable Duchess by Marion Chesney

Title: The Desirable Duchess

Author: Marion Chesney

Genre: Romance/Historical/Regency

Publisher: Fawcett Crest

ISBN: 0449221563

Format: Mass Market Paperback, 172 pages

List Price: Out-of-print

Reviewed: December 2, 2008

Rating: 4 stars (4.1)

Warnings: None

Synopsis: Alice is in love with Sir Gerald. Her parents orchestrate a break-up and marry her off to the new peer in town, the Duke of Farrant. A talking bird starts off the controversy. Misunderstandings and general nuttiness ensue.

My opinion: Quite an amusing read...the first time. It's still funny, even six reads later, but if it is re-read too soon, it's just annoying. The talking bird isn't even the funny part. The silliness of the main characters and several supporting characters is what induces chuckling.

The heroine is 18 or so when the story starts and seems in keeping with her age, i.e., naive and trusting. The duke is around 30, a veteran of the Peninsular Campaign, and so a little hardened--something that is not really evidenced in the story except for a very few instances when the duke says/thinks something to that effect. Meanwhile, he has some serious problems with jealousy.

Overall: 4.1 stars because I do really like this very succinct story. I like Marion Chesney's ability to stuff an entertaining story into a very small book... :o)

Tilly by Jennie Tremaine (Marion Chesney)

Title: Tilly

Author: Jennie Tremaine

Genre: Romance/Historical/Edwardian

Publisher: Dell

ISBN: 0440186374

Format: Mass Market Paperback, 254 pages

List Price: Out-of-print

Reviewed: December 16, 2008

Rating: 4 stars (3.8)

Warnings: None

Synopsis: Gauche and chubby Lady Tilly is left destitute when her father dies and ends up working for a neighbor, Lady Aileen, as her companion. Lady Aileen treats her abominably, and the Marquess of Heppleford steps in to rescue her, offering a marriage of convenience. He abandons her on their wedding day and she makes herself over with the help of her maid, Francine, determined to make him fall in love with her.

My opinion: Typical Marion Chesney except Edwardian instead of Regency. Little facts are dropped here and there but nothing too in depth or off topic. The storyline is fairly common but Ms Chesney manages a level of humor that causes the reader to suddenly bust out laughing. I believe Ms Chesney takes great delight in mocking the eccentricities of the upper classes of the time periods she portrays.

I found Tilly's metamorphosis quite believable. Considering she was chubby and made up like a clown before Francine got a hold of her, it makes sense that a simple makeover and diet could transform her into a physical beauty. As for her hoydenish behavior, she has a few relapses, showing that she was still the same underneath despite all the studying of etiquette she was made to do.

Honestly, I don't have much of an opinion of the hero. He was typical, I think, of his upbringing, feeling he had certain rights just because he was born male and wealthy. For all that, he was not too bad. Other than the cheating thing. That was reprehensible.

Overall, it was a light, enjoyable read. Despite the fact that the cover declares this to be a Regency romance, it takes place in Britain, early 1900s, nearly 100 years after the Regency. Just FYI.

Kitty by Jennie Tremaine (Marion Chesney)

Title: Kitty

Author: Jennie Tremaine

Genre: Romance/Historical/Edwardian

Publisher: Dell

ISBN: 0440149819

Format: Mass Market Paperback,

List Price: Out-of-print

Reviewed: December 25, 2008

Rating: 4 stars (3.6)

Warnings: None

Synopsis: Shy, Kitty Harrison's miserly father dies, revealing her to be an heiress. Lord Peter Chesworth needs money to restore his beloved estate and asks for Kitty's hand, professing a love he didn't feel. He believes her to be as pushing as her mother and treats her quite callously after the vows are said. Kitty retreats further into herself, shocked and dismayed by the unlovely turn her life has taken. Then, someone decides she's better off dead.

My Opinion: Typical Marion Chesney, witty and darkly amusing at times, with tidbits of history and mockery of the upper class eccentricities. I didn't find it all that romantic; Peter was a cad at first and it was hard to believe he would fall in love with Kitty. The attempts on Kitty's life were more interesting than anything, really. It took me a little longer than usual to solve the mystery.

Overall, 3.6 stars for wit, historical fact-dropping, and because I like Marion Chesney's often mocking look at the upper classes.

Untameable, A Regency Anthology

Title: Untameable

Author(s): Catherine Blair, Kate Huntington, Donna Simpson

Genre: Regency Romance (traditional)

Publisher: Zebra

ISBN: 0821774158

Format: Mass Market Paperback, 256 pages

List Price: Out-of-Print

Reviewed: December 5, 2004

Rating: 4 stars (3.8)

Warnings: None

Since each story is quite unique, I'll comment on each novella separately...

The Rogue's Wife by Catherine Blair: I give this story 2.1 stars. Something about it gave me an icky chill. These two characters, according to a totally unbelievable storyline, fall in love but they are so blind they don't "see" each other. Lady Charlotte thinks the best thing she can do for her husband is push him into all the icky things he supposedly loves to do, namely, drink, gamble, and womanize. John, of course, thinks he should be able to keep his former life—until his wife actually pushes him into it. Both these characters seemed lifeless, abstract, completely one-sided. (July 15, 2009 - I read this and can't believe how harsh I sound. I will re-read this story and reassess my opinion.)

A Breath of Scandal by Kate Huntington: 4.3 stars for this story. In the beginning, I found Miss Abigail Pennington more annoying than anything. The fact that she raised her niece and loved her like a daughter for some reason made it imperative that she obsess over the girl's engagement to a very deserving young man. Enter handsome, charming, wonderfully strong Gabriel Bourbonnais, who may or may not be royalty. Abby's niece takes one look at the enigmatic foreigner and thinks he's perfect, much to her fiance's chagrin. Somehow, according to Abby, this is all Gabriel's fault—which I found rather annoying. Once Abby loosened up a bit, she was an interesting person. Gabriel was mysterious enough to be completely fascinating. The budding romance was more believable in this story than the previous and a certain scene near the end almost had me in tears.

A Rogue's Rescue by Donna Simpson: A whopping 5 stars for Ms. Simpson's touching tale of love and revenge—with an amusing bit of comedy thrown in for good measure. Lord Ingram is one of my all-time favorite Regency heroes. There is just something about a darkly handsome, brooding lord with a reputation based mostly on gossip. The heroine was quite likable, too. Ariadne Lambert is a spinster over 30 and plain as can be. Her self-esteem, however, is wonderful. I was truly impressed. After being told that a certain unscrupulous man is blackmailing a friend of a friend, Ari is determined to teach him a lesson. Her plan is going swimmingly until Ingram decides to rescue her. Not realizing she is trying to set the other man up for a fall, Ingram lets her know the man preys on silly, plain, rich spinsters for their money. It takes him a while to see through Ari's "brainless" act to the intelligent woman beneath. Their falling in love is gradual, believable, and very lovely. Of course, with all these misunderstandings, a mild element of humor is inevitable.

Overall, this book rates only 3.8 stars. Due to my love for the second and third stories, however, Untameable is one of my "keepers."