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Title: Drusilla's Downfall (Signet Regency Romance) by Emily Hendrickson ISBN: 0-451-20923-0 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: 01 July, 2003 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $4.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.33 (3 reviews)
Rating: 1
Summary: Amazing how some books get published!
Comment: I frequently contemplated tossing this book, both literally and figuratively. I picked it up based on the other reviews, but it hardly deserves such accolades. The only reason I managed to finish it is that somewhere past halfway through, the author finally caught my attention with the primary romance.
Other than that, however, the book is a mess. There are plot holes big enough to drive a truck through, like the one near the end of the book when the hero plans to propose the next day and sets a appointment with the heroine, who thinks she's about to be dismissed as his mother's companion. The next thing you know, it's another day and then another night -- the author added an extra day and no one caught it before publication. In addition, only one secondary character is developed enough to stand out from the crowd; the rest are both interchangeable and changeable. It is as though the author changed the personalities, motivations, and personalities of her characters just to suit her vapid plot. Things happen, not as a result of who the characters are (for that seems to change with alarming regularity), but merely to achieve an end. In other words, most of the action is imposed upon the characters rather than stemming from them. Another example of the wretched characterization is that one of the hero's friends is repeatedly described in terms that make the reader wonder how on earth the two men could possibly be friends.
I almost never judge an author by a single book, but this may be one time I do. Give this book a pass. It is not worth your time.
Rating: 4
Summary: Don't miss it!
Comment: Miss Drusilla Herbert has taken on the position as a companion--to one of her mother's old school friends. Drusilla and Lady Brentford get along famously, and Drusilla agrees to help the lady throw a party in celebration of ther older woman's birthday.
Enter Lord Brentford, Adrian Richmond: the Lady's son. He is suspicious of his mother's companion, so he travels to the country to see what Drusilla's all about. Adrian is intrigued by Drusilla, the beautiful country mouse with a brazen tongue. And while he's initially against the idea of a party, he eventually consents to it.
Several party guests grace the pages of the novel with their unique presences. Lord Brentford's friends are dashing (and some of them deserved bigger roles). Snobby Lady Felicia is delightfully (but not entirely) bad. Every character adds something to the story--even Mrs. Knight's annoying pooch! Overall, the novel is light and entertaining.
But it's also predictable. And if you're familiar with Regencies, it's really nothing new.
Still, you should definitely pick it up. Every word is enjoyable.
Rating: 5
Summary: A house-party story -- with a twist!
Comment: While the books of Emily Hendrickson have been consistently popular throughout the years, I must admit that they've not always been among my favorites. Certainly, her research cannot be faulted; one could spend many futile hours searching for an anachronism to pop up in one of her books. They are entirely accurate as to time and place and costume and speech, and the reader always knows where and when the story is set. These are elements I find essential in the enjoyment of a Regency novel, but yet, they aren't quite enough in themselves for complete enjoyment of a book.
This book, however, was a very pleasant surprise: I truly enjoyed every minute of it. It seemed to have more of a life of its own, perhaps, than her previous books. And, too, the main characters created more sparks than usual, it seemed to me.
When I was growing up, the preacher's kids were always the biggest hell-raisers in town. And while the heroine here, Miss Drusilla Herbert isn't exactly in that category, she's certainly no meek little mouse, either. Not by a long shot! She's smart, sensible, kind-hearted, and very out-spoken, when it seems appropriate, and perhaps sometimes when it isn't quite. She's a charmer, through and through.
As one of six children (of a parish rector, to be sure) she's learned tolerance along with her other skills and attributes, and when the Marchioness of Brentford (a schoolfriend of Drusilla's mother) needs a companion while recuperating from an illness, Drusilla would seem to fill the bill admirably. Off she goes to Brentford Court.
In London, meanwhile, Adrian, the current Marquess, hears tales of his mother's house party and new companion, which rub him entirely the wrong way. How dare his mother be having parties if she's supposed to be ill? And just who is this companion anyway? She needn't think she'll benefit in any way from tending his mother. Oh, no! He'll go home and straighten this matter out in short order, send the companion packing, and then be able to resume his active life in town once again.
Adrian's good friend, Lord Ives, joins the house-party as does the woman Adrian's mother thinks could just make a good next marchioness, the Lady Felicia Tait. There are also several older folks including Lord Osman, who's taken quite a shine to the current marchioness.
From their first meeting, the sparks fly between Adrian and Drusilla, much to the surprise of both of them. He thinks she's an interfering and meddlesome minx, and she thinks he's an uncaring town beau. Her tart tongue sets him straight as to his mother, but he still harbors doubts about Drusilla. She begins to wonder if her earlier assessment of him was correct, after all. Of course, she's hardly a suitable match for him, but then, there is Lord Ives who at least seems to appreciate her. Until he is drawn more and more to Lady Felicia.
This is the premise of this delightful house-party book, which departs from the norm with its cast of supporting characters, and a neat twist in the plot before all is revealed. We end up with not just one happy match, but three!
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Title: The Family Matchmaker (Zebra Regency Romance) by Jeanne Savery ISBN: 0821775669 Publisher: Zebra Books (Mass Market) Pub. Date: July, 2003 List Price(USD): $4.99 |
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Title: Three Wishes for Miss Winthrop by Shirley Kennedy ISBN: 0451209389 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: 05 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $4.99 |
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Title: The Diamond Key by Barbara Metzger ISBN: 0451208366 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: 01 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $4.99 |
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Title: The Fleeing Heiress by Gayle Buck ISBN: 0451208374 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: 06 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $4.99 |
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Title: Abducting Amy (Signet Regency Romance) by June Calvin ISBN: 0451209222 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: 01 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $4.99 |
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