The Lost Duke of Wyndham, Part Deux
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Julia Quinn is one of my all-time favorite romance authors, but I believe she may have missed the mark on this one.

As I started Mr. Cavendish, it felt astonishingly familiar...as if I'd read it before. Dj vu or just a rehashed plot line? I think it's most likely the latter.

Amelia Willoughby was first introduced to us in The Lost Duke of Wyndham as the younger sister and fiance of the soon-to-be ex-duke, Thomas Cavendish. We don't learn much about her other than she's never been great friends with Grace Eversleigh. Rather, her sister Elizabeth is Grace's friend and confidante. Thomas is, of course, the ever-noble and honorable duke who must hand over his title--his very essence--to his long lost cousin, Jack Audley.

I can't pinpoint the exact believability factor with this particular Quinn novel other than to say it felt like I was rereading the first book...as if she'd merely written the scenes over again from another character's perspective. I also didn't like how it appeared that Amelia suddenly woke up one morning and decided she was in love with Thomas. She'd known him for years as his betrothed, but according to her, she hadn't really known him or his true personality beneath his polished veneer. And all of a sudden, she realizes she's in love with him in a few days' time? There's something a little too fanciful about that.

As for Thomas, I really appreciated his apparent struggle with his identity and readjusting himself to a different kind of lifestyle. He had to rediscover himself before he could commit himself wholly to Amelia by the end of the novel. I felt that it was a realistic twist and one that anyone might experience in his shoes.

Quinn's writing is always, always strong with clever dialogue. This work was no different, but it lacked the plot and depth that also characterizes Quinn's writing. Overall, a bit disappointing but still a worthy read for true Julia Quinn fans.
2300733
This author gave us a Caroline Bingley who was a friend to Elizabeth Bennet.
This author gave us a George Wickham who was a friend to Fitzwilliam Darcy.

And now:
This author gives us a Lady Catherine de Bourgh who is a friend to  EVERYONE!

Lady Catherine befriends the Bennets  all of the Bennets  and in the process
she is also able to befriend her nephew.

The story begins with the Bennet family traveling to Hunsford to meet Cousin Collins
who was unable to visit in Meryton the previous fall.  Lady Catherines nephews
plan their customary Easter visit to Rosings.

SPOILER:  The backstory varies a little from Canon in that Darcy had spent much less time
in Meryton.  He had attended the Assembly (where he makes his usual remarks) and
the evening gathering at Lucas Lodge (where Elizabeth rejects Sir Williams attempt to match ODC in a dance).
Shortly after that, Darcy returns to London.  Bingleys family hosts the Netherfield Ball and leaves town as per canon.
Darcy therefore was not at Netherfield when Jane was taken ill; did not know Wickham was in Meryton
and did not influence Bingley to reject Jane.

Lady Catherine believes Elizabeth would be a good match for her nephew Darcy and
contrives opportunities for them to interact.  This time, its Cousin Anne who holds to the
belief of the cradle betrothal no matter what discouragement she encounters.

Lust is easy. Love is hard. Like is most important. ~Carl Reiner

Bingley  does he have the maturity to actually love?  Lady Catherine believes not.
She has an alternative in mind for Miss Jane.

Lady Catherine also influences the younger sisters for the better as well as being a good friend to Mrs. Bennet!

This is a very low-angst, sweet love story with the only real opposition coming from
Anne de Bourgh and Mr. Collins; although Mother Bennet makes her own confusions.

Some mothers are kissing mothers and some are scolding mothers, but it is love just the same,
and most mothers kiss and scold together. ~Pearl S. Buck
2165420
This is the third and latest of Guhrkes An American Heiress in London series. This one does tie down the timing of the books: we now know that How to Lose a Duke ends in 1889; How the Marquess took place about a year earlier; and this one begins in 1890. This one ties in closely with the other twoJack Featherstone, the male lead, was introduced in the first book as the brother of Belindas first husband and his successor to the earldom, although his father and brother had between them left very little in the way of income for him. This book opens with Linnet Holland, the heiress to an old Knickerbocker family, returning from a sojourn in Europe with her matchmaking mother and her father, who goes along with his wifes plans but has some other ones in mind and supports his daughter when during her London Season she receives several quite eligible offers from aristocrats (not all even impoverished) but turns them down. Linnet has just about decided to accept an offer from Frederick Van Hausenwho was the one whod raped Edie back before shed negotiated a marriage of convenience with the Duke of Margrave with the understanding that hed go back to Africa and not return to England. In the second book he does come back and persuade Edie to make their marriage a real one, but he also determined to ruin Van Hausen, with a little help from his friendswho include Jack Featherstone. Jack finds out whats going on between Linnet and Van Hausen; first he was attracted to Linnet himself, and then hes afraid it might also let Van Hausen escape ruin, so he meddlesand in the process ruins Linnet. He offers to marry her, but she refuses, and returns to England to see if Belinda can fix her up with someone more suitable. Of course, Jack is her brother-in-law, and although they aren't close she doesnt wish him any harm, and thinks he and Linnet might well make a decent match if she can forgive him for interferingsince she knows that marring Van Hausen would have been a disaster. Lots of sexual tension, though theres only one actual scene in this one. An-other very decent straight romance.
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Liam is the oldest and his quest for a happily ever after proved that being a Duke does not open all doors or hearts. The obstacles to his true love included finding the runaway fiancee (someone else's). Good read.
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This book continues with Nick, illegitimate son of elder Earl of Ridgeway, seeking answers about rumors of the Earl.  Nick finds a woman named Katherine "Kate", who is a village archivist. Kate and Nick read the archives to gain as some leads to who came to the village to use local fishermen during the war to smuggle.  Nicks life is saved by Kate and he falls in love with.  The village binds them into country wedding.  Nick takes Kate home to the family estate, Kate feels welcomed.  There is a threat to them both, yet cousin Simon is killed by the real smuggler, who is already under the kings watch, to be arrested.  The Emerson family is all back together again.
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Several reviewers noted that this is an unfinished book, due to the author's, Georgette Heyer's,  death.

  I can mention to those who want to know more about the Duke of Bedford that an excellent writer of accurate historical fiction, Margaret Frazer,  wrote about him and his family  in one of her series books about the travelling player (actor) Joliffe. This is, in my opinion, a great series.  The book is: "A Play of Treachery" which begins not long after the Duke's death. Though Bedford is not in the book, much about him in his latter years is presented.

 It gives the reader a good idea of what type of man he was---one who wanted peace which was not too common at that time among the nobility of England and Normandy--- and  is in this Frazer book, much of the plot concerns the Duke's very young widow, Jacquetta.

Joliffe, the player,  is in Normandy to unravel some questions pertaining to the possible treachery of some of (authentic) characters.

Frazer writes good mysteries, very accurate and with afterwards which explain any inaccurate points, due to the mystery element, as well as mentioning her sources for the reader who wants to know more about that time.

Joliffe is a fictional character, but Jacquetta is not and she is a fascinating character.

At the end, in the last part of the "afterward" Frazer tells the reader the "after story" of Jacquetta which is a true "twist"!!
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Margaret Frazer also has a series, set in the same time period, about the nun, Dame Frevisse, and Joliffe is occasionally in  and out of those books.  Both series are excellent, in my opinion, for those who like their historical fiction truthful.

By the way, these books do need to be read in order, google Margaret Frazer for that information.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lastly, I own the Heyer book "My Lord John" but have not yet read it.  I do have all her Regency books and they are among my favorites.  I have not read her histories and what were at the time she wrote them, her "modern mysteries" (set mostly in the 1920's I believe.)

I also have all the Margaret Frazer books and recommend them very highly to all who like accurate and interesting historical fiction/mysteries.
3346377
Running a gaming club doesn't exactly give a good impression to the daughter of a Lord, eventhough he is the "adopted"son of a Duke and Dutchess.  All bets are off when he rescues the lady and takes advantage of her loss of memory.  Little did he know he would fall in love with the woman she became. A scandalous love story.
3530587
After Mr Darcy and Bingley leave Hertfordshire, Jane mourns the loss of her fine young man, and Elizabeth is sure Darcy caused her  sister's grief.  Sir William throws a ball for New Year's eve, and Jane and Lizzy leave  early in poor  spirits.  As midnight falls,  Lizzy declares her hope is that Darcy wish for something he cannot have. Immediately after, their carriage overturns, Jane is injured but Lizzy sustains a head injury and is in a coma.  At the same time, Darcy has returned early from one of his Aunt Matlock's wife-finding balls, and while he realizes he will have to choose someone from  town to marry, he would like to see  Elizabeth one more time.  Elizabeth awakens in a beautiful house of huge proportions, and wanders from room to room.  Soon she realizes she is in a magnificent library and it fills her with laughter and joy.  Meanwhile, Darcy has fallen asleep in his study but is wakened by a laugh he recognizes.  Soon, and to the shock of each, they see each other.  Elizabeth is confused but still impertinent, Darcy believes her to be a figment of his imagination and says and does things in front of her that he would never consider in reality.  Georgiana sees her brother interacting with no one in particular and calls the Colonel for help. Darcy and Elizabeth talk and taunt each other,Darcy fears he is going mad and tests himself while he is with the Colonel and while he is at his men's club.  Elizabeth contributes a running commentary on the men's language and actions, Darcy is now frightened for his sanity and embarrassed, even though they can't see her or hear her.  When they eventually begin to interact as if each exist, they have their arguments and each learns to appreciate, understand and begin to fall in love in earnest.  Darcy does convince the Colonel to keep an open mind, and he finally has a confidant. Eventually, they discover that Elizabeth is at Longbourn in a coma and they travel there hoping to discover a solution.  At Longbourn, our couple tries several ways of melding the spirit Elizabeth with the shadow lying in bed, even to the point of Darcy hiding under the bed while Lizzy makes several attempts to reconnect with her body.  At the last moment, as the corporeal Lizzy is failing, Darcy arrives at a possible solution which works.  Unfortunately, Elizabeth has no memory of what transpired and he goes back to London, brokenhearted.  The Colonel convinces him to fight for her and he follows her to Hunsford.  Each day they have a walk, and learn each other better, but she is haunted by vague dreams of a warm and loving presence. Finally, as they walk they accidentally touch and it all comes rushing back to her.  A thoroughly entertaining, rather familiar, story told so well by Ms. Mackrory  which earns my wholehearted endorsement.  She has yet to disappoint me!
1961339
This book is the sequel to "The Temptation of Angelique" in which her relationship with her husband, Joffrey de Peyrac, having just survived a threat from within, now must face an external menace. The unexpected arrival of a beautiful, ultra-intelligent, Frenchwoman - the Duchess de Maudribourg - appears destined to turn Joffrey's heart away from Angelique. Slowly it becomes apparent that evil forces are at work again trying to destroy the love that binds them. Is the Duchess the prophesied Demon of Acadia? Will she succeed in her quest to wrest the heart of Joffrey? I won't tell, but the reader will be held fascinated as the story unfolds. This appears to be the most occult of all of the books in the series, but author Anne Golon does an outstanding job of tying the events to the earthbound plotting of individuals bent on Angelique's destruction. The shadowy figure of Sebastian d'Orgeval and the figure of Angelique's old rival, the Marquise de Montespan appear to figure prominently. Outstanding reading by any measure!
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Two damaged people find each other.
Christian Donatus Severn, eighth Duke of Mercia's damage we can guess at. Gillian, Countess of Greendale's is more hidden.
I took these two straight to my heart. Wonderful characters demonstrating true courage despite the atrocities they both endured.
Christian, a prisoner of war, Gilly a prisoner of her marriage.
Gillian flees to her cousin by marriage, Mercia, some time after her husband dies. She intends to take Mercia to task about his daughter Lucille. Mercia's wife Helene is Gillian's cousin. Mercia's daughter Lucille has not spoken for some time and needs her father. Gillian also needs a place to live. There's hints of trickery and treachery but her trusty solicitor Stoneleigh sets Gillian on the right path. More than once.
Christian is the 'lost Duke', 'a high ranking officer captured out of uniform' by the French, held and tortured. It is here in France that we again meet one of my heroes Devlin St. Just.  It is he who shepherds Mercia back to England and helping him and and understanding him as Mercia fights towards healing.
Freed after Napoleon has been captured Mercia returns home to many changes. The scene in France in the English camp where he is finally recognized as the lost Duke is vivid and wrenching, and we are treated to an unexpected degree of dignity from this shattered man.
I loved Gilly and Mercia. Her trueness and his damaged heart. The simple act of eating an orange becomes part of the dance between them and is displayed with a fine sense of delicacy, reflecting another facet of the person that Gillian is.
Gilly's embroidering of acres of flowers as a weapon is striking. Wonderful! All I could think of was William Morris fabrics. I know he was a later era but I was seeing complexity and colour and the steadfast tramp of flora being embroidered on everything until all else is obliterated. As Christian later tells Gillian, 'you made your needle a weapon.'
Certainly the whole idea of torture, endurance, rebellion and suffering are examined. As is to some extent the relationship of tortured and torturer.
I find Girard St Clair, now Baron St Clair, a puzzle and can't work out just what he is hiding or was about. On the surface, he is Christian's tormentor, an unpleasant man. Certainly my sympathies are against him, tied up as I am with the treatment he metered out to Christian. What was Girard up to then? What is he up to now?
There is no denying that the physical damage to Mercia has been great but the psychological damage has been extensive. Later though, Gilly treats us to an interesting insight about Girard. He 'is a man--a flesh-and-blood man, with regrets and scars of his own--behind the beast who's haunted Christian's dreams.'
As we come to see this work's title, it's idea, 'The Captive' operates on a number of different levels.
Another excellent and fresh look at Regency times from Grace Burrowes.  This time addressing the results of the Napoleonic wars on the psyche of those who were not only at the battle front and all it's horrors, but those  who were treated abysmally. Something we today also have difficulties coming to grips with.
I think Burrowe's dedication says it all.
'To those at war, especially the wars nobody sees, may you find peace.'

A NetGalley ARC
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Greer Fairchild is determined to track down her missing inheritance, if it exists.  Unfortunately, her uncle has passed away and any inheritance has passed onto a distant relation in Wales.  Then her elderly traveling companion dies on the long journey to Wales, leaving her in the company of a man who may not have her best interests at heart, and who may well be hiding something from Greer.

Arriving in Wales, Greer becomes intimidated and attracted to the man who holds her inheritance, Rhodrick Glendower, Earl of Radnor.  He is untrusting of Greer, and in his caution to determine if she is who she says she is, delays her journey back to her sisters in London.

Mistaken identities, misunderstandings, and secrets from the past all come to light .. but will Greer deny her heart before it is too late?
1073179
Dominic Claireux returned. From Waterloo his father dead at his own hand and nothing but debts. Minerva a dukes daughter and filthy  Rich gets Dominic to marry her. He refuses to touch her after they marry and head to Paris.. She learns he loves someone else Lavinia Winterton who had broken his heart once. He meets her again in Paris and she begins to get him in her clutches again. Minerva catches them in an embrace which he promises to not do again. He and Lavinia  still stay and talk together at all the balls. Minerva and Dominic are now consummating their marriage but the other woman is not giving up. Their is a mystery also in this story. I thought from the book blurb that Lavinia was going to be  his mistress.she instead was a young spoiled daughter. The book ends with a HEA  for everyone and the mystery solved.
4559901
This is the 2nd book in a series , but the author does well at bringing the reader up to speed. The reader is along for a story that involves an ex spouse using blackmail to try to get a turn in the time travel machine, a missing person, and history that has long been disputed and begs for proof either way.
1964993
The Lost Prince is a precious and well written sequel to The Little Book by Selden Edwards. It had been some time since I had read The Little Book. I found it necessary to go back and reread The Little Book before I could make sense of The Lost Prince. Once I reread The Little Book and had all of the characters clear in my mind, then The Lost Prince became engaging and driving.
2907734
Peter and Harriet, now Duke and Duchess of Denver, are thrown into a petty scuffle for power at St. Severin's College of Oxford. It is discovered that one of the fellows of that college is dangerously lunatic and another is a money-grubbing, lying person with designs on property the school is considering for purchase. It is a tribute to Ms. Sayers that things are handled well and the school comes off considerably better off in the long run . As an aside,  we get to meet considerably older versions of  Bredon and Paul, who are refreshingly intelligent young men, very fond of their parents, and very aware of what they want and their limitations. We also get a refreshing glimpse of Peter's mother, who is always a joy.
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Susan Carroll's Twilight of A Queen makes for a good Saturday-afternoon read. Mystical and historical, Carroll blends the last days of the reign of Catherine de Medici (the Queen Consort of Henry II of France) with the search for the powerful Book of Shadows. In her desperate search, Catherine falls prey to deception by Captain Xavier, disguised as a tribal seer.
  After his false prophecy as to the whereabouts of the coveted spiritual pages, he ends up shipwrecked and washed up on an island colony of women who are protecting the very Book. As he heals, the "daughters of the earth" on Faire Island learns that Xavier has ties to the missing merchant father of Lady Jane Danvers, an exile in the midst of the white witches.
  Jane and Xavier develop a hot and heavy romance, playing out against the threat of Catherine seeking to destroy the rightful heir of the Book of Shadows, as the Spanish Armada closes in on Catherine's rival, Britain.  Moonlight rituals, Renaissance rivals, and rogue romance round out  Carroll's Faire Island fantasy.
  One can pick up a few basic facts about Catherine de Medici... all the while given a very detailed description of Xavier's male attributes from Lady Jane's perspective. Curl up on the couch, with a cup of tea, for this one.
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The mentally unbalanced Edward II was locked up and replaced by his minor son and a regency council.  No way to know what really happened to Edward II, who did it, and why Edward III turned on some of his closest advisors.  In this book, the interpretation is very different from the more common thinking on the subject.  It is interesting.