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HONORIA
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Awe-Struck E-Books,
Feb 2005
Reviewed by Joy
Calderwood
Regency Romance
Vicar’s daughter
Honoria Spencer has three choices in life. She can remain unmarried and
keep house for her parents. She can give in to the importunities of the
objectionable George Whitham and marry him. Or she can allow her bossy
sister Prudence to herd her into life as companion to a cranky old lady.
The arrival of young bachelor Roland Carstairs, with his money and his
honeyed tongue, seems to open up more pleasant possibilities.
Every marriageable
young woman in the county has her sights set on Mr. Carstairs, but
Honoria has connections. Carstairs’ advisor, Mr. Bowes, believes Honoria
is the right wife to finish the job of turning Mr. Carstairs into a
gentleman. With Mr. Bowes managing opportunities for her behind the
scenes, Honoria makes great progress in spite of the competition.
Of course, the
reader knows immediately what Honoria ought to do, but Honoria has to
find out for herself. It would be a shame to miss out on that path to
discovery. HONORIA is so funny my walls were ringing with laughter as I
read. The silliness and stratagems in the Spencer household, the sniping
wars with the vain, confused Louise Allenby, the determinedly
well-meaning activities revolving around Mrs. Spencer’s charity work,
all tickle the reader’s funnybone over and over.
The only reason I
can think of why HONORIA is an ebook instead of being displayed on
bookseller shelves is that it is not considered politically correct to
poke fun at charity work. Politically correct or not, Mrs. Spencer and
her charges are a constant source of amusement. HONORIA is exactly as a
Regency romance should be, a comedy of manners that kept me running the
range from giggles to roars. The satire is wicked, the tangle of
romances even more tangled than usual, the resolution as satisfying as
one could imagine. Once again, author Melissa McCann is a strong
candidate for my Favorite Read List.
February 2005
Review
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