This is the third of the six book series of Regency romances by the
author of the Agatha Raisin murder mysteries. They are, of course, no
more than fluff, mildly entertaining yarns of misunderstandings and
infatuations and cross-purposes and secret elopements, leading to the
inevitable happy ever after at the end, but enjoyable enough to while
away a few hours.
The plot is much as before: the Squire is
impoverished again, despite having married off his two eldest daughters
to wealthy husbands, so he decides to set up a marriage for the third
daughter, Deirdre, with Lord Harry Desire, a young man who stands to
inherit a fortune, but only if he marries. Unfortunately for this
beautiful plan, Deirdre is in love with the ne’er-do-well from a
neighbouring estate, and so the merry-go-round begins. The trouble with
books like this is that they stand or fall on the strength of the
characters, since the plot is essentially a formula. Deirdre, sadly, is
almost as silly as her older sisters were in the two previous books.
It’s a pity the author can’t find a way to reconcile naivety and
immaturity with just a modicum of common sense, because it seems so
implausible that any reasonably intelligent young man would want to
marry anyone who does quite so many silly things. Luckily, Our Hero is
not just intelligent, but perceptive enough to detect the many good
qualities of the heroine, buried as they are beneath so much seeming
stupidity.
Once the plot gets properly underway, things build
nicely to the usual unravelling of all the misunderstandings. There are a
few genuinely amusing moments, a certain amount of farce and a rather
likeable hero, even if the heroine never really seems to deserve him. As
with the previous books, it’s the man who has to show initiative and
common sense, while the woman runs around being childish, and this
pattern is becoming repetitive. The conclusion was enjoyable enough to
merit three stars but I’m not sure I’ll continue with the series after
this.
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