Customer Reviews

Miss Carlyle's Curricle (Signet Regency Romance)

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4 star:		(1)
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What a refreshing change to find a story where the hero falls in love at first sight and sets about convincing the heroine that they are "two halves of a whole" that were meant to be together! A hero without the usual lordly arrogance, the large succession of mistresses, the prejudice against marriage and commitment. . . . I hadn't quite realized until I read this how disgusted I had become with the traditional regency hero. Now that I have, I find myself hungering for more of the same. Regency authors, are you listening?

Readers, you can't go wrong with this delightful tale of a pair willed to marry each other who nevertheless become a true love match.

Heroine: tall, voluptuous

Diana Carlyle is shocked and dismayed to discover that her beloved late uncle's will demands that she marry his heir, or else she and her mother will have to try and get by on a pittance of a stipend. Her sense of independence makes her dig her heels in against the union, but she soon finds herself relenting when she discovers that life with Gavin would not be as unpleasant as she'd thought. And when her uncle's death seems less like an accident than previously thought the security of marrying Gavin is too much for Diana to pass up, so she accepts his proposal and settles in for a lifelong marriage of convenience.

But Gavin has other ideas about what their marriage ought to be like and sets out to make his wife love him. But first he must capture the fiend who caused her uncle's demise--a killer who will surely strike again.

What worked for me:

Gavin was an intriguing hero who appears to be very laid back and jaded yet far more with it than he lets on.

The mystery intertwined with the love story was a good one, and even though I thought I had a handle on what was happening with it, the solution ultimately surprised me.

Size-wise Diana was tall and thought she was too large, but Gavin thought she was lush and luscious.

What didn't work for me:

Diana didn't come off as strong as I felt she was touted as being. In fact she was a bit missish in spots, though there was a satisfactory explanation for that given later on in the story.

Overall:

"Miss Carlyle's Curricle" is a pleasant diversion for a rainy afternoon.

Warning: There's a steamy scene in this book.

If you liked "Miss Carlyle's Curricle" you might also enjoy "Slightly Wicked", "Into Temptation", "Suddenly You", "The Accidental Bride", "The Bride and the Beast", "The Fire-Flower", "The Last Days of a Rake", "Cat and the Countess", "The Courtship", or "Enchanting Pleasures".

Having read another Regency romance by Karen Harbaugh, I was half-expecting this to have a supernatural twist. It doesn't; it's a straightforward, and very enjoyable, romance.

Diana's uncle and guardian dies in what appears to be a tragic accident; suddenly, an heir no-one knew about appears, and her uncle has left her a large inheritance provided she marries Gavin, the new Lord Brisbane. But she doesn't know him... and the fact that he tells her he fell in love with her the instant he saw her only makes her doubt his sincerity.

The growing friendship between Gavin and Diana is beautifully portrayed. Although she's hardly a young debutante, she's had reasons to be nervous around men and to distrust their intentions; Gavin is not aware of that, but does realise that she is shy, and he adapts his behaviour accordingly. Before she knows it, she's fallen in love with him too...

But then he tells her that he thinks her uncle's death, from a crash in the curricle of the title, was no accident; and the story becomes intriguing, with danger lurking for both Gavin and Diana.

A well-written and enjoyable book!

Karen Harbaugh is one of the best writers of the Regency genre. This is an excellent story with a nifty mystery and a compelling heroine and hero.