Customer Reviews

A Country Flirtation (A Zebra Regency Romance)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After turning down 8 offers of marriage because she could not love the gentleman, Miss Constance Pamblerley is now nine and twenty and a confirmed spinster. She isn't bothered by that though and is happy being the mistress of Lady Brook Cottage and the surrounding estate. She has her hands full caring for her invalid mother and four younger sisters and soon she has two more charges on her hands when a treacherous bend in the road causes a young man to wreck his curricle in Lady Brook's yard. The young man can not recall his identity and is under doctor's orders to remain at Lady Brook until he does. Constance's younger sisters dote on "Mr. Albion" or "Alby" as they call him and Constance fears they are in danger of falling in love with a penniless man, which will not do. Constance has little time to consider whether Alby is faking his illness because soon, Alby's (real name Charles Kidmarsh) guardian, Lord Ramsdell comes crashing his curricle into Lady Brook's yard. Lord Ramsdell's accident causes a broken arm and a fever and Constance spends most of her time nursing the Viscount. When Lord Ramsdell awakens from his fever, he falls instantly in love with his nurse and she soon follows. They become close confidants and friends as well as flirting and kissing partners. Constance tells herself that it's only a summer country flirtation and that it doesn't mean anything but her heart has other ideas. Meanwhile, Alby/Charles thrives under the Pamberley sisters' care. He grows from a coddled boy into a man with chores and vigorous exercise. He also falls in love with the youngest sister, Augusta, and she helps him gather the courage to face his future. This is a silly, lighthearted romance. The characters continually behave out-of-bounds for that time period and the whole plot is unrealistic. I liked Charles and his coming-of-age story but I felt that Lord Ramsedell, whose name isn't revealed until Chapter 12, wasn't fleshed out enough to be a proper hero. I admired Constance in the way she managed her estate and took care of her sisters and mother, but this Cinderella story was a bit too much of a fairy tale for me. Hopeless romantics rejoice because this book is for you; hardcore historians, not so much.

I really enjoyed this book! It had a fun story line and very likeable characters. The beginning was fun and surprising.

This was a great book! I enjoyed Constance's pride and respect for her responsibility to her family, and thought how lucky we are now to not have the "class" restrictions society was hampered with in the Regency Era. The characters were all enjoyable and realistic, and the story moved at a nice pace.

"A Country Flirtation" is a wonderful story. It gets better and better as you continue readng. The way Ms. King writes her story to show how the hero's nephew grows up and turns out to be someone truly special is really something. This is really a good book. It wasn't easy to find it as it is out of stock but it was really worth the search. I intend to look for all of Ms. King's books from now on.

I loved reading A COUNTRY FLIRTATION. Valerie King made the characters so sympathetic, I found myself laughing and crying along with them. Ramsdell and Constance are delightful!