Customer Reviews

Daughter of the Dreadfuls (Signet Regency Romance)

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

 

 

Barbara Sherrod doesn't churn out as many books per annum as some of the other Signet authors, and it shows. Her books are amusing, correct, tight little idiosyncratic worlds. This is the closest you'll get to a contemporary Georgette Heyer for wit and style and unique, endearing, intriguing characters. Try her older Regencies published by Harlequin under the name Barbara Neil. Her style is so disinctive that I recognised her even under a new name with a new publisher after I had been several years away from the genre. This particular book is one of her best - the hero and heroine are eminently likeable and a cast of eccentric minor characters keep the plot rolling and provide comic relief. The dialogue is fabulous, the plot is coherent and pacey. Buy it now because you won't be able to get it when it goes out of print - it's a keeper and won't make it to the second-hand bookshops.

I was surprised at the reviews for this book. Though some disliked it, I enjoyed this pleasant tale immensely! Having just finished a gruesome historical, it was nice to escape to a slow paced, gentle romance. I liked Emma - which of us isn't embarrassed by our families (especially in our teens/twenties). She wants to disassociate herself from them as does her cousin George and they take off to London. Maybe not the best of motives but it made Emma very human. (Who wants to be called Dreadful instead of Drenville!) Both George and Emma come to appreciate and love their family by the end of the book.

Emma is also a bit clumsy, forthright and honest, and as quirky as her relatives - collecting recipes! Though love changed her in many ways, Emma did not change in the end which I liked (no ugly duckling to swan transformation). Captain Nicholas Hale, jaded seaman that he was, was fascinated and amused by Emma and her family. His own family is nothing but a source of frustration. They certainly don't appreciate him except for money lending! Perhaps in the book Nicolas fell in love a little too quickly for my tastes, but I loved his gentle pursuit of Emma. Everything he did for Emma was done so sweetly (and romantically!) that I couldn't see how Emma could resist him! There is a little drama at the end with a misunderstanding, and Emma's withdraw from London. The side characters-Emma's family, Nicolas's family, George, Lord and Lady Chitting and their four sons were wonderfully portrayed. Scenes with the dance master and the four Chitting son's mischief were very amusing!

I loved the letters written at the beginning of each chapter. What a great touch in telling the story! My favorite part -- the ending -- "A stumble ensued, followed by a timely catch and a number of kisses. Then they went down to the street, where they were embraced by a party of noisy, inquisitive, joyful Drenvilles." If you are looking for a lovely drawn-out romance with well-fleshed out characters, you will enjoy reading this one.

The reviewer below suggests reading something by Heyer if you yearn for wit and good minor characters, but unfortunately Heyer novels are a finite resource. Barbara Sherrod is the closest the contemporary reader can get to her flair, whilst carving a distinct style of her own. I agree with the first review here, and would add, for the last two reviewers, that the premise of a Regency is often at its best when it is light - and soul-searching life crises are not necessary to successful works in the genre. Yes, Balogh is good, as are Oliver, Butler, Kennedy, Barbour, Hazard - but why not add Sherrod to the list? The true Regency fan can't get enough good books and to limit author preferences is silly. Sherrod provides an entertaining farce, with interesting, original characters and marvellous dialogue. Her use of Regency-style language is superb. The romance in this book is SUBTLY drawn, as is the heroine's dilemma. I feel the previous two reviewers may have missed these points in their search for earth-shattering passion.

I wish I'd read the review here before buying this book. It really is as awful as the review below says. I just can't see how anyone could rate it at five stars - I was bored rigid after the first chapter!

If you want genuinely entertaining secondary characters, read something by Georgette Heyer. Don't read this.

I bought this book because of the very good review posted here, but six chapters into it I'm ready to give up. The characters don't appeal to me at all, and the premise - that the heroine is so embarrassed by her eccentric family that she doesn't want to know the hero - is just ridiculous. Scenes which are clearly designed for humour leave me cold, and I find I don't much care whether the hero and heroine get together.

Give me a Balogh, an Oliver, a Kelly or a Jensen any day!

To Wolfgirl: I wasn't looking for earth-shattering passion, just a good book. And this wasn't it! Yes, there are plenty of great writers around, some of them who even write subtle romances, some of whom write some excellent humour. But, judging by this book, Barbara Sherrod is not one of them. I read a lot of Regencies, as you might see if you check my review page. This is one of the *very* few books I couldn't even bring myself to finish. And when I've paid good money for a book, that isn't something I do as a rule.

Sure, we're all entitled to our opinions. If you liked this, great. However, I still can't recommend it and I stick by my assessment of it as tedious.