Customer Reviews

The Duke And Miss Denny (Zebra Regency Romance)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I read a reference to this novel at one of the romantic fiction review sites and ordered a secondhand copy to see for myself if it was "up to snuff" as they say! Oh, yes indeed! What a surprise! I love well-written stories with characters who can capture my imagination by virtue of being believeable, a little flawed and possessed of good conversation. A small point: Our heroine is always referred to by the author as "Miss Denny" - a little bit of formality that helped plant the story firmly in Regency soil.

Briefly, Miss Judith Denny's sister, Lady Spicer, has married well and is hosting Miss Denny for the season. Miss Denny, being the daughter of a country vicar, is not particularly ambitious. Indeed, her sister's marital problems (excellently portrayed) make her keen to secure the right sort of relationship for herself. And, in the kindest and mildest way, she is keen to facilitate a rapproachement between Lord and Lady Spicer.

One night, she meets James, Duke of Ashland. An incredibly wealthy and powerful man, the Duke is nonetheless a man of excellent character: honest and humble and in no way impressed by his own self-worth. Indeed, he shies away from the pomp and ceremony of his position and is very much attracted to the plain spoken, kindly and serene Miss Denny. The conversations between them are a joy to read.

There is no real "crisis" in the story; no "alarums and excursions" as Georgette Heyer used to mention. Although Miss Denny hesitates to accept a man whom she views as out of her league, because both of them are honest and direct, they are clearly destined for each other - and they both know it in their hearts.

I recommend this highly. Exquistely written with characters who engage and entertain - you feel you would like to know them personally. One reviewer commented that she has read this book many, many times. It's definitely going on my keeper shelf to be enjoyed again and I shall seek out other novels by Joy Reed.

I have recently found myself to be rather disenchanted with the current crop of favored romantic fiction authors so I have decided to step back in time to look for different reading options. One of the new authors I've discovered is Joy Reed. I enjoyed reading this book so much I think I will look into the used book market for more of her work. This book was written in 1998 so it is probably considered to be very old fashioned in its composition. There are no sex scenes. There are only two times in the book when the hero and heroine kiss. The enjoyment of this book is dependent on the reader making a connection with the lead characters.

Miss Judith Denny is the daughter of a vicar from a very small town. She is in London for a season under the sponsorship of her sister Fanny, Lady Spicer. Judith's idea is to enjoy each and every aspect of her time in London. She is not the one who is counting on her making a great match but her sister thinks the season will have been a failure if Judy doesn't find a husband. Lady Spicer is so full of all the "must do's" and "must not's" for Judith that it is almost impossible for Judy to remain true to her own personality. When Judy meets the Duke of Ashland she is herself, which intrigues him, then she tries to be "correct" which confuses him. Judy discovers that she can only be herself. Besides, a Duke would never be interested in her, would he?

James, the Duke of Ashland, was immediately drawn to Miss Denny because she was the most natural person he knew. They began by being friends, then they fell in love. He knew he had fallen in love with her but they both had obstacles to overcome before their relationship could move on to marriage. He was a lovely character for me. He had all the potential to be a complete snob, even in the beginning before meeting Judith, but that is not how Ms Reed portrayed him. We always saw him as a very natural, nice man. I really liked him a lot. I liked Judy for the same reasons.

This is not a Regency where you will find kidnappings, jewel thieves, highwaymen, the BIG misunderstanding, or any spitfire heroine. This is a book about a man and woman meeting, beginning to like each other as people, and then falling in love. In a word, realistic!

I enjoyed the writing, it was Jane Austen like but never difficult to understand or follow. A good, old fashioned love story. Super entertainment.

I was deeply impressed and immersed in this novel from the time I picked it up, and began reading it. The only thing that kept me from giving it 5 stars was the fact that there was about a 40 page span during the middle that slowed down the progress of the plot, and the momentum of the story. Otherwise, it was a delightful read, with a truly lovely heroine, and a dashing, if at sometimes bewildered hero. Overall, a wonderful story about two people falling in love, and about bringing back together two people who don't seem to realize they are still in love. The last is a little sidebar going on during the course of the main characters love story.

I absolutely loved this book. The H/H are so perfect for each other and though there are a couple of misunderstandings, (Judith actually snubs poor James before she is even introduced to him)James and Judith are so sweetly honest with each other that problems are easily resolved. I also liked the fact that they did not try to make each other jealous. I am so glad I found this book and can't wait to read more from this author.

Based on all the positive reviews here, I purchased this book used to read it myself. The reviewers were right as it was well-written, the duke and Miss Denny were delightful characters and the scene was well set. My problem is that, although I am pretty sure I hadn't read this book before, the story was so similar to other Regency books I'd read that it seemed much too familiar....right down to the virtuous cleric's family, the sister's problems and the talk from the two cousins. At this point, I've read so many books of this type that I can't recall which one was so similar. Was it a Balogh? a Laurens? [Comments and responses would be welcome] Or maybe I did read it, but with a different cover.
The familiarity of the plot just took away from the whole experience of reading this book.
Did others feel that way?

I loved the cover of this book........Everytime I needed visualization, I found myself flipping back to the cover to admire this wonderful couple I was reading about.
(please read synopsis of the novel on the main page, other reviewers have done an excellent job at it already).
I prefer a little more passion in my Romance novels, and although this book did not have enough of it in it, I still enjoyed it with all my heart.
The storyline was simple, the details of the Genre an education, and the Dialect was correctly portrayed. You just find yourself wishing this well suited couple the best of luck for the rest of their lives.
I have three other unread books by this same author in personal library and because if her writing style, I know what to expect and will read them as soon as I'm in the mood for some excellent very light romance reading.

This book is, as they say, unexceptionable. It's about two people who fall in love, circumventing certain obstacles but mostly coming to terms with their own feelings and trying to find a way of expressing them in a world where their behavior is highly circumscribed.

The Duke and Miss Denny behave, throughout, like reasonable, thoughtful, and loving people. There is no adventure to speak of, and nothing spicy, either. The book carries the hero and heroine through a number of standard Victorian settings: garden parties, Almack's, Hyde Park. I thought the ending of the book was superb, perhaps the best possible solution for the two: it is just as sensible, and just as sweet, as everything that came before.

There is one thing that bothered me about this book. The duke's attraction to Miss Denny is predicated in a large part on how naturally she behaves towards him, always joking and frank and familiar. It's a contrast to the listless, characterless manners that other debutantes are taught (and exemplified here by the duke's cousins, who are excellent comic relief throughout the book).

However, a lot - in fact, probably most - of the duke and Miss Denny's conversation has to do with the fact that he's a duke. Miss Denny is always bringing it up. She is constantly defining his character traits around his title - the ducal things he does, and the ducal advantages he has, and the ducal disadvantages, too. Maybe the idea is that the duke can be honest and talk about his position with her, but I could have wished for a broader range of conversational topics.

I love this book; I read it over and over and over, a la my Carla Kelly collection, in fact, it appears on my list of romances I have read over 20+ times.

One of the reasons I adore it is the juxtaposition of the characters; Judith Denny is a simple, almost plain parson's daughter under the wing of her dashing ton sister, Lady Fanny Spicer, whose staid husband Henry is ignoring her, leading Fanny into an indiscretion with another gentleman, and into giving Judy advice to treat eligible gentlemen very shabbily; hence the Duke of Ashland, a reserved, alarmingly handsom creature with hilariously frail cousins. There's a longer love train on these tracks than at an O'Jay's concert, but Reed makes it all work, and with the elan one expects from one of the best romance writers working in Regencies today.

Judith and Ashland are whimsically and winningly drawn, and I hope everyone can be persuaded to read this book.