Customer Reviews

The Famous Heroine (Signet Regency Romance)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Cora Downes is a merchant's daughter who enters London's elite society after rescuing a duke's son. The genuine and fun-loving Cora feels out of place in cold London society. Her fear of the aristocracy does not extend to Francis Kneller though. He is a duke's son, but Cora feels comfortable around him. Francis is amused by Cora and decides to ease her entrance into society by paying attention to her. After he inadvertantly compromises her twice, Francis offers Cora marriage. They enter into a marriage neither really wants.

I loved that Cora was not a member of the ton. I loved Francis Kneller's pink coats and lace. I loved their relationship. There is much humor to be had in The Famous Heroine, but it never overshadows the romance. It develops slowly and believably. Mary Balogh has written another winner!

It's not every day (or every heroine) who decides to marry a man she thinks is gay. . . and who is mortified when she actually admits that to her amorous husband! This is a fun book that is the third in a series of novels for Balogh the first being "Dark Angel," followed by the hero of "The Famous Heroine" being prominently featured in "Lord Carew's Bride" where he loses the beauteous Samantha to Hartley Carew only to find true love and laughter with Cora in "The Famous Heroine." (These two also make an appearance in the story featuring Cora's brother as the hero in "Christmas Bride.")

As usual, Balogh writes an excellent, engaging book. Less than halfway through the first chapter and I was already hooked. A hero who thinks he's pining with love for someone else, a heroine who thinks the man she has to marry is gay... but it's handled so well, so wittily and sensitively.

I love both Cora and Frances (how could anyone think them shallow?) and I'd love to read 'Dark Angel' and 'Lord Carew's Bride,' but probably won't be able to since they're not available in the UK.

Balogh has a talent for making her characters seem real, genuine people; I don't think she could write a caricature if she tried. I have a pile of other Balogh books to read, and I'm looking forward to each one of them.

While Balogh's longer, more involved novels are usually a far better purchase than the standard 200-page Regency, she is an author who can alter her style to fit this genre if necessary, and in 'The Famous Heroine' she's done just that. Cora is a wonderfully amusing and enjoyable heroine, and Francis a rather unexpected but thoroughly likeable hero. Cora's misconception about Francis is actually very plausible, and the scene in which this gets straightened out between them is one of the most amusing in any Regency I've read. It's also good to see a heroine who isn't a simpering miss in the bedroom.

Don't expect the usual Balogh angst in this book; but for a comedy with a light touch this is wonderful.

this superb regency is well written in that it has a very unusual hero and heroine.

After reading dozens of romances with "dark, brooding" heros it was wonderful to read about Francis-a fun loving, and very flambouyant hero whose preferance for lavish and colorful attire gives naive miss Cora the VERY wrong idea of him! This book was absolutely delightful and suprisingly, very sensual for a regency.


5 stars and my highest recommendation-well worth the money, even at the higher out of print price:)

When circumstances lead to the marriage of two persons of rather differing social standings, hilarity abounds. The bride mistakenly believes her new husband prefers the company of men rather than women. Her belief is based solely on how prettily he dresses and how prettily he behaves. This misunderstanding leads to several embarrassing scenes that leaves the reader in stitches. Quite an entertaining read but with a little more bedroom description than I prefer...

Mary Balogh's Regency romances may resemble others in the series from the outside, but the unusual combination of intelligent plotting, moving and credible characters and funny dialogue put them among my favourite reading.This particular book is one of her most light-hearted and enjoyable

Mary Balogh is one of my fav's but this one fell short of my " I love Mary" books. The one thing I love about Mary is her ability to include the reader in a sympathetic and 'realistic' tale about the heroines story. I felt in this book that the male character wasn't passionate enough about his heroine; however funny. The characters in the book make you laugh, but you do sense the lack of passion and intimacy between them, which leaves you wondering whether (long after the story finishes)the hero and heroine find true happiness.

I really liked this book and thought that it was very funny. The writing was absolutely superb and having this been the first Mary Balogh book that I've ever read, I can't wait to read her entire backlist...(those that I can get my hands on!)

I loved this heroine. She the kind of person that I'd want for a friend. She is sweet, kind, down to earth, and "calls a spade a spade". She is not a member of the ton, although her father is extremely wealthy. She saves a child from drowning and, for a reward, gets entrance to the elite society of the "titled" in order to snag a husband. She is somewhat clutsy and has a bad habit of having her mind wonder when she's supposed to be listening. I thought she was delightful and loved how she spent the greater part of the book believing her good "friend" Francis was gay!

Francis dresses in flamboyant colors, is "effeminent", and very easy to talk to. He is also in love with the heroine from "Lord Carew's Bride". It's Francis who makes me not give this book a 5 star. Although I really liked how different he is from the stereotypical alpha male, he spends all his time dreaming about another woman, never really convinces me that he loves Cora, and is a lousy lover. Tell me why anyone would voluntarily like to read about disappointing sexual experiences? I just never really liked him or thought him good enough for Cora, the true gem of this story.

If not for the witty, clever, and easy writing style of this talented writer, I might not have viewed this book in the favorable light that I do. I laughed and laughed and loved Cora Downes...I think you will too!

I really enjoyed this light-hearted romance that left me saying 'ahhhh' at the last page.Well worth reading if you can get hold of a copy.