30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Delightful Regency that should not be missed, March 7, 1999
If you are looking for a light Regency romp and an enjoyable romance, you have got it in this book. A young man suddenly found himself not only the inheritor of a noble title with all its wealth and prestige but also the guardianship of four beautiful young ladies. The Marquis of Rotherbridge found himself in the strange position of a fox trying to guard the hens. The rakish Marquis was drawn to the eldest of the sisters who was beautiful, voluptuous and alluring and set out to seduce her but all the time trying to protect the virtue of the other wards from his libertine friends and brother.The efforts at seduction and the episodes are very romantic but not at all explicit and erotic like Laurens' later works e.g. 'Captain Jack's Woman', 'Devil's Bride' but are actually much more enjoyable. I would have liked to give it 5 stars except that I was a bit dissatisfied with the ending which was rushed and made to look contrived and abrupt. The writer made the four sisters succumb to their seducers on the same day and without the presence of a chaperon or abigail which was highly improbable if not impossible. But for this flaw, the story is perfect! I heartily recommend this book.
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23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Four in love with Lauren's regal style, June 27, 2002
This review is from: Four In Hand (Mass Market Paperback)
The recurring romance storyline of "rakes falling in love with the ladies in the ton" predominates her Cynster saga - and originates from her earlier Harlequin regency romance as well, including the featured title Four In Hand in 1999. It is hence a largely predictible plot that is penned straight by Laurens with little surprises.
Despite this, FOUR IN HAND is kept spry in its narration by Lauren's firm grasp in her regal style. Max Rotherbridge was a viscount before he ascends to dukedom after the demise of his uncle in an accident. Little did he expects his obligations would include offering his protection to four delectable ladies of Twinning. Their stunning beauty propel them to the toast of the ton - and the duke of Twyford finds it a daunting task to fend off rakes and unwanted attraction. Even he himself is stumbled by his desire for the eldest Twinning sister Caroline - and it would prove a scandal if he falls in love with his ward....
It is a light-hearted and wispy romance that is kept bustling through Lauren's vivacious descriptions of baroque balls, glitzy parties where gossips are rampant among priggish countesses, flirtations are exchanged and hearts are lost. Her characters are equally measured in terms of exuberance - there is the matured Caroline, the naughty minx Arabella, the innocent Lizzie and the sensible Sarah. Lady Augusta Benborough, Max's aunt and the girls' chaperon also makes a welcoming presence. They each find their suitors and ultimately marriage proposals from the rakes...
I do like Lauren's style and passionate prose but I would even gladly welcome a change of her plots anytime to banish the staleness of the typical "rakes tempting ladies" storyline - that has been recycled from 1999 till now.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Pre-Cynster Laurens: much better writing, but flawed, April 21, 2004
This review is from: Four In Hand (Mass Market Paperback)
Stephanie Laurens is a talented writer and also reasonably knowledgeable about her period, but in recent years she's been wasting that talent writing `historical romances' which are little more than Black Lace books in disguise. This book, however, is one of her earlier romances, written at a time when she was still trying to stay true to the Regency period.
This is somewhat reminiscent of Georgette Heyer's Regency Buck, in that we have an arrogant, rakish lord who discovers that, along with the title he has recently inherited (in this case, Duke of Twyford), he has also inherited some wards. Here, his wards are four beautiful sisters, all unmarried, all wealthy and all, he knows, who will be the targets of every rake in town. He himself is hugely attracted to the eldest Miss Twinning, Caroline, and finds himself plotting to make her his mistress. Were she really his ward, it would be contrary to any sense of honour - even his honour - to seduce her, but under the terms of her parents' will, she is of age and so not his ward. Yet he pretends to her that she is, so that he'll be free to be with her without any suspicion.
There are four romances in this book but, as some other reviewers have noted, none of them is really satisfying. In an attempt to fit them all in, Laurens rushes through crucial developments - such as her heroes actually realising that they are in love with the women they're pursuing. Even Max - Twyford - whose story is the main one appears to fall in love without the readers ever realising how this momentous event happens. One minute he is pursuing Caroline in order to make her his mistress; the next (and this is quite early in the book) we see him musing that seducing her is no longer his primary aim. Why not? What made him fall in love? We don't know, because Laurens doesn't show us. Similarly with Lord Darcy, the suitor of Sarah Twinning: Sarah rejects his attempts at seduction, and he gives up, retiring to his Irish estate in order to show her that he's lost interest. And yet he comes back and pursues her again. Why? With what object?
This book does show signs of the pattern Laurens fell into with her Cynster books: her heroes all seem to fall in love too quickly, without any showing on Laurens' part of why and how this happens. Given the rushed nature of the individual love stories, which does leave readers unsatisfied, she would have been better advised to have made it a four-book series, culminating in Max and Caroline's story. Nevertheless, it's an entertaining read, and definitely far, far better than the majority of her later work.
wmr-uk
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