Customer Reviews

A Garden Folly

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Who could be more appealing for a hero than a man devoted to horticulture? Candice Hern has capitalized on the upper crust British penchant for gardening to create a lush setting for romance and a hero to die for.

Catherine Forsythe must find rich husbands for her older sister and herself if the pair and their Aunt Hetty are to escape crushing poverty in London. When a surprise invitation to a house party at Chissingworth Estate arrives, Catherine sees her chance. When her sister falls in love with a completely unsuitable young man, can Catherine salvage the situation by making a rich match for herself? Or will she succumb to the kisses of an equally impoverished fellow?

I especially loved the virtual tour of the gardens at Chissingworth Hern provides. Every scene serves as a portal to more beauty. Find your own garden bench and spend a few hours with this book. You won't be disappointed.

I just recently discovered Candice Hern books but have read four already and plan to read as many a possible. I tried one of her novels due to the reviews on Amazon, but mostly due to the price. I read these books in a day or two and just cannot afford to spend $10 a day for a book to read. A Garden Folly is truly a good book with enough Regency period information to make it real. For a minute I disliked Catherine because of her honestly, but at that time women more often married for position and wealth than for love. That is what I like about Candice Hern's books. They are about finding love but also finding love in a culture and social setting that I find facinating. I only wish I could figure out which book goes where in a series. I read the second book of this series, The Best Intentions, I believe was the name before this one and would like to have read them in order. I wish Amazon would list them in order as Book 1 of 2, etc. I highly recommend this book to all who like a sweet, quick and totally entertaining read.

Many scenes in this book were quite amusing. However it was ultimately unsatisfying -- over the course of the book the hero demands that the heroine choose love over financial security, but the hero is not asked to make any sacrifice for their relationship. He essentially behaves childishly throughout the book while she has to struggle with much more responsible/life defining choices. Yet he is (of course) rewarded with "his heart's desire" at the end.

Left Penniless by their wastrel fathers gambling, Catherine and Susannah Forsythe are living in near poverty with their widowed Aunt when they receive an unexpected invitation to a month long House Party at the great estate of Chissingworth; home of the Duke of Carlisle. This could be their golden opportunity to find rich and possibly titled husbands, thinks Catherine. And the plans are going well; until Susannah falls for a most unsuitable gentleman and Catherine finds herself in love with a man who himself is not at all acceptable. But if she lets herself love this man, despite who she thinks he is, she may find herself in possesion of the greatest prize of all.

The heroine approached husband hunting at the premier house party of the season with enough strategies to rival a military campaign. I guess "go big or go home" was her mantra. The hero literally trips over her and a friendship develops and love quickly follows. One of the best things about this story is the appearance of Miles Strictland, who eventually finds love with Hannah Fairbanks in The Best of Intentions which you will also love. Like other books in this genre, there is no modern cant or descriptive sexual liasions. Just a nice happy read. My one question, however was not answered. Who was MacDougal really? Happy Trails.

I quite enjoyed this book. I love the Regency Period but get frustrated at too many inaccuracies in Regency romances. For most of this story I found it very satisfying. One knows what to expect from romances and while this book followed the formula it was well written with engaging characters. Of a lesser book I could have been more forgiving but my expectations were a little bit higher so I was unsatisfied at the end. I will continue to read books by this author though.

Candice Hern has become one of my favorite Regency Romance Authors. I liked this book "A Garden Folly" as it has an unusual twist with the heroine and her sister. A great easy read with a nice ending.

I was about to give this a 4 or 5 star rating, as I read along, but finally the hero's complete inability to have any empathy about poverty got to me, and I'm giving it a 3 star rating. It's unfortunate that the book is badly marred by this, because it has all the other ingredients for a very good read - interesting, developed main and secondary characters, beautiful setting, gardening, drawing. If only the heroine's character development as the book went along had been matched by the hero's.

I've never written a review before, mostly because I read way too much ebooks to review them all, but I have to make an exception for Candice Hern. I first discovered "A Proper Companion" when it was given away for free and I absolutely loved every word of it. The way Hern makes even the most seemingly innocent moments out to be incredibly scandalous and sexy (which, for the Regency period, I guess it was) made me buy all of her other Regency books. "A Garden Folly" is about the Forsythe sisters, - one exceptionally beautiful though a bit dim-witted and one whose sensibleness about their impoverished circumstances forces her to accept their need to marry for money. When Susannah falls for an undistinguished gentlemen, it is left to Catherine to ensure their financial security, although the budding friendship with the gardener of Chissingworth (the duke of the estate in disguise) threatens to derail her scheme. Can Catherine find love with a man she believes to be a mere gardener? Can the handsome duke set aside Catherine's fortune hunting ways if it means finding a woman who could love him for himself? That is the central conflict of this delightfully entertaining story.
"A Garden Folly" is by far my favorite because of the unique relationship between the hero and the heroine. I love the uninhibited way they got to know each other, which made me love them more as a couple. I can't say enough good things about Candice Hern and all her books. I paid 2.99 for most of them but it was well worth it. I'm currently making my way through the Merry Widows series and haven't been disappointed yet.

I loved this book mainly because the heroine fell in love with the duke thinking he was "only" a gardener and struggled with it, mostly because she and her sister and aunt were about to starve if they didn't marry well. It took the duke a while to reconcile himself to her looking for the biggest fortune she could get, but true love won out.

And that's what counts, isn't it?