A dashing widower with a rakish charm, Baron Cartwright knows all too well the power - and the price - of temptation. So when he learns that his theatrical-minded son is making a fool of himself over an actress, he wastes no time: He plans a house party at which a play will be performed by the guests - the perfect setting in which to deal with this Jezebel. But the baron is in for a shock when he meets the lady in question. Memories...and desire...come flooding back. For beguiling Diane Runyard is the only woman who ever captured his heart. Once, he walked away from her to please his family. Now he finds himself in the unenviable position of competing for her affections with his own son! Will true love win the day when passion and intrigue take centre stage?
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Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
Almost 20 years ago, actress Diane Runyard fell in love with nobleman Steven Cartwright, but their brief affair ended when Steven was forced to marry another woman. Over the years, Diane tried to forget about Steven, but after arriving at Lord Witherspoon's estate, memories of her former lover resurface once Diane discovers Steven's young son is one of the nobleman's guests. Not only is the younger Steven the spitting image of his father, but his hopeless crush on Diane further complicates matters. When rumors that his son has developed an unsuitable tendre for an older woman reach the widower Steven, he rushes to Lord Witherspoon's to wrest his son from the clutches of a scheming actress only to once again encounter the only woman he ever loved. In her latest elegantly written novel, Savery does an excellent job of unraveling the complicated romantic entanglements that link a colorful cast of characters, and her older actress heroine is a refreshing change from the usual young Regency miss. John Charles
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"Jeanne Savery writes a clever and engaging tale with truly memorable characters."
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
a pleasant enough 3 star read,
By tregatt (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The House Party (Zebra Regency Romance) (Paperback)
In "The House Party," Jeanne Savery takes on the monumental task of dealing with four romance subplots with varying degrees of success.
Almost 20 years ago, beautiful and talented actress Diane Runyard said good-bye to her lover, Steven Cartwright (later Baron Cartwright), when his father secured an advantageous marriage for him. Now, Diane is one of the leading comedic actresses of her time, and, in a twist of irony, is being courted by her ex-lover's only son, 18 year old Steven at Lord Witherspoon's country estate. (Lord Witherspoon is an aficionado of the theatre, much to his practical daughter's, Francine, despair, and has just finished building a new and spectacular theatre on his estate. Lord Witherspoon hopes to stage a new production of "Oedipus" and has secured the services of Diane and her friend and colleague, Roger Brown, to help train the amateur actors, all members of the ton who are interested in the theatre.) And when Baron Cartwright gets word of the fact that his only son and heir is making up to an actress, he descends on Witherspoon's estate, determined to strike the fear of God into this upstart actress' heart. The last thing he expected was to see Diane again, looking to vibrant, lovely and appealing, or to come face to face with all his old, suppressed feelings of love. Can he hope to secure Diane's affections again? And what of the complication of his son? While "The House Part" was a pleasant enough read, it suffered from having too many things going on. This meant that the author was unable to focus with real depth on the subplots -- in this case, the more interesting subplots. The main focus of this novel was the Diane-Lord Cartwright-young Steven subplot. Unfortunately, while Diane was an engaging and appealing heroine, the same cannot be said for Baron Cartwright, who came across as a stiff and arrogant man. His frequent dismissal of his son was a tad grating, and the author's later bid at explaining the coolness between father and son didn't really cut any ice with me. And truth to tell, the very young and immature Steven, was a better drawn character -- one even got the sense that with a few more years and maturity, that young Steven would be a hero to contend with -- and even the baron's dead father made more of an impression, than the baron did. The character that stole the book, however, was the cynical and sarcastic Sir Cyrall, who displayed unexpected depths, intelligence and sensitivity, and literally carried the book. Unfortunately, his romance subplot took on shades of the gothic, and was more "told" than "shown." The other two romance subplots left a lot to be desired as well. (And I really couldn't understand why the supposed bluestocking of the book, Eustacia Fairchild, never bothered to figure out why her friend never bothered to figure out the significance of her name and why her friend, Rafe, refused to call her by her given name, until the very end of the novel. It's the sort of totty-headed behaviour bluestockings frequently indulge in in these Regencies, and which usually drive me to fits of exasperation! ) The real trouble was that because the main romance subplot proved to be a rather uninteresting one for me, I had counted on the other subplots to pull me in. But because these were minor subplots were really background fillers for the main storyline, they were not properly developed, so that the overall effect was that this was a nice read but that something, ultimately, was lacking. On the other hand, "The House Party" was a very well written novel, with some fairly interesting and appealing characters (namely Diane and Sir Cyrall), so that all in all I'd vote this as an averagely good 3 star read.
3.0 out of 5 stars
OK,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The House Party (Zebra Regency Romance) (Paperback)
This story didn't grab me right away and didn't keep me interested. Jumped to the end.
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