22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Oldie, but a goodie, July 2, 2001
One of my rare five-stars goes to this old Regency by Loretta Chase, which I prefer to her LORD OF SCOUNDRELS (published more recently). The story is slightly unusual, in that there are three romances developing (or unwinding) simultaneously, but the author (and thus the reader) always keeps the primary romance up front. Since this is a very old book, I will offer a brief summary.
The heroine Lilith is a widow who blames a libertine Marquess for the death of her husband, after years of dissipation in London. She has spent the years of her widowhood bringing out her husband's nieces and marrying them off more suitably (and kindly) than their own parents would have. However, Lilith is running out of money... but she insists on repaying a debt of honor, making life more difficult for herself. What is a newly impecunious widow to do? Well, if she wants to keep bringing out her surrogate daughters (her husband's nieces), she can only ensure this by marrying a highly eligible - and dull - suitor. This is just the beginning of a fascinating story, in which the Marquess in question seeks to remove a young cousin from the claws of a mistress and would-be wife, where this same cousin falls for one of the heroine's protegees, and where we see an amazing amount of development in the characters, as they grow and mature through their experiences.
There are no cardboard villains, no too-saintly hero and heroine, but no too-stupid-to-live persons either. Everything that happens is quite believable (well, almost entirely), and what results is a charming comedy of manners and morals.
If you love Georgette Heyer, you might like this book. It does not have Heyer's ironic wit and richer panoply of characters, but there is something Heyeresque about this story, which is yet uniquely the work of Loretta Chase. From my perspective, Loretta Chase is one of the more skilful and knowledgeable Regency writers, who rarely makes mistakes in the tone of the period, not to mention such things as titles or events.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply one of the best Regencies since Heyer, May 10, 2002
I've read over 400 romances, mainly Regencies, and I've read Knave's Wager seven times. Chase is true to the genre and a worthy heiress to Heyer. Julian and Lilith are two of the most fascinating characters I've come across and this is Chase's best work. Not fluff but solidly crafted. Lilith's shy vulnerability cloaked in cool disdain does not fool Julian, the consummate lover, even as it steals the heart he did not know he had. And Lilith cannot let her last chance at love get away without trying to grasp this opportunity for a lifetime of joy.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Will Loretta Chase never cease to amaze me with her brilliance?, January 22, 2006
Oh dear. Romances don't often get this good. But when they do, they are likely to be written by Loretta Chase.
What Loretta Chase does here is a twofold marvel:
1. She manages to write a "wager" novel that doesn't make the hero totally despicable. Have you ever noticed the hideous contortions a less remarkable romance writer will subject her novel to, in an effort of reconcile hero's lovable, true-gold character with his making a wager that he can seduce a virtuous and innocent woman? It can be like a visit to the circus.
Chase does it brilliantly. Brilliantly! How? Well, first of all, the hero - Julian - has determined to seduce the lady anyhow. He enters into the wager thinking that it is essentially irrelevant - after all, since he's already determined, why not? He is ultimately manipulated by it, but in wholly unexpected ways.
Second of all, he isn't wagering money - he is betting with his young, impressionable cousin's mistress in an attempt to release him from her clutches.
This allows Julian to be dark, dastardly, and dashing without ever holding Lilith so cheap as to be worth mere coins, or leaving him desperate and needy. He fancies himself in control (in fact, he is not).
2. Chase managed to write a "paragon" character who is actually a paragon. Lilith isn't supercilious, snappish, or moralizing, which is what paragons are usually, and sadly, suggested to be. No. She is, first and foremost, somebody who takes responsibility for her own actions; she is also generous and dignified, mature and intelligent. She doesn't reproach Julian for his advances because she is more interested in examining, and regulating, her own behavior than she is with anybody else's. Now *that* is what I call a paragon.
Lilith grew on me over the course of the novel, as did Julian - the pair of them with their sparkling dialogue and excellent chemistry. The side-romance involving Lilith's niece and Julian's nephew was fantastic, witty and sweet and meshed oh so elegantly with the main plot.
The story itself is so exquisitely worked out, all of the characters round, none of the words wasted, the romance develops so slowly and realistically...Lilith and Julian really do seem like a perfectly matched pair by the end of it, an excellent couple.
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