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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
How To Get Out of an Unwanted Engagement (With the Help of Your Friends), June 2, 2008
In Regency England, the girls of La Petite Four (Emily, Priscilla, Ariadne and Daphne) are excited about the ball that will launch them into Society. But then Emily finds out that the vile Lord Robert is planning to marry her--whether she wants it or not. While Lord Robert may be devilishly handsome, Emily is convinced he is up to no good and wants to prove it, especially when he refuses to allow her to attend the ball that La Petite Four has been planning for ages. To convince her father that the engagement should be called off, Emily must provide evidence that Lord Robert is as bad as she thinks he is. So, La Petite Four follows him and tries to catch him committing some nefarious deed. But another man keeps appearing during their investigations: the handsome James Cropper, who also seems suspicious of Lord Robert, although he won't say why.
The author's biography in the back of the book states that her previous works were in the adult romantic fiction genre. This explains to me why this book reminded me of nothing so much as the Avon True Romance series, a series of historical romance books for teens that were strictly G-rated. LA PETITE FOUR would have fit perfectly alongside the Avon True Romance books. When I was in middle school I absolutely loved this series, especially Meg Cabot's contributions, both set in Regency England like LA PETITE FOUR. When I re-read them this year, I was much less enthusiastic.
I have a similar feeling toward LA PETITE FOUR. Although I of course can't say for certain, I'm pretty sure I would have liked the book a lot more if I had read it a few years ago. I devour YA novels, but I place these books in two different categories: YA books that older readers can still enjoy [which I love] and those that really should be left to younger readers (middle school/high school) [which I never like as much]. This book skews to the younger audience (which makes me feel like an old woman already to say that, even though I'm a college student).
As a fluffy romance with a bit of a mystery, it should have been right up my alley. And yet, while reading it I realized that not that much was happening. Lord Robert appears, announces that he's going to marry Emily, her father agrees to this, and then Emily spends most of the book (unsuccessfully) stalking Lord Robert with her friends hoping that he'll do something incriminating in broad daylight (even Lord Robert isn't that dumb). James Cropper swoops in several times to save Emily when she fails to realize that a well-dressed and well-bred young lady shouldn't be without an escort in the bad part of town (her friend Priscilla mentions disguises once, which would have been smart, but they never actually don disguises). And while I'm a huge fan of the they-start-off-hating-each-other-but-really-love-each-other romantic trope (what I call the Darcy-Elizabeth situation), the interaction between Emily and James Cropper didn't seem too romantic to me, since in the beginning she mostly just snapped at him, even when he had just saved her from being mugged or worse. And then halfway through he seemed to have fallen in love with her because of her moxie or some such, when really I thought she had been mostly rude and foolish whenever he encountered her. In the end, La Petite Four did very little to prove that Lord Robert was an unsuitable husband and Emily only realized what she could do to show her father her fiancé's bad side after a hint from James. All of La Petite Four's stalking was fairly pointless; they got more help just listening to society gossip. At the very end of the novel, besides the Lord Robert plot and Emily's art aspirations, nothing else is really wrapped up, which was a bit frustrating, but probably done because, I suspect, this is the first in a series and thus a sequel is being set up. In which case, the lack of resolution is understandable.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Story Siren Reviews:, May 29, 2008
Emily Southwell and her friends are finally graduating and looking forward to their Season in the spotlight! Their coming out ball is sure to thrust the girls into the extravagant life of nineteenth century London society. Lord Robert Townsend has other plans and announces his engagement to Lady Emily, ruining her plans.
Her father insists that the match is made and she should accept her future. Even if that means giving up her dreams of being an artist and joining the Royal Society for the Beaux Arts. She decides that she must take matters into her own hands and find a flaw that would make Lord Robert unfit to be her husband.
In her advances to discredit Lord Robert she often finds herself in the company of Mr. James Cropper who also seems to have a vendetta against Lord Robert. With the help of her three friends, La Petite Four, may be able to rescue Emily from the pending marriage and attend her lavish ball.
This was a great read! I love historical fiction and La Petite Four is a wonderful addition to the genre! Regina Scott is an awesome writer! I really enjoyed this book and I hope she continues with books for Young Adults. La Petite Four has a little bit of everything; mystery, suspense, romance and of course really beautiful dresses! The plot is interesting and captivating. It took Emily and me the same time to figure out exactly what was going on with Lord Robert. The story is told beautifully without being overbearing as some historical fiction novels can be. I thoroughly enjoyed these characters as well. Although I would have liked getting to know more about Ariadne, and Daphne, even so I enjoyed their parts as supporting characters.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enchanting Review: La Petite Four, February 18, 2009
LA PETITE FOUR
REGINA SCOTT
Historical YA
Razorbill
Rating: 4 Enchantments
Lady Emily Southwell has just found out mere moments after graduating she's betrothed to Lord Robert, as if that wasn't bad enough she soon learns he wants to get married within a week. That means she'll be missing the Ball she's been looking forward to with her three best friends and her Season. There has to be a way to stop such an horrible match, if only they could find something about Lord Robert to tell her father to get him to call off the wedding.
LA PETITE FOUR was an intriguing historical read as Emily tries to find a reason to stop her sudden nuptials so she won't miss out on her Season with her friends, not to mention find a way to gain admittance to the Royal Society of the Beaux Arts. Everything she knows about Lord Robert tells her he isn't the man for her--something that's proven over and over again throughout the course of the book. But none more damaging when during the party to sign the marriage papers, he leans over and tells her that no wife of his will waste time being an artist.
But in the midst of their investigations, they continue to run into the mysterious James Cropper who seems to be tailing Lord Robert too. Emily finds herself soon charmed by the intriguing Mr. Cropper, and becomes even more intent on her search for the truth about Lord Robert's sudden interest in matrimony when she hears gossip he was recently courting another, one who died just before he became betrothed to Emily.
Hands down my favorite scene is between Lady Emily and Mr. Cropper with Warburton and the maid, Mary, as chaperones. The attraction between the two really heats up as much as it can with the two chaperones and Warburton's `coughing' to break the two up is rather amusing to see.
Fans of historical YA will enjoy the sweet story that is LA PETITE FOUR.
Regina Scott started writing novels in the third grade. After numerous short stories and articles in magazines and trade journals, she got serious about her novel writing, published 17 historical romances for adults, and realized it would be a lot more interesting to write for young adults instead. [...].
Lisa
Enchanting Reviews
February 2009
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