Customer Reviews

The Lady Most Likely...: A Novel in Three Parts

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

(Correction: Make that 4 romances because the married couple who host the house party, setting for the novel, also have a lovely and romantic relationship.)

I don't often enjoy book compilations by various authors because the books are usually made up of individual and separate stories. This one, besides being written by 2 of my favorite HR authors and 1 that used to be a fave, is actually one novel with 3 romances woven into it pretty seamlessly. Everything takes place at a country house party given by Lady Carolyn Finchley to find a wife for her brother Hugh Dunne, the Earl of Briarly. Many eligible young ladies are invited and also worthy gentlemen to round out the numbers. The book is great fun, light-hearted and romantic with very likeable characters. The plot is not at all unusual. It's the formulaic house party romance, but it is developed deftly and humorously and is well written because all the contributors are skilled and experienced writers of HRs.

Those readers who are familiar with the writing styles of these 3 authors will be able to tell where one author's contribution merges into the next one's (especially the transition from Quinn to Brockway) but it is not too obvious or awkward, but rather a smooth transition that maintains the characters' personalities and way of behaving throughout the novel.

This is a book to read when you're in the mood for a feel-good, warm, romantic story. No angst, no Big Understandings, no Dark Secrets, no villains or abductions. Nothing but character-driven love stories. Keep in mind that because there are three romances in one novel, they are not in the depth that you might like. I enjoyed the book for the novelty of it and the skill of the authors.

More 3.25 stars than 3 stars, the story as a whole is enjoyable. It's light and fluffy fun, which is the most I ask for for a novel like this. Because it's 3 romances told in one book, there isn't much focus on any one character. That's a drawback when you quite like a character as I did Gwendolyn. She was completely refreshing and not at all a typical heroine. The rest of the heroines were less interesting to me. The romances were fast, but two of the three couples had history. I'm not totally sure I buy Alec and Gwen's HEA but I'll buy their infatuation. I think their story would have been better told in a full length novel devoted to them.

There's a small error that took me right out of the book. For a small portion of the book Carolyn becomes Caroline. Small annoyance but if it's only in the Kindle version perhaps it can be corrected? She's a major character, so it's a bit distracting and took me right out of the fantasy of the book itself.

I like all of the authors involved in this project, in fact I can't stop raving about Storming the Castle: An Original Short Story with Bonus Content, but this novel in three parts left me with mixed feelings. The Lady Most Likely is at least as good as a selection of unconnected novellas. Compared to an older Signet Regency collection it holds up fine. As a full length novel it's connected well and the 'voice' of the book works well as a group. The problem is that as enjoyable as some paces are, others feel rushed. Each section needs more - instead of three novellas making the novel, it reads like three novels cut to novella size. I would still recommend it, I really did enjoy it, but it's not greater than the sum of it's parts. (Dropping another star was a tired cliche used for one of the characters past love interests. It is so far past the time to retire that one, I can't tell you. But it's a personal peeve and may not affect other's enjoyment.) 3 1/2 stars really, not quite a 4.

Interesting concept but the three sections are definitely uneven. Wondering who wrote each section? The answer can be found at the top of the left-hand pages. The first and last chapters are not attributed, but Chapter 1 reads like Julia Quinn. Quinn's section (the story of Gwendolyn and Alec) shines with her signature whimsy and deft characterization. Connie Brockway's story (Katherine and Neill) is less engaging but still merits a "4". The final section by Eloise James (Georgina and Hugh)is particularly disappointing because the two lovers no longer seem to be the same intriguing indiviuals introduced at the novel's beginning. At best, it's a 2. I sure would love to see how Quinn would have handled the Georgina/Hugh romance. On balance, I rate THE LADY MOST LIKELY a 3. But be prepared for an uneven read.

Like many prior reviewers, I found this to be a fun read. No big dramas or dastardly villians. No huge, tragic misunderstandings. Just a cute, 19th Century romcom that will probably end up as a Lifetime Movie of the Week.

I like Quinn and Brockaway and enjoyed their sections. Wasn't that impressed by James's portion of the story, mostly because the sweet, befuddled earl from the prior sections of the book suddenly turned into an overbearing, sex-starved doofus.

All in all, I didn't dislike the book. It was like a meringue cookie -- it's good while you are eating it, but 10 minutes later you've forgotten all about it.

The premise of this book was a good one and the story was nice. I liked Julia Quinn's offering the best. She introduced the story and the main characters that would carry through the whole book. Unfortunately, those characters took on new 'voices' with each successive author's rendition of them. In other words, their personalities did not remain consistent, IMO. When Brockway took over, Carolyn's 'voice' and personality was different. When James wrote the Earl's story, he was much different than he was in Quinn's version. It was very jarring to me and therefore the characters didn't flow from one author to the next.

I would have much preferred the whole book written by just one author. It wasn't a problem with each author, just that authors have their own 'voices', so to have the same characters written by 3 different authors in the same book, it's impossible for them to remain the same throughout.

I found all three stories too short and too predictable. I love all three authors but my advice is to spend your money on something more compelling; where the characters are given time to develop personalities and the plot isn't so been there, done that. I never became involved in even one of the three romances that make up this book.

This is my first time reading a book written as a collaboration by three authors. I imagine writing a book with one co-author is hard enough but it must be hard to pull off a book with three writers without jarring transitions. I absolutely love Julia Quinn so I had to pick this one up. It's my first read from Eloisa James and Connie Brockway although I do have a few Eloisa James books on my shelves. While this wasn't a blow me away book it was a sweet read.

My favorite romance was that of Gwendolyn and Alec and it didn't surprise me when I found out that this story was Quinn's contribution to the book. I loved Alec's sweetness in trying to help his sister out when she feels out-shined by Gwendolyn's beauty. I really felt badly for Gwendolyn since despite how beautiful she is and how many suitors she has she is still extremely shy. I was also sad for her when she is snubbed by the other girls because of their jealously and because they mistook her shyness for snobbiness. The only character that I really disliked was Octavia, Alec's sister. I know she was upset over Gwendolyn getting so much male attention but she came across as a real b*tch which I can't imagine helped her chances with the gentlemen.

Katherine and Neill also had a very cute story line but I really didn't care for Hugh and Georgina's story line. I just did not click with Hugh and I can't imagine why Georgina would be so in love with him. Horses are obviously his passion so I would have expected him to end up with a woman who was also horse mad. I also found Georgina's character a little confusing. At first she comes across as this sweet, kind hearted female but she admits at one point the most memorable part of her marriage to her first husband was how they would make fun of the people around them. I might have missed it since I was not really into their story but it would have been nice to see how or why she realized this was catty and not the type of person she wanted to be. Still I felt the other two romances made this book a nice to read but more likely to be a borrow from the library rather than buy.

"Lady Most Likely" was an enjoyable way to spend a lazy afternoon. Personally, I think it would have been better served as a long book covering a single couple and their story, rather than trying to cram three couples in (yes, I realize there are three authors, but still). The jump from couple to couple was jarring, and the sudden, intense love and commitment between the couples (especially the one that just met) seems a bit premature. But like I said, fun, absorbing fluff.

I'm not one for anthologies. I'll put it out there - I generally hate them. I feel that anthologies never give the reader enough time to learn to love the characters, root for the couple, and believe in the story.

I was a little worried when I began this one. I knew it was a "seamless" novel, but I suspected that it would really be a set of novellas, each set in the same setting. Alas, I did not find myself having trouble reading this book at all. It flowed quite nicely, even though it really was, essentially, a set of novellas. Julia, Eloise, and Connie each had their own couple, as well as the overall-arc couple (who are already married and in love), with their own chapters set between, before, and after each of the novellas.

It was very believable. It helped that the same characters interacted with each other in all of them, and you got hints of future romances as you went.

As for the authors, they are all very talented. I'm a big fan of both Eloisa and Julia, but had never read Connie. I now have every intention of going back and reading her backlist. Her novella was really quite good and, as were the others.

It's not an essential, can't-put-down kind of novel, but it's solidly good and worth reading. It was witty and made me smile a lot - that's enough of a reason for you to read it.