Customer Reviews

Lucy In Disguise

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4 star:		(2)
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This book follows the rules of a Regency without being 'young girl goes to London for her Season and tames the rake.' Good read. The rescue on the beach that is the opening scene is very well done. . . and memorable. I looked for and read Kerstan's other books about Christopher's brothers. . .however, I think this one was the best.

This book is terrific-- a Regency romp that takes place in a fascinating non-London setting. Kerstan's prose is dashing and lively and suits the spunky heroine and hero.

I think this is one of a trilogy.

I loved Kit from Celia's Grand Passion so I had looked forward to reading his story. But this book was so bad that I had to make a real effort to finish it. Kit meets up with Lucy (who calls herself Luke as she was pretending to be a boy) on the beach on night while smuggling. He was shot and she helped him escape and bind his wound. Diana (who I am guessing will figure in the story with the last brother) is the only interesting person in this draggy story. Nice to see Celia and Kendal again and their baby. But the romance between Lucy and Kit was flat and had no spark. The mystery was flat, too. A good romance has to have wit, romance, spark and an interesting premise. All these were missing from the regency. A romance between Kit and Lucy was forced and did not seem real. The bad guys, if they are such, are also not interesting nor dangerous.

Lucy in Disguise by Lynn Kerstan -- Regency Romance
This book is a aompanion to Celia's Grand Passion
Lucy is desperate to help her friend Diana escape her foolish guardian who wishes to marry Diana off to a man she can not stand. The pair hide out in a cottage on the Dorset coast trying to evade Diana's wood-be captors. Lucy capitalizes on a local legend to try to scare away the locals. She happens upon a smuggling adventure gone wrong and rescues a horse from drowning and his owner from injury and certain death. Kit is a charming, flirtatious man and Lucy does her best to convince him that she's a boy and Diana is a mute widow. Kit sees through their disguises offers to help rescue Diana with some help from his brother, the Earl of Kendal. Kit invites Lucy into his brother's home, under the pretext of a betrothal. In fact, Kit considers the masquerade to be the truth, but how to convince Lucy is the difficult part, for she wants nothing to do with him other than his help rescuing Diana. This is more companion than sequel to Celia's Grand Passion and a far different story. This one has adventure, intrigue and villains and one handsome, charming rake. Christopher is so utterly charming and amusing that I dare one not to fall in love with him. Lucy is a determined, resourceful woman and I admire her for trying to help a girl she barely knows. My biggest problem with this book is that the story ends with lots of loose ends. It doesn't resolve the mystery of the thugs who shot Kit or where Sir Basil Crawley's money came from. The so-called villains only briefly appear, act buffoonish and then exit too quickly and easily. I loved the romance plot and adore Kit and Lucy together. Their witty banter makes me laugh and chapter 13 is my favorite. It is great to know what happened to James and Celia too. This book is a blend of sweet Regency, Traditional Regency and romantic comedy. I recommend it for fans of the comedic variety of Regencies.