Customer Reviews

A Merry Chase (Sonnet Books)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One afternoon while spending time with his friends at White's, their gentleman's club, a lively discussion took place. Van Cleef's friends were complaining about the time and effort it took to woo their future wives and were astounded when Royce told them to use the same logic they would in a fox hunt. Laughing, his friends proposed a wager: they would name the future bride and he had to come to scratch in a limited time or lose the bet. When he heard the lady's name he was to win - Laurel Simmons - he almost choked, but she was a beauty, had the right background, and it was time to marry and 'get an heir'. He decided this would sweeten the challenge and....would you believe it....He accepted the wager and 'The Chase' was on.

Laurel Simmons had decided she would never again give her heart to any man as she had to that low-down Archie Devens. The love of her life jilted her when he came into an unexpected inheritance and she knew then he was only marrying her for her dowry. But, when the handsome Lord Van Cleef began seeking her out she was flattered and began to fall under his spell. After all, wasn't he the most handsome, as well as richest, bachelor sought out today...

In fact, he was getting along so well that his friends decided to slow the process down and made arrangements for Lady Laurel to overhear their conversation and discussed the 'wager' in her hearing. She was quite upset, but this strong woman decided she would just turn the tables on him. She told the biggest gossips around that Royce Van Cleef had decided on a bride but would not give her name. Now, the plot thickens and the fun really begins as every Mamma has their daughter in front of Royce at every appearance, plus the woman he had been dating just knew it was she. The funny thing about this is that the more stumbling blocks Laurel creates the more interested Royce is. She is such a challenge and not the insipid type of women he had been previously seeking. He begins to have serious pangs of jealousy when his best friend Stephen begins to squire Laurel around town. He has an 'attitude adjustment' and falls in love with Laurel and earnestly wants her for his wife. Victoria Malvey has penned a regency romance that is light and fun. The plot of the story is the chase and her humor and wit come to the front in this tale. While A MERRY CHASE has a touch of intrigue, the story focuses more on the interplay between the hero and heroine. I was reminded of the Spencer Tracy/Katherine Hepburn type of banter between these two main characters. I highly recommend this one to make you laugh and put you in a light mood. I only hope Ms. Malvey is working on Stephen's story to delight readers once again.

Carol Carter

In 1816 at Whites, Lord Royce Van Cleef debates with some friends the logic behind courting and marrying a woman. While his friends argue that logic is not part of the process, Van Cleef likens the chase to that of a foxhunt. His companions challenge Royce to prove his method by chasing down and wedding Lady Laurel Simmons, who has announced she will never marry after being unceremoniously dropped by her former fiancé when his fortunes changed three years ago. Though he thinks love is bogus, Royce accepts the wager because he needs an heir anyway.

Royce begins to study his quarry and his pursuit of the unattainable starts to make progress when Laurel learns about the bet. As they fall in love, Laurel changes the rules of the game in an attempt to checkmate her persistent suitor.

Though A MERRY CHASE is a by the book Regency romance, readers of historical love stories of any era will fully enjoy this jocular tale. The story line is entertaining due to the intelligent cast. The lead couple is a witty, humorous duo battling for the upper hand in the game of love. The support ensemble provides a feel for the era and motivates the two stars into action and reaction even as they observe the foxhunt twist into a bullfight. The enchanting Victoria Malvey makes Regency romance novels fun to read.

Harriet Klausner

This is by far Ms. Malvey's best book yet. The hero and heroine are well matched for spirit and wits. I couldn't put it down or stop laughing!

Royce van Cleef, Earl of Tewkbury, if extremely gifted. He is handsome, charming, and very, very lucky....at least at games of chance. Blissfully unattached he observes his friends' awkward attempts to woo their beloveds with great amuzement. He compares winning a mate to a fox hunt and advised studied observation as the obvious tactic for a successful campaign.

Is it any wonder that his friends want to take him down a peg. Knowing their cocky friend can't resist a sure thing they propose a wager. Royce must woo and win a woman of their chosing using his own technique. Royce hadn't considered marriage but he must produce an heir sooner or later, so he gamely accepts. He is wise enough to stipulate that the lady of choice must meet his criteria for an acceptable partner. He is greatly relieved that the woman they choose is Lady Laurel Simmons. She is lovely and well suited to his title. There is just one catch.

Lady Laurel has no use for men whatsoever. She'd been jilted once in favor of a minor inheritance and is determined never to risk her heart again. Neither the friends nor Laurel had counted on Royce's considerable charm. When it appears he is winning all too easily, his friends up the ante by "accidentally" tiping Laurel's best friend off to the wager.

Horrified at being duped a second time Laurel doesn't get mad, she gets even! Laurel spreads the word about the wager throughout the ton, omitting the name of the lady involved. Poor Royce finds himself inundated with hopeful debutants. In fact everyone seems to view him as the catch of the season. Everyone but the one he wants.

The moves and counter moves are hilarious, until Royce realizes that this is no longer a game. All to late he finds that he has more to lose than a simple wager. If he doesn't find a way to make amends he will lose the only woman he has ever loved. Now Royce must persue Laurel in ernest. But can he ever regain her trust?

Complications include the mechanizations of Royce's mother who opposes the match, the return of Laurel's faithless fiance', and a scorned debutante bent on revenge. The story concludes in a dramatic manner as befits this amusing tale.

Ms. Malvey gets better and better. I highly recommend this delightful Regency romp.

Leslie Tramposch ~ UReviewIT

Royce Van Cleef scoffs at his friends for being wimps in their dealings with women and courtship. HE himself would never go about winning a woman in such a hamhanded manner! One should simply go about the business in a logical manner and not let emotions cloud the issue. The conversation results in a wager: Royce will use his system of logic to court and win a woman of his friends' choosing. The woman they choose--Lady Laurel Simmons--is beautiful and charming and fit in every way to become a earl's wife...except that she has vowed never to marry!

Lady Laurel's previous experience with a fortune hunter has hardened her heart against the entire male sex. But even her disillusioned heart begins to melt when confronted with the handsome Lord Tewkbury's charm and persistence...until she learns about the wager and realizes that he is just another lying deceiver. That's when she ups the ante and begins a scheme of her own to bring down the over-confident earl.

The plotting pair become so engrossed in their romantic fencing match that they almost don't realize that they have fallen in love in spite of all of their precautions...until a serious of malevolent incidents threaten Laurel's life and it becomes obvious that someone is trying to forestall a match between them.

An enthralling tale of unexpected love that at the same time touches the reader's heart and tickles her funnybone...my favorite kind of historical romance!

I bought this book and others by new authors based on the reviews on Amazon. I am really disappointed with this one. Am I reading a different book? I find the story boring and the characters bland. It took me on and off a week to struggle through it.I don't mean to be discouraging but if it's a matter of taste, then I'd better stick to Mary Balogh, Joan Wolf, Elizabeth Mansfield, Stephanie Laurens, Judith McNaught, Paula Marshall, Johanna Lindsey , Brenda Joyce and Elizabeth Lowell ...etc.

Twist and countertwist! With characters lips twitching and lopsided grins grinning, the reader can't help but twitch and grin along! Lady Laurel Simmons is quite flattered that Lord Royce van Cleef starts paying her court until she learns that she's the "prize" in a wager to see how easily women fall for men if approached in a mysterious, seductive manner. She sets out to get even! Laurel and Royce are a perfect match - witty, smart, playful, vulnerable and - FUN!!! The pursuer becomes the pursued with villains, plots and counterplots constantly brewing in the background. I don't mean to make this book sound complicated - it certainly is not - but what it lacks in deep characterization and emotional angst, it makes up for in page-turning, excitement-filled, action-packed Romance! Give this fluffy, endearing book a try - I hope you like it as much as I did. It's a quick, hilarious read.

Since other reviewers have done a great job of summarizing the plot, I'll just give a few of my thoughts. "A Merry Chase" starts out wonderfully. The interplay between Laurel and Royce, the two main characters, is finely crafted, very clever, and often hilarious. But the book begins to lose steam when Archie and Margaret, the villains, start their mischief. Laurel spends most of the last half of the book running away from those who wish to harm her rather than strategizing and trying to outwit her opponents, as in the first half. This is disappointing, and Royce doesn't do much better. I would have enjoyed it much more had the cat and mouse game been stepped up to include the conspirators. As others have said, physical descriptions of the main characters are missing--the cover doesn't even help us out in this department. The language used by the characters isn't exactly period-appropriate (with the phrase "look at the bright side" being the most glaring example), but this didn't bother me much.

Royce Van Cleef, Earl of Tewksbury after observing the trials and tribulations of his friends during courtship blithely declares to his henpecked friends that when he begins courting, he will reverse the roles, make his intended bride chase him. Naturally a bet ensues as Royce agrees to allow his friends to choose his bride. Lady Laurel Simons is the chosen woman, only she has been hurt in the past so is naturally wary. To complicate matters, the bet is hedged further by making sure she finds out about it. Soon Royce and Laurel are enthralled with the game, but who is the pursued and who is the pursuer? Or can they both find a way to be the winner?

Victoria Malvey has penned a wonderful fun filled novel with intriguing characters and original situations that left this reviewer sighing in pleasure. Don't miss this one!

Oh, wow--I loved this book! Victoria Malvey has penned another winning romance with her wickedly delicious regency romp, A MERRY CHASE. Royce and Laurel's courtship was clever, funny, and above all, wonderfully romantic! A feel-good read that I will turn to whenever I need a lift, A MERRY CHASE goes on high on my keeper shelf, right next to Ms. Malvey's first three novels.

...which didn't have any humor at all. Royce Van Cleef accepts a bet from his friends that he will manage to court and gain the heart of Lady Laurel. She is attracted to him at first but whn she finds out about the bet she decides to turn him down. He is most insistent as he becomes interested in her when he gets to know her better and Laurel has to find new ways to discourage him and fight her emotions at the same time. There is also at least one person trying to ruin Laurel so they both have to find the vilain before they get together.
I found his antics to get closer to her and hers to turn him down were not humorous at all, in fact they were repeating the same things over and over. I also didn't feel close to the characters at any time, they had no depth at all. The whole story was boring, no witty dialogues, no imagination and the vilain was obvious for anyone to find out. In fact, I stopped reading it for a month or so and got back to finish it when I run out of books. I wouldn't recommend it unless you're desperate to read something and you have no alternative. This is my first and last book of Victoria Malvey. I ordered some new books from Kleypas a while ago and they kept me inside my home the whole weekend. If you want something lighter though try Julia Quinn.