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56 of 58 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Anne Gracie delivers again, November 10, 2005
Much as I enjoy Anne Grace's novels, I wasn't sure that I was going to enjoy the second installment in the Merridew sisters' series, "The Perfect Waltz" mainly because I wasn't sure if the beautiful and (almost) perfect Hope Merridew would be able to sustain my interest. I worried needlessly: Hope may be the almost perfect heroine, but Anne Grace made her intelligent, compassionate and determined enough to make her an interesting heroine and one that it was easy to root for -- add this to an extremely interesting storyline and a secondary romance subplot that possessed sizzle as well, and you have a fairly memorable romance novel that is sure to win raves!
Beautiful and lively Hope Merridew's days of suffering abuse from her grandfather are long over. These days, she and her sisters are able to enjoy lives of luxury and ease thanks to the generosity and love of their granduncle, Oswald, and to the splendid and advantageous matches that her two elder sisters made ("The Perfect Rake"). No, these days all Hope has to worry about is which ball to attend and which gown to wear. That is until she meets the dark and enigmatical Sebastian Reyne. Rumour has it that he is a pushing mushroom and an illegitimate son of some sort who may have murdered his first wife -- not the sort of man a much sought after diamond should be interested in! And yet, something about Sebastian intrigues and fascinates Hope (much to her chaperone's dismay). After all this is one man who seems to be able to tell her and her twin apart! And yet, much as he seems to practically devour her with his eyes, Sebastian seems to be courting another lady. What should Hope do? Should she concentrate to meeting other, more eligible gentlemen or hold out in the hope that Sebastian will come to his senses? She knows that she and Sebastian are meant to be, but how to convince him?
"The Perfect Waltz" could have ended up being a book all about a young woman's determination to nab the man she wants. Fortunately, it was not. By factoring in Sebastian's and his younger sisters' unhappy histories and his attempts to make things right for them, and Hope's unhappy memories of what life was like before she and her family escaped to London, Anne Gracie packs her book with enough backstories to give structure to the romance that develops between Hope and Sebastian, thus making it more believable and credible. And speaking of romance, I esp liked the one that developed between the lady that Sebastian was ostensibly courting and his best friend. It had quite a bit of sensual heat. The pacing was smooth and unfrantic and characters, well all fairly well developed -- and these two vital ingredients, along with the absorbing storyline really did contribute to making this a very enjoyable and riveting read for me. So that all in all, I'd say that that fans and romance readers are in for a treat with "The Perfect Waltz."
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Sweet story, but writing is at times a little cumbersome., January 18, 2006
I had a little trouble with this author's writing style, but I enjoyed the basic storyline and liked all of the main characters. The story's hero is Sebastian Reyne, a self-made man who has to fend for himself after being orphaned at the age of fourteen. Destitute, young Sebastian must work long hours at a local factory. He pays for his two young sisters to be watched by a neighbor, who then disappears with them. Ten years pass before Sebastian, now a wealthy manufacturer, finally locates his sisters and rescues them from a London orphanage. The sisters - now twelve and fourteen - have extreme difficulty adjusting to Sebastian and their new life, so he decides to look for a wife who can act as a mother to them. He sets his sights on Lady Elenore Whitelaw. She is a self-disciplined and serious-minded spinster who overseas a home for girls and Sebastian feels that she will therefore be ideally suited to handle his sisters. While at society dance in order to pursue Lady Elenore, he meets the lovely debutante Hope Merridew. Sebastian is instantly smitten (as is she), but he rigidly resists Hope because he mistakenly believes that she does not have the background or disposition to make a strong mother for his troublesome sisters. However, circumstances continuously throw together Sebastian and Hope, and he is forced to reevaluate his preconceived notions about her.
I felt Ms. Gracie's prose did not always flow smoothly and the love scenes were sometimes awkwardly worded. That said, Sebastian is an admirable hero with a compelling background and I found his sisters' tale quite absorbing. Also, the author injects some nice humor into the story through Sebastian's friend Giles Bemerton. In fact, the secondary romance between carefree Giles and the tightly wound Lady Elinore, is the highlight of the novel.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Perfect Waltz--The Perfect Romance, February 12, 2006
I just finished this incredible book and had to comment on it. I'd never heard of the author and bought the book on a whim (as in I needed more books for my TBR pile). Without giving away the story, this book was the absolutely BEST romance I've read in a year's time. Since I'm a Writer WannaBe, I eat up books and probably have read one hundred since last February and this one stands head and shoulders above even the others that I've loved. The hero is very different from most heros and is more human with greater appeal, depth and compassion than most romance characters. He isn't even handsome, yet I fell in love with him and can so understand why the heroine did! As for the heroine, I am normally not that excited about heroines, but this one was just wonderful. Rather than the normal feisty, childish spitfire you read about in so many romances, Hope was truly a mature, compassionate (yes, they both were), winsome and very sympathetic heroine and she won my heart. An amusing background romance goes on and it is also quite amusing with good humor. I can't wait for her next book, and am going to order "The Perfect Rake," her first novel. This is one multi-gifted author!
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