The Ramshackle Suitor (Signet Regency Romance) [Paperback]

Nancy Butler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2000

On the Isle of Man, Lucy Parnell entrusts the secret of a very personal quest to the handsome Roderick Kempthorne. But she also risks exposing another secret--the love in her heart....

"A writer not to be missed!"--Mary Balogh

A rising star of romance, Nancy Butler is the 1998 Golden Leaf Award winner for Best First Novel

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Signet (March 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451199758
• ISBN-13: 978-0451199751
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,243,601 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A delight, September 15, 2000

By 

"[e-mail]" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ramshackle Suitor (Signet Regency Romance) (Paperback)

This is one of the most delightful Regencies penned by Ms Butler. It features an older heroine, a delightfully boyish hero who is, however, reliable and resourceful when necessary, and his three amusing friends. The mildly supernatural element of the crying child which calls Lucy to the Isle of Man adds a poignant, slightly chilling touch which nevertheless works with the misty, isolated landscape. Although one other reviewer (below) questions the thinking of the heroine in not doubting Roddy's intentions, it must be said that THE READER is never allowed to doubt Roddy's intentions, and Lucy's removal from her usual habitat, her age, and her lonely prospects justify her early decision to take the relationship as it comes.

As a hero Roddy is superb and original. Younger than Lucy, less educated than her, he is nevertheless intelligent and absolutely charming, and the love scenes are breathtakingly tender.

Ms Butler's command of Regency-speak makes her one of the best in the genre today. This book - its characters, its landscape, its basic premise - lifts her even higher in the field.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An off-duty governess solves a mystery and finds true love., March 15, 2000

By 

B. S. Andrews "barbiesa" (Toledo, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ramshackle Suitor (Signet Regency Romance) (Paperback)

Lucy Parnell has come to the Isle of Man in search of her sister's child. Her unscrupulous stepbrother takes off with her belongings in an attempt to force her to come home with him and live under his thumb. Fortunately, by this time she has made the acquaintance of Roderick Kempthorne and his unforgettable friends--one of whom is the Earl of Steyne whose birthday is being elaborately celebrated on the island. Roderick--a charming, fun-loving chap--is immediately drawn to Lucy, although she is five years older than he. Lucy is likewise attracted to him, but knows better than to encourage his infatuation. After all, what good can come of it? However, he is determined to help her on her quest to find her niece, and with a nasty stepbrother hanging around, she needs all the help she can get.

This is a truly charming love story with a surprise at the end that I guarantee you won't forget soon. Even the secondary characters come alive in this story: the grieving countess, her somewhat dotty stepson the earl with his prominent nose, the bookish friend who falls in love with a ghost.

Nancy Butler has written a truly memorable Regency romance that belongs on every Regency lover's "keeper" shelf.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than meets the eye, March 28, 2000

By 

Kimberly Borrowdale (Oregon USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ramshackle Suitor (Signet Regency Romance) (Paperback)

Miss Lucy Parnell, granted a week's holiday from her position as governess, is searching on the Isle of Man for her long-lost niece when she comes across a young man--a young man dressed in a Cavalier's finery, lying in a ditch. He is, of course, quite foxed, being on the island to help his friend celebrate his twenty-fifth birthday. Since he doesn't know how to get back to his friend's home, he relies on his charm and lopsided grin to get Miss Parnell to help him.

Roddy Kempthorne--Ramshackle Roddy to his friends--is always getting into one scrape or another, and now he's determined to join forces with Miss Parnell--who prefers to keep her life neat and tidy--to help find her missing relative. She wants nothing to do with the charming young fribble, but soon finds there's more to him than meets the eye.

Ms. Butler does a masterful job of intertwining deep emotion--both between Roddy and Lucy and with Lucy's search for her family--into a light-hearted romp full of antics and adventure. The setting and mood of the Isle of Man are as much a secondary characters and Roddy's friends and Lucy's relatives. I couldn't help but fall in love with THE RAMSHACKLE SUITOR, both the man and the book, and I think a lot of other readers will feel the same.