Reforming Harriet (Regency Romance) [Paperback]

Eileen Putman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1998 | Series: Regency Romance

As a comely young merry widow, she was unfashionably independent. She ran a mill, a bakery, a household, and her own life with such efficiency that she no longer needed her husband's business. But her late husband's business partner refuses to let her sell off the company's interests. In the ensuing battle of wills, however, the combatants each chose a weapon neither were prepared to wield...love!

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A frothy delight spiced with love, laughter and tender emotion." -- Romantic Times, December 1998

"Charms the socks off and tickles the funny bone." -- Affaire de Coeur, December 1998

"Snappy and humorous dialogue that will keep you in stitches...Seduction with the sweetness of sugar and spice." -- Rendezvous, December 1998

From the Author

Did you ever wonder how the napoleon came to be? No, not the emperor, but those deliciously decadent pastries that promise the world and deliver it in the lusty cream filling designed to make you greedy for more.

REFORMING HARRIET offers one answer--especially if you believe that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach!

From her flour-dusted nose to her pretty toes, Lady Harriet Worthington was as unconventional as they come. She ran a mill, a bakery, a household, and her own life. Having weathered one philandering husband, she swore never to wed again.

Elias Westwood, partner with her late husband in an East Indies company, was at his wit's end. Lady Harriet had been selling off shares of his business until he was nearly ruined. Somebody needed to teach this unfashionably independent lady a well- deserved lesson. Would seduction save the day?

First Elias tasted her pies. Then he sampled her cakes. Then he devoured her lips. He never planned on falling in love...

Don't be surprised if this book sends you running to the nearest pastry shop--or to the kitchen to duplicate Harriet's decadent napoleons.

That's where it sent me, and I am prepared to share the yummy results with readers. To get Harriet's recipe for love, e-mail me at [e-mail].

I love spinning stories that are fun, yet with deeper undercurrents, which is why I especially like historical romance. The tension between the social constrictions of the Regency era, for example, and the urgent yearnings of the human heart provide luscious, fertile ground for some ripping good romance.

Humor keeps us all from losing our minds, and my goal as a writer is to make you cry, but not so hard that you can't laugh at the same time. As a journalist, I learned that what makes a good story is the same everywhere. A common humanity links us all, whether it's revealed through heartfelt emotions or heartfelt humor. I hope that's what comes through in my work.

To everyone who has helped make my books successful, my humble thanks. I've won some awards, which modesty almost(but not quite) prevents me from including: National Readers' Choice Award for best Regency (A PASSIONATE PERFORMANCE), Colorado Romance Writers' Award of Excellence (THE PERFECT BRIDE), Romantic Times nomination for best 1997 Regency (A PASSIONATE PERFORMANCE), and The Regency Plume's Award of Excellence (WORDS OF LOVE).

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Signet (December 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451194934
• ISBN-13: 978-0451194930
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #978,392 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Passions rise and flour and dough fly, November 26, 1998

By 

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

This review is from: Reforming Harriet (Regency Romance) (Paperback)

A woman who loves to bake, cook, and experiment with new dishes--and does so with great skill and delicious results. A man whose heightened sense of smell has served him well in spice import ventures and made him lover of well-seasoned food. A match made in culinary heaven?

Not when the woman is Lady Harriet Worthington, widow of Lord Frederick Worthington (a womanizer to the end), daughter of the Duke of Sidenham (distant and cold); now her own woman and loving it.

Not when the man is Lord Elias Westwood, Worthington's partner in a very successful spice import business--a man who wants possession of Lady Worthington's shares in the business, since she has so mismanaged them since Freddy died.

Passions rise and flour and dough fly from the first time these two meet. Most definitely a character-driven novel, REFORMING HARRIET allows us to eavesdrop (along with the servants!) on Harriet and Elias as they try to come to a mutually satisfying disposition of the portion of the spice business left in Harriet's care. Eileen Putman breathes life into an intriguing hero and heroine, then sets them free to learn and grow... and love.

Kimberly Borrowdale, Under the Covers Book Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Points mostly for innovative plot.., November 30, 2001

By 

bookjunkiereviews (India) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reforming Harriet (Regency Romance) (Paperback)

I thought I had written a review for this book, but I see I skipped it. It is one of those books, actually, that I have some doubts about. I had no doubts that the book was well-written, or that the characters, zany as they were, were interesting. But on the other hand, the heroine's culinary pursuits (in the village bakery, that is) seem a little unreal. It was funny, on the other hand, to see the gentlemen of the ton lusting for her - baked goods!

The problems I have with the book is not with the hero or heroine's motivations. The heroine, the daughter of a duke, who prefers to use her maiden name (although legally and socially she would have been known by her husband's name and rank), has had an unhappy childhood and even unhappier marriage. To compensate, she turns to cooking and to charitable works in her village. Enter the hero - the partner of her late husband in a spice-importing firm. The hero is an earl (of course!) who has turned to trade to revive the family fortunes. [One problem: Few peers directly engaged in trade; those who did so tended to be despised by other aristocrats. Investing in certain types of companies was permissible on the other hand, directly, or more likely, indirectly].

The hero's links to trade are actually less problematic compared to the story line. Although I can understand her fears, her dithering made the story somewhat hard to follow.

An entertaining subplot involved the servants - the earl's man being determined to ensure that his master remains a bachelor (to the point of actively meddling in his betrothals), and one of Lady Harriet's maids being determined to nabble said valet. I did find the names of these maids somewhat distracting, and wondered where their names had come from.

Having read a few more of Putnam's books, I have to say that this is probably her best work. She has now turned to writing historicals.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Ditziness, Dough and Dithering, September 12, 2000

By 

Linda Hurst "Your Bookie" (Aubrey, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Reforming Harriet (Regency Romance) (Paperback)

If you like a book where the heroine spends 98% of the book dithering, running away and being totally illogical this one is for you! It wasn't for me!