The Reluctant Cavalier (Signet Regency Romance) [Paperback]

Karen Harbaugh (Author)

Book Description

Series: Signet Regency Romance | Publication Date: October 1, 1996

Miss Annabella Smith must discover who is the masked stranger at the ball who sweeps her off her feet and awakens her heart--the noble Duke of Stratton, the gentlemanly Mr. Wentworth, or the lustful Sir Quentin Barnaby.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Elizabeth Perry comes from a loving home and wants to please her parents by making a good match. The Duke of Stratton, a man of impeccable manners and reputation, has shown an interest in her. Her future is secure, if not quite what she wished for. She attends a masquerade without her parent's knowledge as a one and only fling before an inevitable proposal of marriage. Parciful Wentworth, the second son of a duke, is the family eccentric, more interested in his gardens than balls or parties. He is coerced by his sister into attending the masquerade dressed as a Cavalier. These two innocents are thrown in the center of a mad man's plot when Parciful rescues Elizabeth from a lecherous attack. Parciful's personality changes as he dons the costume and wears his grandfather's ring, hidden in the lining of the coat. When Elizabeth's mother is attacked and again the Cavalier rescues her, the plot thickens and so does the romance. Parcifal is a hero that makes the heroine and reader quiver down to her toes. The Reluctant Cavalier is a must read for Regency fans and especially for those who aren't--yet! Karen Harbaugh has created characters and a story that ended far too quickly for this reader. Don't read The Reluctant Cavalier too late at night, because book stores will be closed and you won't be able to run out to find more of Karen Harbaugh's books until the next day!Denise Camp -- Copyright © 1994-97 Literary Times, Inc. All rights reserved -- From Literary Times

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Signet (October 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451190203
• ISBN-13: 978-0451190208
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,078,246 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful hero. Very sympathetic., January 15, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Reluctant Cavalier (Signet Regency Romance) (Paperback)

This is a lovely story. The hero is a retiring type, but is drawn out of his shell for the love of the heroine. I really liked him a lot.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A delightfully shy hero, sweet heroine and dashing Cavalier!, August 31, 2000

By 

Dr W. Richards "wmr-uk" (Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Reluctant Cavalier (Signet Regency Romance) (Paperback)

Karen Harbaugh is quickly becoming an author who'll feature on my 'must buy' list. This is an entertaining Regency, better than the average, in which the nice, unassuming guy definitely doesn't come last. Annabella actually chooses the shy, retiring and not very fashionable younger son of an earl over a duke, even before she discovers that the duke in question is not all he seems.

Parcifal is a wonderfully attractive hero, precisely because he is *not* dashing, or fashionable, or ruggedly attractive or popular with the ladies. He is, instead, sensible, caring and deeply in love with Annabella - but despairs of her ever noticing him. Until one night he goes to a masquerade ball wearing a Cavalier outfit belonging to one of his ancestors... He ends up saving Annabella from an attack, and surprises himself by refusing to tell her who he is, and kissing her before running off.

From then on, she's consumed with a desire to find out who her dashing Cavalier is....

I love stories about secret identities, and this one is no exception. Parcifal's Cavalier is a delicious disguise, and Annabella is suitably intrigued and enraptured, but at the same time she finds herself oddly drawn to the quiet younger son of her neighbour.

Whether or not the supernatural is at work in this book, as it is in many of Harbaugh's other Regencies, it's a heartwarming romance which I will certainly keep to read again.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sweet and funny, May 28, 2000

By 

amaryllis_USA - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Reluctant Cavalier (Signet Regency Romance) (Paperback)

I love Karen Harbaugh's regencies. She usually throws in some paranormal or mythological elements, and this is no exception, though it's much more subtle here than in some of her other books. In this book, the hero gets a little help from an ancestor in order to get the attention of the heroine. A thoroughly enjoyable read.