Customer Reviews

The Secret Diary (Signet Regency Romance)

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

 

 

I should start by saying that Martha Kirkland is one of my favorite Regency romance authors. Her books usually incorporate an engaging blend of humor, romance, adventure and intrigue. That said, this book does not incorportate any of those things.

Miss Olivia Mallory, with her younger sister in tow, travels to London for the first time in 7 years. While there, Olivia hopes to publish a volume of her deceased cousin's love poetry. However, she can't publish the poems until she discovers the identity of her cousin's beau. Olivia's only clue is a single initial: "D"

David Crighton is also in town, hoping to figure out who has been pulling disgusting pranks on his uncle. When his eyes meet Olivia's from across the room, it's nearly love at first sight. He is determined to find her again...

But a series of misunderstandings befall the budding lovers.

Who is "D?" Well, it's not hard to figure out. I'd figured out the entire story by the time I reached Chapter 2 or 3. So yeah, it's very predictable. The story is slow, and we're introduced to a ton of characters who benefit the story in no way whatsoever. Even the lead characters seem somewhat... vapid. On a positive note, the dialogue was good, and I thought the Epilogue was refreshing.

Olivia Mallory, upon her cousin Jane's death, finds that Jane had secretly corresponded with an unknown gentleman for several years. The two had exchanged, not only letters, but poetry as well. Olivia decides to try to get some of the poetry published, in memory of her beloved cousin.

Olivia and her sister, Esme, travel to London to speak with an interested publisher. But he will only publish Jane's poems on one condition: the unknown gentleman's poems and letters must be included in the volume. Olivia must find the man and get his permission to publish his work if she ever wants to have her dream of seeing her cousin's poems in print realized.

During her search, Olivia meets a handsome gentleman who makes her heart pound and her knees weak...and all clues point to him as Jane's love. But he denies knowing Jane. Could Olivia ever give her heart to such a cad? Looks like it...

I give it a 4 because Olivia was a spunky heroine and pretty witty. There were a number of "sparks" in this book, plus more than one romance (Esme meets her match as well). It was likeable and amusing, though far from Martha Kirkland's best. I expected a bit more from her. The big "mystery" was completely unmysterious and rather predictable, but the romance saved it.

I am generally a fan of Martha Kirkland, but this book isn't one of her best. David and Olivia had chemistry, but they didn't spend enough time together in the book to develop it. They had physical attraction going for them from the beginning, yet the book didn't do a good job of showing why they really fell in love. There was too much focus on the "mystery," which was way too predictable. I never got caught up in the story, so it never rang true for me. There was one inconsistency that really bugged me--the heroine reads a letter saying that the mysterious "D" wrote, where he talks about how old he is(three score and ten or some such thing) and the heroine never notices that that is older than David, so that he can't be "D." She also jumps to the conclusion that he lied about being "D," and it just didn't seem to be realistic--she loved him and how she put two and two together to get five wasn't believable. The secret diary was barely mentioned, even though the title would lead you to think there would be a lot more about it. I gave the book 3 stars because it was generally accurate to the historical regency era, and I was able to finish it. However, it isn't a "keeper" for me.