Customer Reviews

Summer Campaign (Signet Regency Romance)

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

 

 

I've recently had the good fortune to acquire a number of books from Kelly's backlist, and Summer Campaign is the first I read. And I loved it. It's heartwarming and tear-jerking, just like all the best Kellys.

Onyx, our heroine, is - in the tradition of much of Kelly's writing - not of the best ton. In fact, she's illegitimate, though brought up in a good family. All her life, though, she's felt that she has to hide, and almost apologise for existing. Now, she has a proposal of marriage: a vicar, Andew Littlewood, has sought her hand. Grateful for the chance to escape her stepmother's tyranny, Onyx accepts.

En route to her fiance's home, however, her carriage is held up by a rough band of robbers who also threaten her virtue. Onyx is rescued by a shabbily-dressed soldier, who is shot and almost killed as a result. The soldier is Major Jack Beresford, returning from the Napoleonic Wars - and, it turns out, he knew Onyx's twin brother.

Onyx feels a definite bond with Jack, but what can she do? She's already engaged to another man, and anyway, once she discovers that Jack is the brother of a marquess, she knows that he's well out of her reach. She has to put him out of her mind, no matter how much he teases and flirts with her. And yet she knows that he needs her too, in several different ways - to help heal the wounds of war, both physical and mental.

This is a wonderful book, ranging from humorous to wistful to angsty to downright tearjerking. I couldn't help but like and feel sorry for Onyx, and who could help falling in love with Jack? And then there's Emily and Adrian, Jack's brother and his wife - also characters I loved getting to know.

A classic Carla Kelly, and well worth the collectors' price!

Carla Kelly has a rare gift for storytelling. Her books are ripe with characters that are so real you can almost feel them breathe. This book is no exception. A touching and romantic tale that very well may bring tears to your eyes. I seldom make it through a Kelly novel dry eyed! The heroine, Onyx Hamilton is one you will remember. Jack, the hero, is a man any woman would want to know. Yet none of her characters are trite or typical. Good show Ms. Kelly!

There are so many other reviews that give you the basics so I'll keep this short in stating that this was a very well written book as all CK's books seem to be. My only objection was how sad it all was. Between how the heroine was treated and the prolonged death at the end of a secondary character it was too much. I'm more into the upbeat type of romances. I hope you enjoy. Happy Reading.

Jack's Summer Campaign was to woo a wife, but that was just the tip of the story. I particularly loved the supporting characters, particularly Jack's brother and his brother's wife. Her descriptions of Onyx's fiance's odd poses were priceless.

One of the things I love most about Carla Kelly's books is the setting during or just after the Napoleonic Wars. She makes the era come alive. You feel the way that the war affected people, from the family members left behind, to the soldiers suffering post traumatic stress disorder (for that is what it is) and extreme poverty and unemployment upon return, to the victims of war. It's all there and there is no sugar coating. She is an artist. Another beautiful touch is how in some of these books (but not in this particular one, I think), characters from other books are mentioned, even if peripherally.

It is not an easy thing to maintain suspense in a Regency romance, but Carla Kelly had me turning pages all night with Summer Campaign. It is 1813 and Major Jack Beresford, formerly of His Majesty's 45th Foot, is a veteran of a series of ghastly sieges in Spain while serving under Wellington. While all his physical wounds have healed, he is an emotional wreck. He is back in England after selling out, and can not return to his home fast enough.

Miss Onyx Hamilton is practically invisible at the beginning of the story. In fact she has worked hard to protect herself from hostile circumstances by detaching herself from them. Now she has been forced by those circumstances to accept the marriage proposal of a suitor she finds repulsive. Her fiancé has ordered her to go to the vicarage that will be their home to begin massive repairs (without the means to affect them) while he is attending a meeting elsewhere.

Major Beresford and Miss Hamilton meet on the road under dramatic circumstances. From the moment their lives intersect, their compatibility and complementary needs begin to manifest as each begins their healing journey with the support and caring of the other.

Their paths are littered with significant problems that force Jack and Onyx to face intimate feelings that would normally remain submerged. While their mutual feelings for each other grow, the obstacles to a union between them are real and significant. Will they marry? Will each suffer a lifetime of loss and regret? You will not know for sure until the last few pages.

Regrettably this book is out-of-print, but I echo Mary Balogh's commendation on the back cover, "Summer Campaign is more than just a good Regency. It is a good book...one after my own heart."

This was a very interesting book, but not really worth 5 stars. Jack is a sweet and adorable gentleman, full of playful humor. He also has a cute little stutter. I read the book in one sitting and I can't help but to feel like it was a little rushed. There were no huge flaws in the plot, no annoying characters, but to me a five star book requires just a bit more.

Jack returns home from war, so ready to get home. Along the way he rescues Onyx from highway men. He gets shot in the arm. Onyx stays to help Jack heal. To me, getting shot in the arm is normally a cheap way to throw in some added drama. It let's the reader think that "oh my gosh, he was shot!" and it throws in some angst with the pain, but it doesn't create the sense of real urgency. The injury fit with the length of the book, though, and allowed Jack and Onyx to get closer. They were quite cute together!

Jack then returns home to find his older brother, Adrian, dying of cancer. It was heartbreaking the condition Jack finds his beloved brother. He asks Onyx to help. It actually surprised me that she did. I liked that. I've been coming across selfish and horrible heroines left and right and I'm glad Onyx didn't find it so inconvenient to help a friend. She did it without second thought. They were friends, too. No predictable bickering, no "I hate you but let's kiss anyway" attitude. They were such likable characters.

I was disappointed that Jack could think about his brother dying one moment and then crack a crude joke with Onyx the next. I also don't believe that just the presence of Onyx miraculously cured Jack of his stutter. I didn't really feel as if I got any real in-depth feeling of the characters, though I liked them. For a Regency book this probably deserves a better rating, but for my own personal taste, Summer Campaign is a very nice "It was okay/I liked it" rating.

I read this book ages ago, years even. My apologies because I can't remember much of the plot, but I do recall that it was very good, very sweet and pure Carla Kelly.