Customer Reviews

Testing Miss Toogood

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

 

 

I picked this book up in the airport just before a cross country flight. I had never read a book by Stella Cameron and will probably never read one again. While the premise promised an interesting regency romance, the novel delivered a disappointing plot that was badly written. My first major problem with the book was the lack of accurate vernacular for the period the novel was depicting. Half of the words out of the characters mouths would not have been in the vocabulary of a nineteenth century British aristocrat. Next, the inaccurate portrayal of British society drove me nuts. Almost all the characters acted in a twenty-first century manner. The author's writing left much to be desired, oftentimes her prose was confusing. Her writing did not flow in a manner that made it easy for the reader to understand what she was trying to say. Aside from these problems were the obvious plot holes and lack of continuity and believable character development. Chloe had too big a vocabulary for a five-year-old. If Harry really looked so much like Noel, than how come Dominic and Nathan didn't catch on sooner, and why would Fleur, a young, unmarried woman recognize Hattie's pregnancy symptoms? The motives of the villains were obscured in the story and made absolutely no sense. The entire plot was wrapped up in a neat little bow at the end, in an unrealistic way, satisfying all the characters and leaving little denouement with no explanation. All in all, I would not recommend this novel to anyone that is easily distracted by bad writing and unrealistic settings and character development.

The Dowager Marchioness of Granville has asked her youngest son to chaperone an old friend's impoverished daughter during her "Season". But after Fleur Toogood appears at the Heatherly estate, it becomes apparent that the Dowager may be up to some matchmaking between the beautiful Fleur and her no-nonense, crime-fighting son, Dominic. He balks at his assignment because besides helping to run his family's holdings, he is attempting (with a little assistance from older brother, Nathan) to apprehend a serial kidnapper who has been preying on the ton's eligible young ladies.

This book starts out promising - the interludes involving the villain and his accomplices are sufficiently creepy but it all seems to peter out during the inevitable climax. Without giving away the kidnapper's identity, I found his character and motivations very intriguing. When he admits that he has changed his plan to kill Fleur and now plans to escape with her by sea in the hopes he can make her fall in love with him, I thought, wow,how much more interesting would it have been to have had the villain embroiled in a love triangle with Fleur and Dominic.

There is alot of dialogue - sometimes you need a scorecard to keep up with all of the comings and goings - almost reminiscent of a '30s screwball comedy. Cameron managed to sustain the romantic tension until the end, then it seemed she hurriedly added a lackluster honeymoon night. Dominic's proclamation of love and marriage proposal lacked the tenderness that Fleur deserved.

TESTING MISS TOOGOOD is enjoyable but it did not quite live up to the book's description of a promising great read. I would have liked the author to concentrate on the romance of Lord Dominic and Fleur. I felt it was overall underdeveloped and the secondary characters were not explained well enough to know who they are and where they exactly fit. The mystery aspect of the villain, Le Chat Soyeux and hero, Brother Juste is an interesting aspect, but I felt it took too much from the main storyline of the romance between Lord Dominic and Fleur. The mystery was not as essentially necessary. Despite all this, it is enjoyable.

This story is a sequel to A USEFUL AFFAIR.

In 1815 Reverend Toogood worries that he does not have enough money to provide dowries for his five daughters. To insure he does, he knows he must marry off the first one to a wealthy aristocrat, which will ease entry for the remaining foursome. He selects his second oldest child, Fleur as the best bet since she is the prettiest of his offspring.

Fleur detest her father's plan and is appalled to learn that her mother's friend the Duchess of Granville will sponsor her. She wants to marry for love not money so she will meet her sire's commitment of seeking a wealthy suitor, but refuses to wed for anything that excludes a deep love between her and her spouse. The Duchess drafts her son Dominic Elliot to escort the mouthy opinionated rustic. He wants her gone as she interferes with his efforts to uncover the identity of who is abducting well to do women while she tries to learn what his great secret is even as they fall in love with one another.

TESTING MISS TOOGOOD is a fine Regency romance starring two likable lead protagonists who are attracted with one another, but show it with discord except in front of his mother. The story line moves along two plots, the amusing dysfunctional romance and Dominic's tense undercover work to save young women from predators. Sub-genre readers will appreciate Stella Cameron's wonderful historical.

Harriet Klausner

After a visit to an old friend, the Dowager Marchioness of Granville made an offer to sponsor one of their daughters, granting the opportunity to visit London and be presented to the ton in the hope of contracting a marriage that would be beneficial to her family. Miss Fleur Toogood, second eldest daughter, was considered the best looking of the five sisters to make a good match. The only problem with Fleur was that she was opinionated and spoke her mind, oftentimes with disastrous results. Fleur also was adamant in her belief to marry for love, or not at all.

Lord Dominic the dowager's youngest son was appointed by her to be Fleur's chaperone and champion. Dominic, who was busy secretly trying to ferret out a villain who was kidnapping for ransom some of the ton's recent debutantes, reluctantly accepted his mothers appeal and took his chaperoning duties seriously though with little grace. His arrogance raised Fleur's hackles but she did manage to charm him even as she inadvertently eavesdropped and discovered his `other business' of trying to save the ton's virginal daughters from the clutches of `The Cat'.

As Fluer was introduced to and declared an `original' with the ton, Dominic did his best to find her a worthy husband. Fortunately, along the way and somewhere deep in his heart, he knew the only one that could meet her high standards or embrace them, and not stifle her natural exuberance was Dominic himself.

Finally, Dominic was only an okay hero and his desire to remain unwed when he felt such an intense attraction towards Fleur was a bit flimsy. The writing was, of course, well done with wonderful dialogs and a substantial amount of secondary characters to make this an interesting read. The suspense of the identity of `The Cat' was kept right up to the very end, although I had guessed half way thru the identity of his accomplice. What garnered this a low rating was the rather one-sided romance between Fleur and Dominic. If one didn't know that the hero was to be Dominic, I would have thought Franklin the best choice after the delightful lunch they had together when he made her laugh with his funny faces. However, Fleur was a gal after my own heart and I loved her honesty and outspokenness as she let her feelings be known, but Dominic needed lessons in the romance department - not to say he didn't have his moments - they were just too few and far between. Bottom Line - This was an okay read, well-written, with enough intrigue to keep the reader interested, but sadly lacking in any heart stopping romance.

Fleur Toogood is the second of five daughter of a local parson, who has come to London on behalf of the hero's mother to have a season. The purpose is to gain a husband who will not only mind her lack of a dowry but will also secure the fortunes of the rest of her sisters and parents.

Dominic Elliot is the youngest of five sons. By day, Dominic will be escorting young Fleur around town, sponsoring her during her first season. By night, Dominic catches criminals. His latest case involves a kidnappers called "The Cat." The Cat has been kidnapping young women from their families and gaining a ransom to have them returned with their virginity intact.

This book has several problems: (1) Dominic and Fleur have absolutely NO chemistry throughout the entire book. Frankly, I did not see what attracted Fleur to Dominic. He underminded her every move and doubted her ability to do anything on her own. Fleur seemed too much of a free spirit for Dominic, and it was hard to see the allure. This also made for a very boring book. (2) The secondary characters got confusing as they continued to multiply. (3) I was not sure if I should be routing for the brother, Nathan, to win Fleur's hand or not. (4) The mystery/kidnapping part of the plot was not fluid and really made me loose interest after a few chapters.

This was the first Stella Cameron book I've ever read. She apparently does not do Regency much and it shows. Definitely avoid this book. It is not worth the time or the money.