Customer Reviews

True Pretenses

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

 

 

The hero in this book is really quite something. He's a decent, caring, interesting fellow, a refreshing change from all of the overly alpha heroes in the novels I've been reading lately. The only problem I had with the book was that the heroine's rejection of the hero after they'd already fallen in love sort of fell flat. I didn't think her reaction was realistic.

It's been a while since I've read a book as refreshing and fun as TRUE PRETENSES. The plot races along, the characters are well rounded, and the author displays an easy mastery of the regency period. Serena is wonderful, but Kit stole my heart. He's a true successor to another of my favorite Regency rakes, Miles Calverleigh of Heyer's BLACK SHEEP.

It has been a LONG time since I have read a historical romance novel this good! Ms. Lingefelt has captured the spirit of Regency England and combined it with intricately woven characters who come to life. The heroine's subtle humor had me rolling, and the hero had my heart pounding. Even the perfectly crafted villain surprised me. This is definitely a keeper book, one that I will look forward to reading again and again. Where can I find other books by this author??

In 1813 England, Christopher "Kit" Woodward sees his fiancée Serena Langley for the first time when some buck stares up her skirt while she is on a ladder seeking a book. When she tumbles off the ladder, Kit keeps her from being hurt. However, instead of introducing himself as her future husband just back from India, he says he is Alfred Gibson seeking the coachman's position. Kit knows he needs to wed Serena as his father's will insist on it if he is to inherit, but she has refused, blaming him like everyone else does for the assault on her deaf aunt that sent him on a nine year exile. He needs time to convince Serena that he did not cause the incident.

Though a servant, Kit and Serena fall in love. However, he wonders if she cherishes him or Alfred. Either way he must persuade his beloved that he did not attack her aunt, and that Alfred the Coachman and Kit the Duke are the same person willing to cherish Serena forever.

Regency romance fans will prize this rousing tale. The story line is fun to follow due to the cast making the tale worth reading. Kit is a strong protagonist needing to right a wrong complicated by love. Serena, though why she fails to see that Alfred is more than just a coachman (for instance why was he in the library in the first place), is a fine individual who knows she should not love a commoner yet cannot stop loving her coachman. Having felt the thrill of a powerful debut, readers will linger afterward wondering what will be next from a charming new author.

Harriet Klausner

I felt like I was reading a book I read before and seems like a noblewoman would recognize another member of the peerage. A nobleman disguises himself as a low-class servant just to meet a girl must really be desperate! Barbara Cartland did this better a hundred times over