Customer Reviews

Lady in Waiting (Warner Forever)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Setting - Bath, England 1817 --- Working as a lady's maid for the Featherton sisters, Jenny Penny, the illegitimate daughter of an English baron had no idea that a `face cream' she'd concocted for her ladies would be used and gaining untold popularity as a `tingle' cream used in the lower extremities. This same cream was very much sought by the highborn ladies and gentlemen of the ton. Never did she ever realize that while modeling a gown for her employers she'd be mistaken for, and caught up into a scheme of impersonating a highborn lady. Jenny's life had certainly taking an odd turn, though after attracting the attention and admiration of the Scottish Viscount, Lord Callum Argyll, she was more than willing to continue the masquerade.

Naturally, playing the part of a lady required dressing like one and luckily the sale of her homemade facial cream, now the infamous "tingle" cream, was the means to an end in affording her passion of paying for her shopping sprees in Bath's most exclusive shops. With the ladies Featherton encouraging her romance with Lord Argyll, it seemed like a dream come true but, it would be only a matter of time before someone slipped and the truth be known - that Jenny Penny was only a `lady in waiting'!


*** While there were some humorous moments... I have to say, I did not like the characterization of the heroine at all. Told in her voice, the reader is exposed to only Jenny's views and motivations, which to me were so very shallow. She was admittedly a shop-aholic, who spent far more than she could ever have earned as a maid, had she not chanced upon her face cream a.k.a. an erotic enhancer. If her employers had been aware of her overdue accounts, she'd have probably been sacked! As a heroine she just was too materialistic, and it was just so hard to warm up to her at all. Additionally, I found very little depth to Callum as well and he came across as rather flat and lifeless, although in the end he finally did redeem himself.

The author does get points for research though and coming up with good historic detail. Unfortunately, the twin Featherton sisters, who were such a total hoot in RULES OF ENGAGEMENT, just didn't draw the laughs I expected and I felt just a tad cheated because of that. --- Marilyn, for www.romancedesigns.com ---

Kathryn Caskie won't get me again. I slogged through her first novel and really didn't like it, but, shame on me, I gave in and bought her second. To my horror, I thought it was even worse than her first. This heroine, Jenny Penny (lovely name), had no redeeming qualities. She reminded me of someone and, halfway through the book, I realized who it was. Elizabeth Bennett's harebrained, selfish sister, Lydia, in Pride and Prejudice. Like Lydia, Jenny thought of no one but herself. I have to say her shopping antics wore real thin, real fast. She could be in the midst of a crisis, but see some pretty in a shop and she had to have it. That is not an endearing trait in a heroine. I have to doubt her intelligence because she certainly seemed like she wasn't too blessed in the brains department. I also don't think she was very honest, witness her deception with Callum (and he's another story). She never really owned up to who she really was until she was forced to. I really, really didn't like this character. The dotty aunts were not as annoying as the last time around, but they were still too eager to go along with the deception. As for Callum, I question why he was there. We never really got to know him. I love to hear what's going on in the hero's head as he is falling in love with the heroine. I felt that Callum was trotted out when Caskie needed a stud and then trotted back to his stable, wherever that was. How he could put up with Jenny Penny, I'll never know. Probably because we were never given the opportunity to get his POV. If I sound upset, I am. I agree with the other reviewer who thought Caskie was writing down to romance readers. I get the feeling that she is. If she wants to write some other genre, then go do that. You are doing readers a disservice by publishing books of this ilk. Let the historical romance category to the pros like Lisa Kleypas, Karen Marie Moning, Sabrina Jeffries, and Pamela Britton. Caskie won't get me again!!

I just finished K.C.'s "Rules of Engagement" which I thoroughly enjoyed, so I rushed out and bought "Lady in Waiting". The book was very well written with a story line that hasn't been over-used, however, I couldn't finish it. The book was all from Jenny's point-of-view. I never knew what Collum was thinking or feeling unless he happened to be in the scene.
If you don't mind reading a book from only one angle, than this book would be great. I, personally, like to know what the hero is feeling towards the heroine. It adds the spice I need in a romance novel.

I was really looking forward to Caskie's second book, because I thought her first one, Rules of Engagement, an excellent first novel. The wait, however, ended in disappointment.

Jenny is thoroughly conceived as a character--unfortunately, she's shallow and materialistic. Even after her attitude about what's important supposedly changes, she's still, at the end of the book, a woman who absolutely MUST shop, who must buy whatever her heart latches on to. Callum is a threadbare character, limited to a Scottish burr, a kilt, and a pitiful excuse for refusing to marry her. A very lopsided romance, character-wise. What's more, Callum initially seems drawn only by lust and comes across as less-than-respectable. Jenny is simply so self-absorbed that she uses and manipulates those who care about her without seeing the poetic justice when others (the "villains") do the same to her.

Caskie completely ignores the social rules of the day, making the story and the outcome even more far-fetched.

The Featherton sisters are still eccentric, but not as charming as in the first novel--nor as vital to the plot, a plot that is quite contrived. The other secondary characters were bits of cardboard and irritating fluff that could have been easily switched around without a discernable twitch in the plot.

This is definitely one I'm glad I picked up at the library instead of buying. The preview of her next book, however, looks wonderful. One can only hope.

I am very tired of the typical Regency herione whose "woe is me" act grows thin and old. I am happy to report that Jenny is not that heroine, but fiesty instead. Too fiesty. Too brash. Too unbelieveable.

I found Jenny refreshing at first, then I found myself rolling my eyes and slamming the book shut. She was too modern. The book could have been set in 2000 New York without changing any dialogue.

Jenny's shopping madness was ridiculous at best. What shop owner would grant credit to a maid of an amount more than she earned in a year? The cost of dresses would take 100 years of her earnings to pay for. I was asked to suspend belief too many times for this to work for me.

While I can live with a book just in the heroine's POV, it got very tiring. I felt no connection to the hero, the aunts came off as flightly, the other characters as flat. And the use of coincidence was too much in this book. Jenny just "happened" to be the daughter of a noble. Can you see my eyes rolling again?

The aunt's pushing Jenny to act as a lady to "snare" the hero was way over the top. I am supposed to think that the aunts were playing some kind of game for fun. I can't believe they would risk scandal of their granddaughter by passing the maid off as a lady. And the granddaughter would go along with it. Sorry, I don't believe it.

In the Upper Assembly Room dance scene, Jenny promises to "behave" and act with "decorum". Five minutes later she's "enthusiastically" dancing and calling attention to herself. (more eye rolling)

To top it off, the book is not funny. Any "funny" scenes come off as flat and staged. It took me a week to plough through this book, so often did I slam it shut in frustration.

My advice is to read it before buying it.

I did not like this book at all. It took a lot from me to even finish it. It was all from the point of view of the heroine. You don't get one thought from the hero; except that he loves the heroine. It was nothing like Rules of Engagement. The next book looks better.

I would give it 3 and a half stars..Again I hate we don't have half stars. It was a different story line, and different I do like.. I loved the Featherton sisters. They made the whole book worth reading. They were so funny. The book had plenty of humor, but its not a keeper, but one that will keep you busy reading in a boring doctors office. Try to borrow this one or buy used if you can. Library would be good too. It is worth reading, I will be on the look out for more from this author.

What a delightful book. Honestly, I would have never chosen it based on the cover, but I was a judge in contest and it showed up in my allotment. I loved it! Jenny Penny is the most refreshing heroine I have read all year. There is nothing usual about her, or this story at all. The hero, Callum, showed up in my dreams (need I say more?) I put Lady in Waiting on my keeper shelf and just ordered the author's other books. I have high standards, but if the others are even half as good as this book, I will be very pleased. Highly Recommended.

I think Romantic Times BOOKclub reviewer Kathe Robin said it best - "Caskie's unique wit sparkles in this tale of lady's maid Jenny Penny and her homemade facial cream...."(AND) "Caskie's clever plotting shines in this Cinderella-esque tale of lady's maid turned lady with the help of three fairy godmothers. The backdrop of Bath and the idea of a lady entrepreneur are brilliant."
This is Kathryn Caskie's follow up to her wildly popular debut "Rules of Engagement," the 2002 Golden Heart Winner in Long Historical. The new book is a continuation of the matchmaking Featherton ladies series.
One of my favorite aspects of the book was the setting in Bath - so well written and described it made you really feel what it must have been like to be there during the Regency period. The novel was written from the point of view of the heroine which put the reader in Jenny Penny's shoes - making the heroine's struggle to rise beyond her station all the more powerful.
If you like light-hearted, witty, Regency-set Historical romances that sizzle, Lady In Waiting is for you. A winner in every way.

Kathy Caskie just keeps getting better and better. This book is even funnier than Rules of Engagement. Jenny Penny is a thoroughly appealing character and I love the premise of the Tingle Cream, which is just hilarious. This book starts with a bang, and just keeps you turning pages until the very satisfying conclusion.