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A Talent for Trouble
THE WICKED WIT
Young Lady Talitha Burnside knew she was a plain country mouse compared to the dazzling belles of the ton. Certainly as handsome a London lord as Viscount Chelmsford could have no interest in a shy creature like her, especially when he had the breathtaking Countess of Bellewood as his intended bride.
All that the viscount wanted Talitha for was her talent as an artist --- to illustrate the biting lampoons of society that Chelmsford delighted in penning. But if the viscount's wit was wicked, what he did to Talitha's heart was more wicked still --- as the awkward innocent set out to master another art ... the art of love ...
Young Lady Talitha Burnside knew she was a plain country mouse compared to the dazzling belles of the ton. Certainly as handsome a London lord as Viscount Chelmsford could have no interest in a shy creature like her, especially when he had the breathtaking Countess of Bellewood as his intended bride.
All that the viscount wanted Talitha for was her talent as an artist --- to illustrate the biting lampoons of society that Chelmsford delighted in penning. But if the viscount's wit was wicked, what he did to Talitha's heart was more wicked still --- as the awkward innocent set out to master another art ... the art of love ...
223 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 1, 1992
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66 people want to read
About the author
Anne Barbour
25 books17 followersAnne Barbour developed an affection for the Regency period while living in England. She now lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband, a retired lieutenant colonel. She is the mother of six children, all grown, and she loves to boast of her five grandchildren.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 23, 2013
Look, it's a 4 star + a bit read for me, but I'm giving a star for the lack of typical, cloying irritants I've been subjected to recently (see Tempting Fortune review). Hallelujah. An oldie but goodie Regency Romance, OOP. The cover proclaims it the winner of the 1991 Golden Heart Award, whatever that is. And no wonder, this is loads of fun, and it's not straining to be whacky or shocking. No TSTL heroine doing unbelievably brainless things just to be contrary. Tally's a mousy-looking country miss (well, a lady) returned to Town to pursue a discreet career as an anonymous caricaturist of the ton (she's got smarts, talent and spine); he's a viscount and surreptitiously a satirical author looking for his own Cruikshank to illustrate a serial about men on the Town. She's enamored with him but a hopeless, plain spinster in her mind; he's engaged to a beautiful, heartless harpy.
Her friend and host, a young married woman named Cat and her husband with White Hall/spy connections see her transformed, with a little Town bronze, into a society success even as she's taking note of everyone's foibles and telling features to lampoon them properly. The H/h's affection grows as they work together. Thanks to Tally, he sees his fiancee as the cold, shallow bitch she is and outgrows his infatuation for her.
Charming, smart cast of characters, she keeps her wits about her while a treasonous plot unfolds, and they get their HEA. I really enjoyed this, reminds me of Candice Hern's stories, precise, thoughtful, and fun to read with lots of great context and interesting details.
I hope the author decides or has the option to offer this in ebook format for everyone.
Her friend and host, a young married woman named Cat and her husband with White Hall/spy connections see her transformed, with a little Town bronze, into a society success even as she's taking note of everyone's foibles and telling features to lampoon them properly. The H/h's affection grows as they work together. Thanks to Tally, he sees his fiancee as the cold, shallow bitch she is and outgrows his infatuation for her.
Charming, smart cast of characters, she keeps her wits about her while a treasonous plot unfolds, and they get their HEA. I really enjoyed this, reminds me of Candice Hern's stories, precise, thoughtful, and fun to read with lots of great context and interesting details.
I hope the author decides or has the option to offer this in ebook format for everyone.
September 7, 2015
In spite of good reviews from people I rate, this just didn't grab me. The basic plot premise (She illustrates His articles) was inherently unlikely, and there wasn't quite enough of anything else to carry it off for me. Sorry.
October 11, 2023
Regarded it as a 3 stars, well written and pleasently curious until the end, maybe because the dated reactions had me going a bit bla, after they were about to chase the villain, I did not necessarily want to finish reading.
February 17, 2025
Distinctly Heyer-inspired, as evidenced by the almost exact replicas of certain favorite scenes. But most of the plot and all the characters were original, so whatever. Fun and interesting, with twists and turns you don’t expect leading to a happy ending.
September 22, 2019
Lovely rousing romp
Such a sparky tale. I read it one Sunday morning. Nothing else got done. Loved it. Good storyline and we'll written.
Such a sparky tale. I read it one Sunday morning. Nothing else got done. Loved it. Good storyline and we'll written.
July 10, 2020
See my review here: https://ataladyreads.blogspot.com/202...
July 26, 2020
A very sweet ad clean read. I really liked the heroine - she had pluck, independence (that was believable for the time period in question), intelligence, talent.
March 14, 2024
Entertaining
The lead couple Tally and Joseph are creative together, good people and friendly. This story is how their relationship changes as life problems become serious.
The lead couple Tally and Joseph are creative together, good people and friendly. This story is how their relationship changes as life problems become serious.
April 28, 2016
Actually, it's more of a 3.5 stars for me. I gave this 4 stars on Goodreads because the Goodreads rating doesn't do it justice.
The plot is interesting enough. Although I can say that I had already "seen that coming", the writer succeeded in adding a little mystery here and there to keep me reading. I also like the interaction between hero and heroine. But yeah, now the book leaves me wanting with Cat and Richard's story!
For one thing, I seldom like a blend of spies/killers/crime and historical romance, but I enjoy reading this book. I think someone said in her review that the plot wasn't making sense for that era, but, to me, at least I don't feel it too modern. That's a good start. Another plus, so far Anne Barbour haven't failed to present a smart, brave, a bit of a feminist, but not TSTL heroine.
However, I feel like something is missing. I can't tell, but I feel that the book lacks this "thing" around the early interactions between hero and heroine.
The plot is interesting enough. Although I can say that I had already "seen that coming", the writer succeeded in adding a little mystery here and there to keep me reading. I also like the interaction between hero and heroine. But yeah, now the book leaves me wanting with Cat and Richard's story!
For one thing, I seldom like a blend of spies/killers/crime and historical romance, but I enjoy reading this book. I think someone said in her review that the plot wasn't making sense for that era, but, to me, at least I don't feel it too modern. That's a good start. Another plus, so far Anne Barbour haven't failed to present a smart, brave, a bit of a feminist, but not TSTL heroine.
However, I feel like something is missing. I can't tell, but I feel that the book lacks this "thing" around the early interactions between hero and heroine.
September 25, 2009
Regency
March 31, 2017
Traditional clean regency.
Pretty much what you see is what you get. I could have done without the whole spy subplot but it was well written and an easy read.
Pretty much what you see is what you get. I could have done without the whole spy subplot but it was well written and an easy read.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews