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The Six Sisters #2
The Taming of Annabelle
The Taming of Annabelle: The Second Volume of the Six Sisters
250 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 13, 1983
83 people are currently reading
497 people want to read
About the author
Marion Chesney
139 books746 followersMarion Chesney Gibbons
aka: Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, Helen Crampton, Charlotte Ward, M.C. Beaton, Sarah Chester.
Marion Chesney was born on 1936 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK, and started her first job as a bookseller in charge of the fiction department in John Smith & Sons Ltd. While bookselling, by chance, she got an offer from the Scottish Daily Mail to review variety shows and quickly rose to be their theatre critic. She left Smith’s to join Scottish Field magazine as a secretary in the advertising department, without any shorthand or typing, but quickly got the job of fashion editor instead. She then moved to the Scottish Daily Express where she reported mostly on crime. This was followed by a move to Fleet Street to the Daily Express where she became chief woman reporter. After marrying Harry Scott Gibbons and having a son, Charles, Marion went to the United States where Harry had been offered the job of editor of the Oyster Bay Guardian. When that didn’t work out, they went to Virginia and Marion worked as a waitress in a greasy spoon on the Jefferson Davies in Alexandria while Harry washed the dishes. Both then got jobs on Rupert Murdoch’s new tabloid, The Star, and moved to New York.
Anxious to spend more time at home with her small son, Marion, urged by her husband, started to write historical romances in 1977. After she had written over 100 of them under her maiden name, Marion Chesney, and under the pseudonyms: Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, Helen Crampton, Charlotte Ward, and Sarah Chester, she getting fed up with 1714 to 1910, she began to write detectives stories in 1985 under the pseudonym of M. C. Beaton. On a trip from the States to Sutherland on holiday, a course at a fishing school inspired the first Constable Hamish Macbeth story. They returned to Britain and bought a croft house and croft in Sutherland where Harry reared a flock of black sheep. But Charles was at school, in London so when he finished and both tired of the long commute to the north of Scotland, they moved to the Cotswolds where Agatha Raisin was created.
aka: Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, Helen Crampton, Charlotte Ward, M.C. Beaton, Sarah Chester.
Marion Chesney was born on 1936 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK, and started her first job as a bookseller in charge of the fiction department in John Smith & Sons Ltd. While bookselling, by chance, she got an offer from the Scottish Daily Mail to review variety shows and quickly rose to be their theatre critic. She left Smith’s to join Scottish Field magazine as a secretary in the advertising department, without any shorthand or typing, but quickly got the job of fashion editor instead. She then moved to the Scottish Daily Express where she reported mostly on crime. This was followed by a move to Fleet Street to the Daily Express where she became chief woman reporter. After marrying Harry Scott Gibbons and having a son, Charles, Marion went to the United States where Harry had been offered the job of editor of the Oyster Bay Guardian. When that didn’t work out, they went to Virginia and Marion worked as a waitress in a greasy spoon on the Jefferson Davies in Alexandria while Harry washed the dishes. Both then got jobs on Rupert Murdoch’s new tabloid, The Star, and moved to New York.
Anxious to spend more time at home with her small son, Marion, urged by her husband, started to write historical romances in 1977. After she had written over 100 of them under her maiden name, Marion Chesney, and under the pseudonyms: Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, Helen Crampton, Charlotte Ward, and Sarah Chester, she getting fed up with 1714 to 1910, she began to write detectives stories in 1985 under the pseudonym of M. C. Beaton. On a trip from the States to Sutherland on holiday, a course at a fishing school inspired the first Constable Hamish Macbeth story. They returned to Britain and bought a croft house and croft in Sutherland where Harry reared a flock of black sheep. But Charles was at school, in London so when he finished and both tired of the long commute to the north of Scotland, they moved to the Cotswolds where Agatha Raisin was created.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 131 reviews
June 23, 2010
2.5 stars. I enjoyed the first half of this book because Minerva and Sylvester from the last book was apart of the plot. Annabelle the heroine was too anti-heroine and did not have any likable characteristics. I actually like it when the heroine is not perfect and is realistic with a flawed personality but I also want her to have a few redeeming qualities so that the reader can still root for her, and it was extremely hard to do that with Annabelle.
July 12, 2017
The second book of Marion Chesney's first series, the author continued to explore the vein of six sisters who change as they grow up.
It's no coincidence that the title should derive from the Taming of the Shrew, since Annabelle is probably the closest one to being a shrew of all her heroines. At this point in time, I feel the author was still trying to deviate from her earlier wilting-violet heroines and experimenting with a "tempestuous" MC. Annabelle was one handful of a heroine. She was a seething mass of churning emotions that she kept controlled a minimum of the time: filled with immaturity and envy and jealousy and arrogance as well as a tendency to show off -- it would be impossible to like her or ignore her existence. She was alive in a way that most of Marion Chesney's other heroines was not.
The impetus of this book continued from the first one in which Annabelle derives a ferocious crush on Minerva's fiance, Lord Sylvester, and imagines that her preachy sister couldn't possibly be in love with the urbane and sophisticated lord. Because Minerva must have been planning on marrying to save the family, if Annabelle took him away from her, she wouldn't be harming anyone in the least. The author attempted to explain away Annabelle's immaturity as being spoiled, but what it really was -- if you started the author with this book -- was that Annabelle was not very likable. She fought with her younger sisters, she did vicarage duties grudgingly, she made fun of all and sundry with snippety remarks, and she envied her older sister's status and power just as she relied on her.
Soon, in an effort to compete with Minerva, Annabelle becomes engaged to the Marquess of Brabington, Lord Sylvester's friend recently returned a war hero, and calls him by the wrong name in the first throes of passion. Here, her father the enterprising and surprisingly intuitive vicar interferes and seeks to right her marriage by taking aside the Marquess in an effort to school Annabelle. In the end is an milder, more mature (?) Annabelle who appreciates her husband more (?). I put a lot of question marks on that because her change was more like she was cowed by society, and in the later books of the series, you can see that she still tries to one-up other people and hog the limelight.
All's well that ends well -- except I did notice that Annabelle becomes embroiled in almost romances with two men named Guy, and whose initials are G.W., first in Minerva, and a different character by a very similar name in this book, both who turn out to be villainous schemers.
It's no coincidence that the title should derive from the Taming of the Shrew, since Annabelle is probably the closest one to being a shrew of all her heroines. At this point in time, I feel the author was still trying to deviate from her earlier wilting-violet heroines and experimenting with a "tempestuous" MC. Annabelle was one handful of a heroine. She was a seething mass of churning emotions that she kept controlled a minimum of the time: filled with immaturity and envy and jealousy and arrogance as well as a tendency to show off -- it would be impossible to like her or ignore her existence. She was alive in a way that most of Marion Chesney's other heroines was not.
The impetus of this book continued from the first one in which Annabelle derives a ferocious crush on Minerva's fiance, Lord Sylvester, and imagines that her preachy sister couldn't possibly be in love with the urbane and sophisticated lord. Because Minerva must have been planning on marrying to save the family, if Annabelle took him away from her, she wouldn't be harming anyone in the least. The author attempted to explain away Annabelle's immaturity as being spoiled, but what it really was -- if you started the author with this book -- was that Annabelle was not very likable. She fought with her younger sisters, she did vicarage duties grudgingly, she made fun of all and sundry with snippety remarks, and she envied her older sister's status and power just as she relied on her.
Soon, in an effort to compete with Minerva, Annabelle becomes engaged to the Marquess of Brabington, Lord Sylvester's friend recently returned a war hero, and calls him by the wrong name in the first throes of passion. Here, her father the enterprising and surprisingly intuitive vicar interferes and seeks to right her marriage by taking aside the Marquess in an effort to school Annabelle. In the end is an milder, more mature (?) Annabelle who appreciates her husband more (?). I put a lot of question marks on that because her change was more like she was cowed by society, and in the later books of the series, you can see that she still tries to one-up other people and hog the limelight.
All's well that ends well -- except I did notice that Annabelle becomes embroiled in almost romances with two men named Guy, and whose initials are G.W., first in Minerva, and a different character by a very similar name in this book, both who turn out to be villainous schemers.
August 24, 2017
A common knowledge: if a writer creates real and interesting characters a book almost for sure is good. Take Jane Austen, Georgette Heyer, Elizabeth Taylor and many others. Sure, a story/plot is also important, but it is better to starts with inventing absorbing characters.
In my opinion Chesney showed in The Six Sisters series that she can create very engaging characters. Yes, it could be hard to like Annabelle (especially at the beginning) but she was so real. I mean, no soft version. She truly was spoiled and she was infatuated with her brother-in-law. But, I don't have to like a heroine to appreciate the book.
I firmly believe that Chesney know human nature and although her stories take place two hundreds ago their message is still true.
But this new love is a painfully fragile thing. She will remember his behaviour on the first few days after the marriage, and, as for him, he will remember hers. So she will be prepared to believe the worst.
In 'The Taming of Annabelle' you will find also interesting description of Regency world. Perhaps a little censorious but we shouldn't forget that behind magnificent balls and wonderful dresses there were also less colorful aspects of life.
Nonetheless, this novel was funny and enjoyable. For example, the chase after Sir Guy was simply hilarious. And of course the conversations between Squire Radford and the Reverend Charles Armitage and what they did... I can't wait what they would do in next parts of series (I am sad that I have to wait for a copy of Deirdre and Desire).
PS I don't know how I would have liked it if I hadn't read before Minerva. But I had, and I think it is better to read the series chronologically.
In my opinion Chesney showed in The Six Sisters series that she can create very engaging characters. Yes, it could be hard to like Annabelle (especially at the beginning) but she was so real. I mean, no soft version. She truly was spoiled and she was infatuated with her brother-in-law. But, I don't have to like a heroine to appreciate the book.
I firmly believe that Chesney know human nature and although her stories take place two hundreds ago their message is still true.
But this new love is a painfully fragile thing. She will remember his behaviour on the first few days after the marriage, and, as for him, he will remember hers. So she will be prepared to believe the worst.
In 'The Taming of Annabelle' you will find also interesting description of Regency world. Perhaps a little censorious but we shouldn't forget that behind magnificent balls and wonderful dresses there were also less colorful aspects of life.
Nonetheless, this novel was funny and enjoyable. For example, the chase after Sir Guy was simply hilarious. And of course the conversations between Squire Radford and the Reverend Charles Armitage and what they did... I can't wait what they would do in next parts of series (I am sad that I have to wait for a copy of Deirdre and Desire).
PS I don't know how I would have liked it if I hadn't read before Minerva. But I had, and I think it is better to read the series chronologically.
July 27, 2018
In the first book in the series Minerva was obnoxious but in this second book in the series her sister, Annabelle, tops that by being selfish, cruel, narcissistic, and mercenary. There are people who love the bad guys, the fans of the Disney Villains for instance. I just couldn't find much that was likeable about this female main character, she sounded like a sociopath with no empathy or real emotion other than in getting what she wanted. Doesn't this sound like the psycho in the neighborhood?
"It is to be understood that Annabelle was suffering from a kind of mini-madness. She no longer paused to think much about the fact that plotting to take Lord Sylvester away from her sister was wrong."
The changes as she "grew up" was pretty hard to find believable. She goes from this;
"Annabelle's formidable vanity began to reassert itself. She rang the bell to summon Betty and curtly ordered the maid to lay out her grey gown, watching all the while for any signs of dumb insolence on Betty's part."
to being kind to the servants and this;
"Annabelle was quite pleased to see that her sister was looking a trifle haggard and that she had dark circles under her eyes."
to being meek and loving to her family members.
The overhaul of her personality and behavior happens so quickly that it seems out-of-character or like an act put on by a clever psychopath who has seen the possibility of punishment on the horizon.
On the other hand, the male main character is such a great guy; a war hero, a man who has had his heart broken but is willing to offer it again, handsome, rich, titled, intelligent, etc. His insta-love for her is a cause of concern for everyone, including him, but he moves forward anyway.
I sort of enjoyed the "taming" portion of the story even though I didn't trust the surface changes the taming resulted in.
There was a happy ending but I still felt bad for the guy ending up with the crazy lady.
Violence, mild sex scenes, some swearing.
"It is to be understood that Annabelle was suffering from a kind of mini-madness. She no longer paused to think much about the fact that plotting to take Lord Sylvester away from her sister was wrong."
The changes as she "grew up" was pretty hard to find believable. She goes from this;
"Annabelle's formidable vanity began to reassert itself. She rang the bell to summon Betty and curtly ordered the maid to lay out her grey gown, watching all the while for any signs of dumb insolence on Betty's part."
to being kind to the servants and this;
"Annabelle was quite pleased to see that her sister was looking a trifle haggard and that she had dark circles under her eyes."
to being meek and loving to her family members.
The overhaul of her personality and behavior happens so quickly that it seems out-of-character or like an act put on by a clever psychopath who has seen the possibility of punishment on the horizon.
On the other hand, the male main character is such a great guy; a war hero, a man who has had his heart broken but is willing to offer it again, handsome, rich, titled, intelligent, etc. His insta-love for her is a cause of concern for everyone, including him, but he moves forward anyway.
I sort of enjoyed the "taming" portion of the story even though I didn't trust the surface changes the taming resulted in.
There was a happy ending but I still felt bad for the guy ending up with the crazy lady.
Violence, mild sex scenes, some swearing.
July 31, 2024
Confermo con convinzione che questa serie è nettamente inferiore all'unica serie tradotta in italiano, 67, Clarges Street. In questo caso, poi, la protagonista, Annabelle, è davvero insopportabile, con la sua mania di competizione con la sorella maggiore, Minerva, tanto da volerle rubare il fidanzato, prima, poi la scena e infine il marito, non riuscendo in nessuno dei suoi propositi, ma riuscendo soltanto a rendere infelice se stessa e l'uomo che ha scelto come mezzo ignaro per attuare il suo nefando intento. Non mi piace neanche che ogni volta il reverendo Armitage, il padre delle ragazze, sentendosi in colpa per la pessima educazione che ha dato alle figlie, debba mettersi in mezzo assieme all'amico, lo Squire Radford, per risolvere i loro problemi. Alla fine lo schema diventa troppo ripetitivo e anche poco fantasioso. E siamo solo al secondo romanzo di sei...
July 1, 2022
This book was such a sweet little Regency romance! Poor Annabelle, she had quite a hard time, but she got with the Marchioness in the end :) I will definitely be reading book 3 sometime soon!
May 14, 2025
I'm reading this five stars even though I think it should be four and a half. I didn't like Annabelle at the beginning but I liked how Annabelle grew and it helped her. hopefully we will see more of her in the next book as well.
December 26, 2021
This was just okay. I enjoyed the other book more. Kudos to the author for writing an anti-heroine.
This heroine is nasty. She has the full makings of a vile OW. She is vain and selfish AND envious of her older sister’s success at securing a rich and noble fiance. Like a classic middle child, she constantly feels that her sister is the more favored one, she forgets how her older sister always protected and indulged her.
Basically she wants what her sister has, not just the opportunity, because the Hero is the friend of her sisters fiance and from the previous book, we know that he is attracted to the heroine. NO.. she wants to take her sister's fiance away from her!
ugh... my whole review got deleted...
This heroine is nasty. She has the full makings of a vile OW. She is vain and selfish AND envious of her older sister’s success at securing a rich and noble fiance. Like a classic middle child, she constantly feels that her sister is the more favored one, she forgets how her older sister always protected and indulged her.
Basically she wants what her sister has, not just the opportunity, because the Hero is the friend of her sisters fiance and from the previous book, we know that he is attracted to the heroine. NO.. she wants to take her sister's fiance away from her!
ugh... my whole review got deleted...
August 17, 2016
Annabelle Armitage, the beautiful and spoiled younger sister of Minerva, is intensely jealous of her sister's success. She feels certain that Minerva has martyred herself on the altar of marriage and that Lord Sylvester can not possibly love Minerva but surely could love Annabelle instead. During a house party given by Lord Sylvester's parents Annabelle embarrasses herself and learns how much Sylvester and Minerva care for each other, however, she is determined to make her sister jealous and eventually land Sylvester for herself. Peter, the Marquess of Brabington, returns from the wars a hero and in ill health. He allows his feelings for Annabelle to overcome his better judgement and proposes to Annabelle. Heady with triumph, Annabelle insists on marrying Peter on the same day as Minerva, but her plan to trump Minerva backfires and very nearly ends her marriage before it even really begins. Helped along by Rev. Armitage and the squire, Peter tries to teach Annabelle a lesson in love and happiness but a wicked rake is courting Annabelle and his wicked schemes may prevent Annabelle from growing up and achieving the happiness she's always dreamed of. I didn't like this book as well as most of Chesney's others. Annabelle is very young and acts like a typical bratty teenager. I dislike stories about marital misunderstandings to begin with and I couldn't really come to like Annabelle or care about her very much. There are some amusing moments involving Annabelle's father trying to protect his daughter which prevent the book from being a complete dud.
January 14, 2020
My dislike of Annabelle just took away from my being able to enjoy the story. I get that she’s supposed to be a spoiled, bratty second child but she became too much by the end.
August 3, 2025
For all Heyer fans
August 18, 2024
3.5 ⭐
June 17, 2019
I enjoyed Annabelle when she was featured in Minerva as a side character. She was a spoiled, snooty and flighty 16 year old girl. At one point in this book she threatens to pinch her maid all over until she is black and blue. Apparently, it's not an idle threat and the maid runs off afraid that Annabelle will start throwing things at her. That's a rarity in a heroine and really test the limits of how "flawed" one can be! She's fun to read about, but she is just not sympathetic and worst of all her romance is poorly written.
Annabelle spends the majority of the book obsessed with Lord Sylvester (her older sister's husband) and even says his name on her wedding night with Peter. Ouch. I can see why she would turn to Peter while Sylvester is completely unavailable and off honeymooning with Minerva. Peter gives her the attention she desires and helps her rebound. I can't say I think she honestly loves him in any capacity.
I'm a bit disgusted that Peter, a man in his 30s, is in love with an immature teenager. He spends a few days with her in the country and decides he's in love. It seems like he was just infatuated with her looks from the start. When they meet again a few months later, he agrees to marry her after two days in her company all the while knowing she has a crush on Sylvester. Again 30 year old man panting over teenager and marrying her in a fit of desperation. Yuck.
Simply put, despite the humorous writing, as a believable romance this fails. 1 star.
Annabelle spends the majority of the book obsessed with Lord Sylvester (her older sister's husband) and even says his name on her wedding night with Peter. Ouch. I can see why she would turn to Peter while Sylvester is completely unavailable and off honeymooning with Minerva. Peter gives her the attention she desires and helps her rebound. I can't say I think she honestly loves him in any capacity.
I'm a bit disgusted that Peter, a man in his 30s, is in love with an immature teenager. He spends a few days with her in the country and decides he's in love. It seems like he was just infatuated with her looks from the start. When they meet again a few months later, he agrees to marry her after two days in her company all the while knowing she has a crush on Sylvester. Again 30 year old man panting over teenager and marrying her in a fit of desperation. Yuck.
Simply put, despite the humorous writing, as a believable romance this fails. 1 star.
January 7, 2013
My least favourite of all the books.
Annabelle is HORRIBLE!!! Self-centred, vain and without any redeeming qualities that I could find. Unless you count prettiness as a good quality. I hated her so much that it is the only thing I remember about the WHOLE book and I only read it yesterday!!!
First she is in love with her sisters husband to be... I have a sister and I don't care if she was just being young and foolish, if she fancied my boyfriend and set her mind on breaking up my engagement I would feel more betrayed that words can express!!!
Seriously this girl has NO conscience! She stumbles from one horrible act to another without a care for anyone save her silly self!!!
I can't remember if Annabelle 'learns' her lesson but I kind of think not because I hated her in the rest of the books too.
Annabelle is HORRIBLE!!! Self-centred, vain and without any redeeming qualities that I could find. Unless you count prettiness as a good quality. I hated her so much that it is the only thing I remember about the WHOLE book and I only read it yesterday!!!
First she is in love with her sisters husband to be... I have a sister and I don't care if she was just being young and foolish, if she fancied my boyfriend and set her mind on breaking up my engagement I would feel more betrayed that words can express!!!
Seriously this girl has NO conscience! She stumbles from one horrible act to another without a care for anyone save her silly self!!!
I can't remember if Annabelle 'learns' her lesson but I kind of think not because I hated her in the rest of the books too.
May 12, 2016
I usually don't rate a book this low. I find something to like. Here the only thing I liked was Peter the male protagonist. And for some reason, the book spends a good first portion on Sylvester, the brother in law, so much so, I thought he was the hero(I didn't know this was a series). For a Regency romance its mild and sweet, but Annabelle is much too negative and only by the last quarter of the book realizes she loves her husband. Why her husband's character hasn't been given the same attention to detail as Sylvester is beyond me. I read the whole book, but wouldn't recommend this one, perhaps the first book maybe better. Also why its titled Taming of Annabelle, when she's anything but, is another mystery.
July 9, 2017
I enjoyed this book simply because I utterly disliked the main character, who was a total "bee-arch", and I was glad she got her comeuppance. Annabelle was a spoiled, uppity young women who disliked her older sister and wanted to take her fiance believing she love him and him her. She set about with her bratty behavior trying to out do her sister at every turn, never realizing she could be destroying other peoples lives. When she calls her husband by her brother-in-laws name on her wedding night, thus begins her lesson in humility. A lesson that's sanctioned by her own father, the Vicar. Of all the characters of Marion Chesney, aka M C Beaton, I disliked Annabelle the most and I didn't feel she deserved her HEA.
November 25, 2021
Annabelle Armitage is singularly the most vain, insipid, self destructive, hypocritical, childish and unredeemable character in this entire book and is really quite disgusting. That said, this is a book about a 17 year old girl being married off to a 30-something year old man for his money and title, and then learning that being grown up isn't as fun or as carefree as she's expecting for it to be. I honestly thing the love interest, Peter Marquess of Brabington, was an absolute dumbass to marry a 17 year old and expect her to act and think and feel like an adult. Every conflict in this book could have been neatly avoided or resolved had they employed a time tested relationship strategy: communication!
February 21, 2021
I have never liked and disliked (at the same time) a main character of a book as much as I did Annabelle in this book.
It was very irritating yet very intriguing to see what would happen next.
This book does a great job of showing a persons character being torn to pieces and then reconstructed in a positive way.
The story portrays deep love, young fantasies, spoiled personality, and intense revenge.
It also brings about a ton of humor and made me laugh many times.
Beautiful story of realizing the true meaning of happiness and cherishing what one has in life.
It was very irritating yet very intriguing to see what would happen next.
This book does a great job of showing a persons character being torn to pieces and then reconstructed in a positive way.
The story portrays deep love, young fantasies, spoiled personality, and intense revenge.
It also brings about a ton of humor and made me laugh many times.
Beautiful story of realizing the true meaning of happiness and cherishing what one has in life.
May 19, 2021
This is totally a “just not for me” scenario. I suffer greatly from secondhand embarrassment and I spent the whole time cringing.
How can she be so bloody selfish? She just seemed completely divorced from reality. I couldn’t get into the spirit of the story whatsoever. It was probably worsened by the fact that I LOVED the cast of characters from the first book (even sententious Minerva), so seeing them through Annabelle’s nasty POV just made me hate Annabelle more.
I felt so bad for the Marquess and so annoyed that Sylvester didn’t step in. Sigh.
How can she be so bloody selfish? She just seemed completely divorced from reality. I couldn’t get into the spirit of the story whatsoever. It was probably worsened by the fact that I LOVED the cast of characters from the first book (even sententious Minerva), so seeing them through Annabelle’s nasty POV just made me hate Annabelle more.
I felt so bad for the Marquess and so annoyed that Sylvester didn’t step in. Sigh.
December 9, 2022
Annabelle Armitage is the undeniable “belle” of her family. She is largely neglected by her selfish father, Mr. Charles Armitage, the Vicar of St. Charles and St. Jude and her invalid mother, Mrs. Armitage, who always fancies herself ill. Annabelle was featured as a minor character in the first installment in the “Six Sisters” series, Minerva. In "The Taming of Annabelle," she is the heroine and central focus of the story. Now that her older sister, Minerva is affianced to Lord Sylvester Comfrey, our vain heroine sets her sights on him. She decides that she will seduce Lord Sylvester and steal him from her sister.
In all of the exciting events surrounding Minerva’s wedding, Annabelle makes a fool of herself. She tries desperately to attract Lord Sylvester who only looks on her with awkwardness and indifference. In fact, she makes quite a spectacle of herself while they are at the grand estate of the Duke and Duchess of Allsbury, the parents of Lord Sylvester. She uses regency cant (a common slang) and engages in unladylike conversation that causes the Duchess of Allsbury to look down upon her in disapprobation. When she realizes that she will not get anywhere with Lord Sylvester, she turns to his beloved friend, Peter, Marquess of Brabington. The handsome and quiet young man is recuperating after participation in the Peninsular War. It is then that Annabelle hatches a plot to become the new Marchioness of Brabington. This way, even if she cannot have Lord Sylvester, she will still rank higher than her sister in the peerage. Will this devious belle succeed?
In this second installment by Marion Chesney, it was such an enjoyable regency romp. In Annabelle we have the quintessential heroine whose arrogance is in proportion to her vanity. She thinks she can have it all because she is the superior sister, after all. While there is much to enjoy in such a protagonist, there is a great deal to dislike as well. The writing and description of Annabelle was quite strong. We could glimpse into her mind and get a sense of her motivations. She reminded me of one of those mean girls in high school. I am pretty ergo I must have the best.
The overall characterization was wonderful. The characters came alive so vividly on the page. Lady Godolphin, who was one of my least favorite characters in Minerva, was a more enjoyable figure in this book. Of course, we had the usual cast of characters such as the Vicar, his wife, Minerva, Lord Sylvester, and the Marquess. I even enjoyed the characterization of the Duchess of Allsbury who was as detestable as I thought she would be.
The descriptions were equally as gorgeous as they were in the first book. This is something that Ms. Chesney does so very well. She describes the world in which they live, the clothing that the characters wear, and the intricacies of social etiquette. The dialogue, as ever, was fun and at times quite punchy. This is something that this author does well. It creates a sense of authenticity.
For the most part, the plot was solid and the pacing was steady. There were lulls when the story slowed down a bit. One thing I wasn’t quite a fan of was the lukewarm romance between Annabelle and the Marquess. I found his characterization to be as flat and his actions wooden at times. He can’t hold a candle to Lord Sylvester, the hero from the first installment. The way in which the romance unfolded and the ways in which Annabelle continued to make a fool of herself was a tad tiresome.
Overall, this was a pretty fun read. While it had some wonderful aspects, I ultimately found the romance to be dull and the plot lacking. For this reason, I give "The Taming of Annabelle" four stars. Ms. Chesney’s writing is still quite delightful to read. I will revisit her other novels in the future.
In all of the exciting events surrounding Minerva’s wedding, Annabelle makes a fool of herself. She tries desperately to attract Lord Sylvester who only looks on her with awkwardness and indifference. In fact, she makes quite a spectacle of herself while they are at the grand estate of the Duke and Duchess of Allsbury, the parents of Lord Sylvester. She uses regency cant (a common slang) and engages in unladylike conversation that causes the Duchess of Allsbury to look down upon her in disapprobation. When she realizes that she will not get anywhere with Lord Sylvester, she turns to his beloved friend, Peter, Marquess of Brabington. The handsome and quiet young man is recuperating after participation in the Peninsular War. It is then that Annabelle hatches a plot to become the new Marchioness of Brabington. This way, even if she cannot have Lord Sylvester, she will still rank higher than her sister in the peerage. Will this devious belle succeed?
In this second installment by Marion Chesney, it was such an enjoyable regency romp. In Annabelle we have the quintessential heroine whose arrogance is in proportion to her vanity. She thinks she can have it all because she is the superior sister, after all. While there is much to enjoy in such a protagonist, there is a great deal to dislike as well. The writing and description of Annabelle was quite strong. We could glimpse into her mind and get a sense of her motivations. She reminded me of one of those mean girls in high school. I am pretty ergo I must have the best.
The overall characterization was wonderful. The characters came alive so vividly on the page. Lady Godolphin, who was one of my least favorite characters in Minerva, was a more enjoyable figure in this book. Of course, we had the usual cast of characters such as the Vicar, his wife, Minerva, Lord Sylvester, and the Marquess. I even enjoyed the characterization of the Duchess of Allsbury who was as detestable as I thought she would be.
The descriptions were equally as gorgeous as they were in the first book. This is something that Ms. Chesney does so very well. She describes the world in which they live, the clothing that the characters wear, and the intricacies of social etiquette. The dialogue, as ever, was fun and at times quite punchy. This is something that this author does well. It creates a sense of authenticity.
For the most part, the plot was solid and the pacing was steady. There were lulls when the story slowed down a bit. One thing I wasn’t quite a fan of was the lukewarm romance between Annabelle and the Marquess. I found his characterization to be as flat and his actions wooden at times. He can’t hold a candle to Lord Sylvester, the hero from the first installment. The way in which the romance unfolded and the ways in which Annabelle continued to make a fool of herself was a tad tiresome.
Overall, this was a pretty fun read. While it had some wonderful aspects, I ultimately found the romance to be dull and the plot lacking. For this reason, I give "The Taming of Annabelle" four stars. Ms. Chesney’s writing is still quite delightful to read. I will revisit her other novels in the future.
February 17, 2024
Best read after Minerva, as the story is basically a continuation from the end of the first book.
Unfortunately, Annabelle is as spoilt and vain as she appeared in the first novel. But as this story is about her, it gets very tedious, very quickly. Thankfully, the story is worth persevering with and improves somewhat after Annabelle and Brabington marry and are forced to face the harsh realities of married life.
TBH I found Annabelle far more irritating than Minerva (the eldest daughter at least had some redeeming features). The story is largely saved by the reappearance of some of the more interesting side characters - namely the irrascible schemers, the vicar and Squire Radford, and hilariously inappropriate Lady Godolphin. Unlike Lord Sylvester in the first book, Marquess Brabington receives surprisingly little in the way of character development, which is a great shame since he appears to have an intriguing backstory worth exploring.
The story is not as strong as the first novel, but worth the read just for the antics of the aforementioned side characters. I also found the rather regular info dumps on the historical details of the period a bit irrelevant and affecting the flow of the story. Also, Lord Sylvester is mentioned to be a viscount in this book - but not in the first story where he appears - but I’m a bit puzzled as to how a youngest son of a non royal duke gets to inherit a viscountcy? As noted by other readers, the historical accuracy of this series can miss the mark at times.
Unfortunately, Annabelle is as spoilt and vain as she appeared in the first novel. But as this story is about her, it gets very tedious, very quickly. Thankfully, the story is worth persevering with and improves somewhat after Annabelle and Brabington marry and are forced to face the harsh realities of married life.
TBH I found Annabelle far more irritating than Minerva (the eldest daughter at least had some redeeming features). The story is largely saved by the reappearance of some of the more interesting side characters - namely the irrascible schemers, the vicar and Squire Radford, and hilariously inappropriate Lady Godolphin. Unlike Lord Sylvester in the first book, Marquess Brabington receives surprisingly little in the way of character development, which is a great shame since he appears to have an intriguing backstory worth exploring.
The story is not as strong as the first novel, but worth the read just for the antics of the aforementioned side characters. I also found the rather regular info dumps on the historical details of the period a bit irrelevant and affecting the flow of the story. Also, Lord Sylvester is mentioned to be a viscount in this book - but not in the first story where he appears - but I’m a bit puzzled as to how a youngest son of a non royal duke gets to inherit a viscountcy? As noted by other readers, the historical accuracy of this series can miss the mark at times.
June 3, 2017
3.5 stars.
The titular Annabelle begins as quite an irritating adolescent girl with "plans" and thoughts that make me alternately cringe over her wilful ignorance & want to slap her face for her selfish & childish approach to adult life & activities. She does, however, mature over the course of the book, and in a way that seems thankfully fairly natural, becoming far more reasonable & far more a young woman than the stubborn, selfish & vain creature as which she began.
The plot, in some ways, borrows noticeably from Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew", and in others from similarly set novels of the Regency, but its characters are mostly its own. I confess to having a favourite in Canon Armitage, Annabelle's father, who is more realistically drawn & proves to be a far more original & entertaining character than his daughter whenever he pops up his head, in this second instalment of the Six Sisters series.
Frankly, Beaton's Regency romance books are little more than literary junk food, all told--but, as with junk food, that doesn't stop them from being enjoyable for the duration of the first reading. However, I confess openly that a "first reading" is probably about all they'll get from me in the long term, and to that end I'm grateful that most of them can be found in digital form for just 99p per book, in the Kindle store... They're overly full of fluff & standard Regency & romance tropes, whilst the plots - and, indeed, many of the characterisations - are simply too thin for me to enjoy re-reading them the way I do Georgette Heyer's Regency works.
The titular Annabelle begins as quite an irritating adolescent girl with "plans" and thoughts that make me alternately cringe over her wilful ignorance & want to slap her face for her selfish & childish approach to adult life & activities. She does, however, mature over the course of the book, and in a way that seems thankfully fairly natural, becoming far more reasonable & far more a young woman than the stubborn, selfish & vain creature as which she began.
The plot, in some ways, borrows noticeably from Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew", and in others from similarly set novels of the Regency, but its characters are mostly its own. I confess to having a favourite in Canon Armitage, Annabelle's father, who is more realistically drawn & proves to be a far more original & entertaining character than his daughter whenever he pops up his head, in this second instalment of the Six Sisters series.
Frankly, Beaton's Regency romance books are little more than literary junk food, all told--but, as with junk food, that doesn't stop them from being enjoyable for the duration of the first reading. However, I confess openly that a "first reading" is probably about all they'll get from me in the long term, and to that end I'm grateful that most of them can be found in digital form for just 99p per book, in the Kindle store... They're overly full of fluff & standard Regency & romance tropes, whilst the plots - and, indeed, many of the characterisations - are simply too thin for me to enjoy re-reading them the way I do Georgette Heyer's Regency works.
April 26, 2020
Many of the other reviews mention that one of their main reasons for disliking this book was Annabelle's obnoxious, spoiled, idiotic, obsessive, jealous behavior. I agree that I found her thoroughly reprehensible for the first half of the book. However, my impression was that she actually does change.
I quite enjoyed the second half of the book - not because I enjoyed Annabelle as a character, but because her husband and the Vicar (with a little help from the Vicar's sidekick, the Squire) are playing this enormous joke on her to finally teach her a lesson and instill a sense of honesty and consideration in her. I thought Brabbington did excellent work balancing cold-shouldering and flirtations with other women against kind words, gifts, and just enough physical intimacy to leave her hungering for more.
Rating it three stars instead of higher because yes, Annabelle's obnoxiousness really does make the book overall difficult to get through. I also felt that although Brabbington demonstrated very likable cunning in the latter chapters, we rarely got to see his thoughts and thus never got to know him properly.
I quite enjoyed the second half of the book - not because I enjoyed Annabelle as a character, but because her husband and the Vicar (with a little help from the Vicar's sidekick, the Squire) are playing this enormous joke on her to finally teach her a lesson and instill a sense of honesty and consideration in her. I thought Brabbington did excellent work balancing cold-shouldering and flirtations with other women against kind words, gifts, and just enough physical intimacy to leave her hungering for more.
Rating it three stars instead of higher because yes, Annabelle's obnoxiousness really does make the book overall difficult to get through. I also felt that although Brabbington demonstrated very likable cunning in the latter chapters, we rarely got to see his thoughts and thus never got to know him properly.
December 4, 2024
To be clear, I listened to this as an audiobook, which to me detracted from the book. I'll just say the narrator was far from my favourite, and I'll leave it at that.
In almost all of Chesney's Regency Romances, there is a female character who is evil, scheming and manipulative. The character inevitably tries to woo away the handsome Hero from our beloved Heroine.
The problem with this book was that the nasty. scheming, jealous and downright cruel (threatened to have the maid whipped if she did not obey her) character actually was the Heroine herself.
How could anyone cheer for this spoiled child? Clearly she will have a change of heart and "grow up" as the title tells us that Annabelle will be "tamed", but before that time I'd lost the will to continue. I realise others found her "sassy", but to me it just got too nasty and too scheming for my liking
I found this book to be a weak link in the otherwise excellent Armitage series, which makes it all the more perplexing. What was going through Chesney's mind?
Brace yourself for endless "misunderstandings" and a plethora of I love him.. but wait! He has not told me he loves me! I HATE HIM, etc.. etc...etc...
In almost all of Chesney's Regency Romances, there is a female character who is evil, scheming and manipulative. The character inevitably tries to woo away the handsome Hero from our beloved Heroine.
The problem with this book was that the nasty. scheming, jealous and downright cruel (threatened to have the maid whipped if she did not obey her) character actually was the Heroine herself.
How could anyone cheer for this spoiled child? Clearly she will have a change of heart and "grow up" as the title tells us that Annabelle will be "tamed", but before that time I'd lost the will to continue. I realise others found her "sassy", but to me it just got too nasty and too scheming for my liking
I found this book to be a weak link in the otherwise excellent Armitage series, which makes it all the more perplexing. What was going through Chesney's mind?
Brace yourself for endless "misunderstandings" and a plethora of I love him.. but wait! He has not told me he loves me! I HATE HIM, etc.. etc...etc...
February 20, 2019
Reading UK edition of book #2, "The Taming of Annabelle," from the beginning of the story I couldn't connect with Annabelle as I read her thoughts, emotions, comments as a self - centered spoiled brat.
No, I didn't expect Annabelle, a teen aged girl to be like her older sister of Book #1, it was her extreme behavior. Annabelle, yes, I accepted she might have "hero worship" for her sister's fiance. The "Halo effect" to view the older man with title & wealth to save the family from poverty. Of course the entire family would sing him praises & his relation/friend. I grew tired of reading more & more of Annabelle's ridiculous, childish, obnoxious behavior. Her husband suffers. Her younger sisters suffer. Thank goodness her older sister had her Honeymoon in Naples, Italy, an ocean away from Annabelle's melodrama playing out.
Yes, its interesting the contrast of the sister Annabelle, though I grew tired of her behavior chapter after chapter.
No, I didn't expect Annabelle, a teen aged girl to be like her older sister of Book #1, it was her extreme behavior. Annabelle, yes, I accepted she might have "hero worship" for her sister's fiance. The "Halo effect" to view the older man with title & wealth to save the family from poverty. Of course the entire family would sing him praises & his relation/friend. I grew tired of reading more & more of Annabelle's ridiculous, childish, obnoxious behavior. Her husband suffers. Her younger sisters suffer. Thank goodness her older sister had her Honeymoon in Naples, Italy, an ocean away from Annabelle's melodrama playing out.
Yes, its interesting the contrast of the sister Annabelle, though I grew tired of her behavior chapter after chapter.
August 11, 2018
Annabelle was so irritating - heroes should be a bit likeable, but it wasn't the case here. I expected some cute, light romance and what I git was dull and uninteresting.
It would have been so much exciting if MCB doesn't end the first book with a jealous Annabelle, but a frightened one who is afraid of feeling anything towards her big sister's guy. She should have brought back the girl's first beau from the first book (Wentworth or something) and see how the girl chooses between them while fighting his love for Sylvester, her sister's husband.
This was a mean plot, I didn't enjoy reading it - especially that the end was rushed and unbelievable.
(And why are all guys handsome? Come on, it's the UK. Sorry guys, I have lived there half a year and NEVER saw ONE guy who was remotely handsome. Yes I know I'm spoilt here in HU, but still.)
It would have been so much exciting if MCB doesn't end the first book with a jealous Annabelle, but a frightened one who is afraid of feeling anything towards her big sister's guy. She should have brought back the girl's first beau from the first book (Wentworth or something) and see how the girl chooses between them while fighting his love for Sylvester, her sister's husband.
This was a mean plot, I didn't enjoy reading it - especially that the end was rushed and unbelievable.
(And why are all guys handsome? Come on, it's the UK. Sorry guys, I have lived there half a year and NEVER saw ONE guy who was remotely handsome. Yes I know I'm spoilt here in HU, but still.)
January 9, 2018
Sadly, I have started the six books, and am determined to see them out to the end. However, there is not a single redeeming character in any of them, and they are slowly sapping my will to continue.
If I could just delete all of Lady Godolphin's dialogue, that would not be a bad starting place.
Annabelle is the horrible sister of the prissy sister from the first book. That's about all you need to know. The story isn't really much different.
If I could just delete all of Lady Godolphin's dialogue, that would not be a bad starting place.
Annabelle is the horrible sister of the prissy sister from the first book. That's about all you need to know. The story isn't really much different.
January 13, 2022
I love that the characters are so well developed and real. BUT… I never liked Annabelle and I wanted to see how the author would make me like her. She was such a child and she behaved as expected… like a spoiled child. Her childish love of Alistair was so annoying but I liked it because it made the book real. Overall, it’s what I expected from the author…good writing. Less witty than usual but it fits the characters.
April 19, 2025
As a person that struggles with secondhand embarrassment, I had to pause quite a few times. Annabelle was just the worst when the book started, so her growth arc was interesting. Peter was very easy to like even from Minerva's book, and that continued here. It came together very fast at the end, but that happens with books this short. Overall I liked the first book more but this was solid. A 2.5 rounded up.
June 18, 2022
Young Annabelle is about to come out in society following her oldest sister. Annabelle has always been jealous of Manirva and this includes her recent engagement. Annabelle finds her self rushing to the alter to “best” her sister and after she’s married, she still finds her self in love with her brother in law. Deception and misunderstandings follow her new marriage.
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