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Bewitching Lady
Eschewing the London social scene for the English countryside, where she delves into natural medicine and folk magic, Alethea Brandon is called to the bedside of a notorious rake suddenly taken ill and falls in love with her patient. Original.
- GenresRomance
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 3, 2022
The blurb on the website and the back of the book are very incorrect. Alethea studies herbal medicine. Her father is a botanist and she followed in his footsteps. She does have a book of potions that comes into play in a silly way later on, but she does not believe in magic. In fact, she's quite levelheaded. Even though her character is a bit too perfect, I couldn't help but like her. She's friendly, sensible, and very happy with her single state (she's 25). She's not against marriage, but she prefers her current happy life to marrying someone unsuitable and being miserable for life
Worcester is not very likable at first. He's very haughty and believes rank is everything. He'll marry someone suitable to his position, but not for love. He arrives at his country estate with his sister and immediately falls violently ill. When the doctor is unavailable, Alethea is summoned and helps him with some herbal medicine. In the process, she becomes close to his sister, who's a lovely young lady and not high on the instep.
The first half of the novel is really those three spending time with and getting to know each other. Those who enjoy a fast paced novel with mysteries and villains might find it boring, but I thought it was quite pleasant. Eventually, the Marquess's younger brother joins them (he's also quite nice) as well as some people from the ton. One of the guests he intends to marry his sister, the other is his soon to be fiancee as well as their parents. Of course, they're are haughty and horrible and the Marquess slowly starts questioning his beliefs.
Alethea is definitely the star here. She's intelligent, pretty and sensible. She does have some doubts, but I like how she's able to be sensible about it and move on. Worcester spends a lot of time having lustful thoughts about her, but it's clear he's falling in love. He's very proper and keeps his feelings at bay but, of course, he can only do so for so long. The book is pretty clean. There's kissing and, as mentioned, some lustful thoughts but nothing offensive.
I have read several books by Margaret Summerville and find that she shines when she has sensible, older heroines who fall slowly in love rather than being instantly smitten. I'd probably say this book is more 3.5 stars but, once again, I do appreciate a romance built on friendship first, a sensible heroine, and a hero who's not a rake, so I'm gladly bumping it to four stars.
Worcester is not very likable at first. He's very haughty and believes rank is everything. He'll marry someone suitable to his position, but not for love. He arrives at his country estate with his sister and immediately falls violently ill. When the doctor is unavailable, Alethea is summoned and helps him with some herbal medicine. In the process, she becomes close to his sister, who's a lovely young lady and not high on the instep.
The first half of the novel is really those three spending time with and getting to know each other. Those who enjoy a fast paced novel with mysteries and villains might find it boring, but I thought it was quite pleasant. Eventually, the Marquess's younger brother joins them (he's also quite nice) as well as some people from the ton. One of the guests he intends to marry his sister, the other is his soon to be fiancee as well as their parents. Of course, they're are haughty and horrible and the Marquess slowly starts questioning his beliefs.
Alethea is definitely the star here. She's intelligent, pretty and sensible. She does have some doubts, but I like how she's able to be sensible about it and move on. Worcester spends a lot of time having lustful thoughts about her, but it's clear he's falling in love. He's very proper and keeps his feelings at bay but, of course, he can only do so for so long. The book is pretty clean. There's kissing and, as mentioned, some lustful thoughts but nothing offensive.
I have read several books by Margaret Summerville and find that she shines when she has sensible, older heroines who fall slowly in love rather than being instantly smitten. I'd probably say this book is more 3.5 stars but, once again, I do appreciate a romance built on friendship first, a sensible heroine, and a hero who's not a rake, so I'm gladly bumping it to four stars.
Displaying 1 of 1 review