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Regency Duo #2
Seducing Mr. Heywood
A Booklist Top 10 Romance of the Year Jo Manning's latest Regency romance is replete with period charm, lively dialogue, and fascinating detail. Lady Sophia Rowley, thrice married and thrice widowed, has returned to Rowley Hall to rusticate. Meeting vicar Charles Heywood, who was named guardian of her sons on the death of her third husband, she is at first angry . . . and then intrigued.
310 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2001
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43 people want to read
About the author
Jo Manning
9 books3 followersJo Manning was born in New York City and received all her schooling through undergraduate level there. In 1961, she applied to the Peace Corps where she met her husband who makes documentaries and independent feature films. Manning has degrees in English and Library Science, and was the founder and Director of the Reader�s Digest General Books Library for over twenty years.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 15, 2013
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Content: Sex (fairly explicit), violence, depravity, poetry, a few Bible passages, a sermon.
**********
(No major spoilers, but a long review, sorry)
3.75 stars for this Regency Romance, sequel to The Reluctant Guardian, and originally published in 2001 (I got the kindle version for just under $3). Seducing Mr. Heywood is set in Yorkshire in 1811. The writing is descriptive but I wasn't expecting something so sad, dark, and serious, albeit with nearly profound themes of redemption, forgiveness and acceptance (gotta be in the mood for this one). However, it's not all heavy; I chuckled a few times -- especially the opening scene, when the vicar takes a tumble in the drawing room, and the scenes when Sophia gets the butler's name wrong. I also welled up during a few heartwarming scenes, and enjoyed the lighter moments with the two boys, especially the celebrated mental calculator.
"Her intent had been to seduce him, but he had seduced her, instead, just by being himself."
The worldly, widowed, and seductive Lady Sophia Rowley flees to Yorkshire to escape rampant mockery after losing her lover to an untried country miss, despite her elegant blond beauty (prequel). This man-hunter is a mess, and no wonder, with the devil for a daddy and a past best left buried. Desperately lonely at 30, with two young sons she hasn't visited for eight years, Sophia is finally running scared. Her life is utter crap, and she's frequently overcome by brief outbursts of fear-fueled rage. (Yup, I can relate to that.)
This self-same little charmer caresses, cajoles, and even commands, attempting to seduce the vicar of St. Mortrud's. Celibate by choice but not a virgin, Charles Heywood wants his sex to derive from relationship, and even though he loved her almost before he met her (the portrait) he senses that she is cold, and removed from feeling. (Insta-love trope, but they spend enough time together to make it credible).
"The strong black tea was bitter in her mouth" as she recalled the death of her mother in childhood, the loss of her loving governess Miss Bane, the defection of her only love, Sir Isaac Rebow, and the horrors of her first brutal marriage, at age 15. After burying three husbands yet never knowing love, she set her sights on superficial sex, but never quite lost her way, despite the rumors she hoped to outdistance.
Gradually, through the love of her sons and the kindness of the vicar, Sophia begins to remember what life used to be like -- what she used to be like -- before the monsters moved in, and shields of protective ice grew in layers around her heart (it was rather lovely to watch the ice melt, and it felt kinda realistic, but I had a hard time understanding her treatment of John and William, and felt Manning glossed this over too easily.) And why did Manning make the strong Sophia faint? Twice! This felt out of character. (The first faint was credible.)
Manning also developed the character of Robert Winton, Lord Brent (but I didn't buy the surprise event).
Poorly developed characters: Some characters remained static. Charles Heywood, the beautiful blond vicar, is thoroughly noble, and nothing ever changes about that. Likewise, Sophia's father, Thomas Elliot, the Earl of Dunhaven, is unremittently evil, bad to the bone, "chuckling gleefully from behind the draperies" as his murderous plans hatch. (Lol. Mine eyes went rolling more than once at this type of thing).
Favorite bits: Excellent scene at George Rowley's tomb, with the inscription to his first wife, Lucy. I liked the boys, William and John. The scene where Sophia first sees them again was nicely done (if rather hard to swallow). Bromley was a wonderful secondary character. Heartwarming scenes battling the sickness in the village (but the villagers were too quick to forgive. They tend to have long memories, and Sophia had burned a lot of bridges). I liked the poetry, and found myself carefully reading it.
Weaker Bits: Too much mental musing slows the pace (my pet peeve, but it portrays the heart, the suffering in this case, so it wasn't too unwelcome). The assumption Charles made was not really justified, and it led to a separation period. I have mixed feelings about the long search from town to town, looking for someone. It felt like a digression and not worthy of so many pages. Charles' sermon towards the end was okay, but Charles Spurgeon he's not. Also, the sex scene at the end was problematic for me on several levels (not because it is fairly explicit).
Ps. This book is sequel to The Reluctant Guardian.
Content: Sex (fairly explicit), violence, depravity, poetry, a few Bible passages, a sermon.
**********
(No major spoilers, but a long review, sorry)
3.75 stars for this Regency Romance, sequel to The Reluctant Guardian, and originally published in 2001 (I got the kindle version for just under $3). Seducing Mr. Heywood is set in Yorkshire in 1811. The writing is descriptive but I wasn't expecting something so sad, dark, and serious, albeit with nearly profound themes of redemption, forgiveness and acceptance (gotta be in the mood for this one). However, it's not all heavy; I chuckled a few times -- especially the opening scene, when the vicar takes a tumble in the drawing room, and the scenes when Sophia gets the butler's name wrong. I also welled up during a few heartwarming scenes, and enjoyed the lighter moments with the two boys, especially the celebrated mental calculator.
"Her intent had been to seduce him, but he had seduced her, instead, just by being himself."
The worldly, widowed, and seductive Lady Sophia Rowley flees to Yorkshire to escape rampant mockery after losing her lover to an untried country miss, despite her elegant blond beauty (prequel). This man-hunter is a mess, and no wonder, with the devil for a daddy and a past best left buried. Desperately lonely at 30, with two young sons she hasn't visited for eight years, Sophia is finally running scared. Her life is utter crap, and she's frequently overcome by brief outbursts of fear-fueled rage. (Yup, I can relate to that.)
This self-same little charmer caresses, cajoles, and even commands, attempting to seduce the vicar of St. Mortrud's. Celibate by choice but not a virgin, Charles Heywood wants his sex to derive from relationship, and even though he loved her almost before he met her (the portrait) he senses that she is cold, and removed from feeling. (Insta-love trope, but they spend enough time together to make it credible).
"He must not fantasize on the lady's unique beauty, including the delightful callipygian charms she'd indicated with that careless wave of her hand towards her lower extremeties. That way lay madness." Ha! -- callipygian charms ツThe plot is okay, but more stellar ★ is the character development of Lady Sophia. The author had me despising the selfish and ill-tempered slut, but by the end of the game, I was giving her extra handicaps. Her life is not what it seems, and the world, it turns out, has been very unkind:
"The strong black tea was bitter in her mouth" as she recalled the death of her mother in childhood, the loss of her loving governess Miss Bane, the defection of her only love, Sir Isaac Rebow, and the horrors of her first brutal marriage, at age 15. After burying three husbands yet never knowing love, she set her sights on superficial sex, but never quite lost her way, despite the rumors she hoped to outdistance.
Gradually, through the love of her sons and the kindness of the vicar, Sophia begins to remember what life used to be like -- what she used to be like -- before the monsters moved in, and shields of protective ice grew in layers around her heart (it was rather lovely to watch the ice melt, and it felt kinda realistic, but I had a hard time understanding her treatment of John and William, and felt Manning glossed this over too easily.) And why did Manning make the strong Sophia faint? Twice! This felt out of character. (The first faint was credible.)
Manning also developed the character of Robert Winton, Lord Brent (but I didn't buy the surprise event).
Poorly developed characters: Some characters remained static. Charles Heywood, the beautiful blond vicar, is thoroughly noble, and nothing ever changes about that. Likewise, Sophia's father, Thomas Elliot, the Earl of Dunhaven, is unremittently evil, bad to the bone, "chuckling gleefully from behind the draperies" as his murderous plans hatch. (Lol. Mine eyes went rolling more than once at this type of thing).
Favorite bits: Excellent scene at George Rowley's tomb, with the inscription to his first wife, Lucy. I liked the boys, William and John. The scene where Sophia first sees them again was nicely done (if rather hard to swallow). Bromley was a wonderful secondary character. Heartwarming scenes battling the sickness in the village (but the villagers were too quick to forgive. They tend to have long memories, and Sophia had burned a lot of bridges). I liked the poetry, and found myself carefully reading it.
Weaker Bits: Too much mental musing slows the pace (my pet peeve, but it portrays the heart, the suffering in this case, so it wasn't too unwelcome). The assumption Charles made was not really justified, and it led to a separation period. I have mixed feelings about the long search from town to town, looking for someone. It felt like a digression and not worthy of so many pages. Charles' sermon towards the end was okay, but Charles Spurgeon he's not. Also, the sex scene at the end was problematic for me on several levels (not because it is fairly explicit).
Ps. This book is sequel to The Reluctant Guardian.
June 23, 2019
Got to page 86 and couldn't keep going. I didn't find the heroine very sympathetic, which I found intriguing and made me curious about how her character might develop throughout the book, but I could NOT put up with any more of the hero's hand-wringing, faux-tolerant-except-he-thinks-the-heroine-has-much-to-atone-for, judgy, objectifying ways.
I did think this was an interesting example of a gender-swap for some of the normal Regency tropes (rakehell of a husband whose reputation outpaces all his philandering, comes home to finally take responsibility for his children, is captured by a simple poetry-loving unmarried former tutress who's been made guardian of his children), but it ultimately ended up being an example of how genderswapping also means adjusting some story elements, because the power dynamics are...not the same.
The conflict plotline wasn't terrible.
I usually don't rate books I DNF because I feel like if I haven't read it through I can't give a fair assessment but mannnnnn I had a very strong NO feeling about this book. Might work for some people, but definitely did not for me.
I did think this was an interesting example of a gender-swap for some of the normal Regency tropes (rakehell of a husband whose reputation outpaces all his philandering, comes home to finally take responsibility for his children, is captured by a simple poetry-loving unmarried former tutress who's been made guardian of his children), but it ultimately ended up being an example of how genderswapping also means adjusting some story elements, because the power dynamics are...not the same.
The conflict plotline wasn't terrible.
I usually don't rate books I DNF because I feel like if I haven't read it through I can't give a fair assessment but mannnnnn I had a very strong NO feeling about this book. Might work for some people, but definitely did not for me.
November 2, 2011
The heroin is a beautiful woman who has been sold by her family who have fallen on hard times. Her last marriage was to an older gentleman who needed a heir. They led separate lives. After his death the local vicar is named a guardian to her two young sons. She is attracted to the vicar and makes it clear she would take him as a lover. The vicar see's through the disillusionment and the indifference she displays to society. He works to reach the tender loving person who is burried after being sold to titled men for money. This book is on my keeper shelf.
April 22, 2009
I was disappointed that it wasn't like Jane Austin's novells. The story took place in 19th century but actions more like 20th century male female relationships.
I gave it three stars because the young lady became a heroine and changed her life for the better. I didn't enjoy the sexual undertones of the story. I would rather the writers leave it up to my imagination.
I gave it three stars because the young lady became a heroine and changed her life for the better. I didn't enjoy the sexual undertones of the story. I would rather the writers leave it up to my imagination.
March 12, 2008
This was a sweet Regency with a villain to hate and a hero to love. Short and cute, it was just what I needed.
July 13, 2008
A thrice-widowed woman who sets out to seduce the local vicar - what's not to love?
September 25, 2009
Regency
October 3, 2010
Wow...she actually managed to redeem a pretty bad character from the previous book.
May 16, 2016
Great character arcs in an otherwise confusing mash up of genre subtypes.
For my full review: http://www.regrom.com/2016/05/16/jo-m...
For my full review: http://www.regrom.com/2016/05/16/jo-m...
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews