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A Royal Connection
While dallying with the Earl of Heathfield, a man of mystery with a reputation as a seducer, Lady Selena Paget is courted by his cousin, a prince from Brunconia, and finds herself caught in a whirl of royal intrigue. Original.
- GenresHistorical Romance
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 22, 2014
Let me start out by saying that I bought every single Signet trad Regency that was ever written. On the whole they were wonderful, a few clunkers here and there; and when the dust settled the number of trad authors I wasn't crazy about was whittled down to 2 or 3 and I eventually sold, traded or donated their books. Summerville has long been an author I've enjoyed, she never quite reached the pinnacle but I could always depend on her for a good read and she didn't let me down with this one. Not the greatest Signet Regency but nowhere near the worst either. I liked the heroine, I liked the hero, and the rest of the characters were good, too. I zipped through this one in just a couple of days; believe me, I'm too old to slog my way through a book that bores me, and when I can read through any book that holds my interest I give it 3-stars. I've tossed more books into the recycle bin this year, my patience-level for mediocrity is in the basement at this stage of my life.
October 26, 2017
Still like regencies, even especially when they aren't completely predictable...
December 5, 2022
I'm making my way through Margaret Summerville's novels and, unfortunately, this is another dud. It started well enough. Lady Selena's late father, a Duke, hated London and the ton and refused to take Selena to London for the season. One year after his death, Selena makes her debut in London (she's 23) and is an immediate success. At her first ball, she's tired and bored and decides to retire to the library. There, she's kissed by the Earl of Heathfield, who thinks she's his assignation. Selena has been warned against him by her brother, the new Duke, who hates Heathfield, and their love story so begins.
I liked Selena well enough. She's a mature and intelligent lady who is not quick to judge. In fact, what I appreciated the most is that Selena is not taken by the villains as many heroines are, even though one of them is very attractive. I was not as impressed with the hero. For starters, I hate rakes so their first encounter irked me (he was meeting with the married hostess of the ball). To my credit, the blurb says he's a reputed seducer (not a confirmed one). I figured it was one of those occasion where the H has an undeserved reputation. To be fair, he behaves completely honorably after this and there are no mentions of any other trysts, so I'm not sure why it was even necessary for them to meet this way. Why not meet each other in the library, have a nice conversation, and start a forbidden acquaintance that way (since the Duke doesn't approve of it). In any case, his main problem is that he had this ridiculous rift with the Duke that went back to their days at Eton. He would basically buy works of art that the Duke was interested in just to spite him. The Duke was not a great guy, but it was still very juvenile.
And then there's the second part of the back cover's blurb (that's not included on Goodreads) that I'll add to the end of this review that turned the story to an international intrigue that was of no interest to me. Basically, the Earl's cousin is the Prince of Brunconia and lives in penury because a trusted member of his father's court (can't remember the man's position) stole all their wealth. The Prince is in love with a lady (princess?) from his country but is required to make an advantageous marriage and is aiming to marry Princess Charlotte.
It's not a terrible book, I just didn't care for the plot and the ending was a bit over the top. The book is clean, with just kisses. I recommend other books by Margaret Summerville such as Bewitching Lady and Sensible Cecily.
"Then Heathfield's cousin arrived - a prince from far-off Brunconia who'd come to court an English princess. Suddenly Selena was caught up in a dizzying whirl of royal intrigue, dancing a quadrille of secret assignations and possible betrayal. Dangerous? Deliciously so. But a lady could be ruined by a misstep - unless she tumbled into her true love's arms!"
I liked Selena well enough. She's a mature and intelligent lady who is not quick to judge. In fact, what I appreciated the most is that Selena is not taken by the villains as many heroines are, even though one of them is very attractive. I was not as impressed with the hero. For starters, I hate rakes so their first encounter irked me (he was meeting with the married hostess of the ball). To my credit, the blurb says he's a reputed seducer (not a confirmed one). I figured it was one of those occasion where the H has an undeserved reputation. To be fair, he behaves completely honorably after this and there are no mentions of any other trysts, so I'm not sure why it was even necessary for them to meet this way. Why not meet each other in the library, have a nice conversation, and start a forbidden acquaintance that way (since the Duke doesn't approve of it). In any case, his main problem is that he had this ridiculous rift with the Duke that went back to their days at Eton. He would basically buy works of art that the Duke was interested in just to spite him. The Duke was not a great guy, but it was still very juvenile.
And then there's the second part of the back cover's blurb (that's not included on Goodreads) that I'll add to the end of this review that turned the story to an international intrigue that was of no interest to me. Basically, the Earl's cousin is the Prince of Brunconia and lives in penury because a trusted member of his father's court (can't remember the man's position) stole all their wealth. The Prince is in love with a lady (princess?) from his country but is required to make an advantageous marriage and is aiming to marry Princess Charlotte.
It's not a terrible book, I just didn't care for the plot and the ending was a bit over the top. The book is clean, with just kisses. I recommend other books by Margaret Summerville such as Bewitching Lady and Sensible Cecily.
"Then Heathfield's cousin arrived - a prince from far-off Brunconia who'd come to court an English princess. Suddenly Selena was caught up in a dizzying whirl of royal intrigue, dancing a quadrille of secret assignations and possible betrayal. Dangerous? Deliciously so. But a lady could be ruined by a misstep - unless she tumbled into her true love's arms!"
November 9, 2009
I wish there were a lower number of stars!!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews