The Country Mouse

by Jessie Watson

A country-loving woman finds her serene life turned upside-down by the handsome neighbor she rescues from a curricle accident. Soon, this once-debonair lord is determined to prove himself polished enough to win her heart forever.

Genres: Regency Romance, Historical Romance

255 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2000

About the author

Jessie Watson lives in Waltham, Massachusetts, a suburb west of Boston. She is an administrator in a university law school in Boston, having cheerfully left behind her career in banking.

Reviews

[Linda (NOT RECEIVING NOTIFICATIONS)]

When I wonder why a story is titled the way it is, that should be my first indication something is wrong. A COUNTRY MOUSE does not describe our heroine, Miss Lavinia Taylor. She does not lack funds and takes in stray animals. Not afraid to speak her mind when necessary, she is content with her life. Then she meets Charles Templeton and they have words. This is where the story should get interesting, right? Well, it didn't.

I found it hard to believe they were attracted to each other. Templeton had a married mistress and he had just ended the relationship when he found out she wasn't pregnant. The scare made him realize he wasn't interested in anything long-term. This news came at the beginning of the book so I can't say it is a spoiler. All it did was lower my opinion of the man.

Their servants get involved trying to bring these two together. Confusion is the norm and it detracts from the romance. I can honestly say it was hard to finish the book. So many times I was tempted to skip pages but I kept hoping for more. Save yourself both time and money and look for something else. Try THE HIRED HERO by Andrea Pickens, NIGHT IN EDEN by Candice Proctor or SCANDALOUS JOURNEY by Roberta Eckert if you want better Regency romances.

[QNPoohBear]

There are many different plot threads in this Regency romantic comedy. The story is told in the third person from the points of view of Lavinia, Templeton, the servants/villagers, Lavinia's bird, her best friends and her brother. There is entirely too much going on in this story and the romance suffers for it. I would have picked the animal rescue plot and made that the focal point of the story OR Lord Templeton's accident-prone nature OR a plot about Lavinia's brother but not all of them. It made the story way too long and confusing. The romance suffers because the author has to speed things up at the end because there was too much going on earlier. The author also includes pointless historical details that don't move the story along. I adore period details and can't get enough except when they aren't relevant to the story. I liked the characters for the most part, especially Lavinia. I admire her dedication and determination to helping animals in need. Templeton is an OK hero. He has his faults, some of them bad and some of them charming. There are too many secondary characters to even comment on. This is an OK novel if you like lighthearted novels with a bit of danger.

[Noemail]

HAVE 2 copies

[Kaitlin Martin]

Loved the Upstairs, Downstairs feel of this one.