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Covington's Folly
LOVE'S GAMBIT
Miss Chantel Emberly detested no man more than Richard St. James, the Earl of Hartford. She was sure he had been the masked intruder in her bedroom, the cad who bound and gagged and very nearly kissed her. Of course, St. James might really be after the Covington treasure hidden somewhere on her estate. But Chantel herself had never been able to find it, and now she was down to her last shilling.
But that did not mean she would wed this scoundrel, even if he was the most sought-after bachelor in London. Until St. James's latest outrage-hoodwinking her into a compromising situation and into his unexpectedly exciting arms-left Chantel no choice but to become wife wife-in name only. But whatever the enigmatic St. James sought-a spy, a treasure or something more-it was her heart that was the real traitor. For now Chantel found herself falling-far too well, and not at all wisely-in love.
COVINGTON'S FOLLY
Miss Chantel Emberly detested no man more than Richard St. James, the Earl of Hartford. She was sure he had been the masked intruder in her bedroom, the cad who bound and gagged and very nearly kissed her. Of course, St. James might really be after the Covington treasure hidden somewhere on her estate. But Chantel herself had never been able to find it, and now she was down to her last shilling.
But that did not mean she would wed this scoundrel, even if he was the most sought-after bachelor in London. Until St. James's latest outrage-hoodwinking her into a compromising situation and into his unexpectedly exciting arms-left Chantel no choice but to become wife wife-in name only. But whatever the enigmatic St. James sought-a spy, a treasure or something more-it was her heart that was the real traitor. For now Chantel found herself falling-far too well, and not at all wisely-in love.
COVINGTON'S FOLLY
382 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 1994
About the author
Cindy Holbrook
26 books22 followersBefore becoming a romance novelist, Cindy received a BFA in theater and pursued a career in real estate. She was both a broker and a general contractor and actually began writing to entertain herself while she sat open house as a realtor.
Although born in Wisconsin, Cindy moved to Florida with her family at a young age and has never left. Her home in Fort Walton, on the Emerald coast, provides Cindy with warm weather, beautiful beaches, and magnificent waters. She loves reading, pretending to cook (she says that she reads cookbooks far more often than she actually makes anything), and admiring old cars-especially Mustangs. Cindy is also a devoted dog person who maintains that dogs are actually women's best friend.
Although born in Wisconsin, Cindy moved to Florida with her family at a young age and has never left. Her home in Fort Walton, on the Emerald coast, provides Cindy with warm weather, beautiful beaches, and magnificent waters. She loves reading, pretending to cook (she says that she reads cookbooks far more often than she actually makes anything), and admiring old cars-especially Mustangs. Cindy is also a devoted dog person who maintains that dogs are actually women's best friend.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 3, 2012
The girl: Chantel Emberly. She and her younger brother Teddy come from a family with a decades long history of gambling (fortunes come and fortunes go). The family home, Covington's Folly, was entailed through the female side of the family by Lady Genevieve, and family legend legend says she hid a fortune away somewhere on the property to keep it out of the hands of her gambling husband. Chantel is the current owner of CF, but Teddy's carrying on the family tradition. He's heavily in debt to a loan shark and being chased by a pair of goons trying to collect. Teddy accepts a box from a mysterious stranger who will pay his debt if he'll keep the box safe for him until he can come to claim it.
When the book opens, a tall, dark and ever so mysterious caped man enters Chantel's bedroom in search of the box - but it isn't where it's supposed to be…
The guy: Richard St. James, the Earl of Hartford. He's involved somehow with a government investigation into treasonous activities, and the latest clues led him straight to Chantel and Teddy. He doesn't believe they're guilty, but they keep getting mixed up in things they shouldn't be (especially Chantel), and he kidnaps her for her own good and tucks her away safe and sound where she can't get into trouble. Let's just say Chantel escapes her safe place and lands herself right into a very compromising position, and there's not much choice but for Richard to marry her - of course they won't consummate it and they'll wait six months and get an annulment. Hah.
"She was wedding a total stranger who had abducted her and was blackmailing her into a false marriage, and at the moment, the only thought in her mind was that she dare not sneeze and disgrace herself!"
Funniest wedding night ever. What follows is one of the funniest, map-cap, screwball comedies ever as Chantal and Richard battle their way towards true love and happiness amidst traitors, assassins, a disappearing body (), a hidden door opening to a hidden staircase leading to a secret room, a wild hunt for a treasure that may or may not exist, and a ghost. Or was there a ghost? Chantal's brother Teddy was the laugh-out-loud scene stealer in this whole farce. His path to true love and happiness was a joy to watch, from the first meeting (all that food flying off the plates!). Added lols for the pet pigeon named King George and the bird droppings on the goons trying to collect on his gambling debt amidst the midnight elopement.
Regencies usually cause me to break out in hives, but I loved this one to bits. A perfect read for when you're in the mood for laughs and a lighter read. Richard and Chantal do smoke up the pages with sexual chemistry, but outside of a few steamy kisses, there's only one sex scene at it's pretty much behind closed doors.
When the book opens, a tall, dark and ever so mysterious caped man enters Chantel's bedroom in search of the box - but it isn't where it's supposed to be…
The guy: Richard St. James, the Earl of Hartford. He's involved somehow with a government investigation into treasonous activities, and the latest clues led him straight to Chantel and Teddy. He doesn't believe they're guilty, but they keep getting mixed up in things they shouldn't be (especially Chantel), and he kidnaps her for her own good and tucks her away safe and sound where she can't get into trouble. Let's just say Chantel escapes her safe place and lands herself right into a very compromising position, and there's not much choice but for Richard to marry her - of course they won't consummate it and they'll wait six months and get an annulment. Hah.
"She was wedding a total stranger who had abducted her and was blackmailing her into a false marriage, and at the moment, the only thought in her mind was that she dare not sneeze and disgrace herself!"
Funniest wedding night ever. What follows is one of the funniest, map-cap, screwball comedies ever as Chantal and Richard battle their way towards true love and happiness amidst traitors, assassins, a disappearing body (), a hidden door opening to a hidden staircase leading to a secret room, a wild hunt for a treasure that may or may not exist, and a ghost. Or was there a ghost? Chantal's brother Teddy was the laugh-out-loud scene stealer in this whole farce. His path to true love and happiness was a joy to watch, from the first meeting (all that food flying off the plates!). Added lols for the pet pigeon named King George and the bird droppings on the goons trying to collect on his gambling debt amidst the midnight elopement.
Regencies usually cause me to break out in hives, but I loved this one to bits. A perfect read for when you're in the mood for laughs and a lighter read. Richard and Chantal do smoke up the pages with sexual chemistry, but outside of a few steamy kisses, there's only one sex scene at it's pretty much behind closed doors.
September 29, 2025
A new-to-me author, and I have to say this book was a pleasant surprise. The writing and tone reminded me a lot of Barbara Metzger’s work—light, witty, and filled with quirky situations. There are genuinely funny moments sprinkled throughout, the kind that make you smile while reading. It’s not heavy on the angst, but it delivers on charm and entertainment.
September 22, 2025
DNF after the "hero" is drugging and kidnapping the heroine
September 22, 2012
4.5
I enjoyed this one right from the start. I was in the mood for a little romantic mystery and this fit the bill perfectly. Chantel was a likable heroine, although a bit naive at times. Luckily she wasn’t nearly as bad as her younger brother Teddy. Oh dear, Teddy was quite the unique character. He is really quite dumb. I think it would probably be extremely aggravating to have to deal with him on permanent bases. He kind of reminded me of Disney’s Goofy, who is so oblivious to the world around him and yet somehow endearing at the same time. You just can’t help but like him. It’s either that or strangle him.
Anyway, back to Chantel, I liked her. I like stories where the heroine swoops in and totally disrupts the hero’s perfectly ordered life. Which is exactly what Chantel does with our hero Richard. I liked Richard quite a bit, he may be a tad on the controlling side, but he does it in such a charming (and bullying) way that I just couldn’t help but like him. He comes from the perfect ton family, who never participates in scandal and is always proper. Chantel comes from a long line of gamblers and has little standing in society. When they are thrown together fireworks happen. I thought they had great chemistry together; I loved all the scenes with them. I loved that Richard was pretty smitten with her from the start and was always looking out for her and trying to keep her out of getting into trouble. So really, his controlling her was really outta love.
The mystery was woven in throughout the whole story, but I wasn’t really all that surprised by who the Bad Guy was. That didn’t take away from the enjoyment though. I also liked how the legend of the Covington treasure was worked into the story. It wasn’t over done, but kept things interesting. It was pretty lighthearted and fun.
I admit, I was initially leery about how long the book was (382 pages, which is much longer than most traditional regencies), not that I mind long books, but I was worried it would be bogged down with mundane details. Fortunately, it was well paced and there was plenty to going on to keep you interesting. I never felt like it dragged or that scenes were irrelevant. I liked all the characters so it was fun spending a little extra time with them and ended up reading it rather quickly. Overall, I thought this was really entertaining.
Content: A handful of swearwords (B, D, etc). I’d say the steam level was fairly mild; there is a bit of innuendo, but any love scenes were off page.
I enjoyed this one right from the start. I was in the mood for a little romantic mystery and this fit the bill perfectly. Chantel was a likable heroine, although a bit naive at times. Luckily she wasn’t nearly as bad as her younger brother Teddy. Oh dear, Teddy was quite the unique character. He is really quite dumb. I think it would probably be extremely aggravating to have to deal with him on permanent bases. He kind of reminded me of Disney’s Goofy, who is so oblivious to the world around him and yet somehow endearing at the same time. You just can’t help but like him. It’s either that or strangle him.
Anyway, back to Chantel, I liked her. I like stories where the heroine swoops in and totally disrupts the hero’s perfectly ordered life. Which is exactly what Chantel does with our hero Richard. I liked Richard quite a bit, he may be a tad on the controlling side, but he does it in such a charming (and bullying) way that I just couldn’t help but like him. He comes from the perfect ton family, who never participates in scandal and is always proper. Chantel comes from a long line of gamblers and has little standing in society. When they are thrown together fireworks happen. I thought they had great chemistry together; I loved all the scenes with them. I loved that Richard was pretty smitten with her from the start and was always looking out for her and trying to keep her out of getting into trouble. So really, his controlling her was really outta love.
The mystery was woven in throughout the whole story, but I wasn’t really all that surprised by who the Bad Guy was. That didn’t take away from the enjoyment though. I also liked how the legend of the Covington treasure was worked into the story. It wasn’t over done, but kept things interesting. It was pretty lighthearted and fun.
I admit, I was initially leery about how long the book was (382 pages, which is much longer than most traditional regencies), not that I mind long books, but I was worried it would be bogged down with mundane details. Fortunately, it was well paced and there was plenty to going on to keep you interesting. I never felt like it dragged or that scenes were irrelevant. I liked all the characters so it was fun spending a little extra time with them and ended up reading it rather quickly. Overall, I thought this was really entertaining.
Content: A handful of swearwords (B, D, etc). I’d say the steam level was fairly mild; there is a bit of innuendo, but any love scenes were off page.
March 25, 2013
I'm torn with regards to the rating. I love Holbrook's novels. They are light and amusing. This novel started with more intrigue but centered around the Covingtons more than the intrigue. While the mad cap Covingtons were amusing, the focussed attention did little for character development. Also I found Chantel and Richard to be bordering on annoying stubborn. While this isn't my favorite of her novels, I certainly still enjoyed the antics and the latter portion of the novel.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews