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Regency Trilogy #3
Marry in Haste
WHILE ESCAPING ONE SCANDAL--SHE CRASHES INTO A NEW ONE!
When trespassing on a lavish estate, Diana Whitney strikes Colonel Alex Valliant squarely on the head with a frying pan. Rather than see the pretty interloper fall into disgrace, the love-struck soldier asks for her hand. But Diana refuses to march quietly to the altar--and rejects the colonel's offer.
But when Diana's uncle threatens to marry her off to a man she finds completely inappropriate, she accepts Alex's hasty proposal. However, Diana soon must make a bold gamble based on the calling of her heart--and engage in a battle for a future founded love. . . .
When trespassing on a lavish estate, Diana Whitney strikes Colonel Alex Valliant squarely on the head with a frying pan. Rather than see the pretty interloper fall into disgrace, the love-struck soldier asks for her hand. But Diana refuses to march quietly to the altar--and rejects the colonel's offer.
But when Diana's uncle threatens to marry her off to a man she finds completely inappropriate, she accepts Alex's hasty proposal. However, Diana soon must make a bold gamble based on the calling of her heart--and engage in a battle for a future founded love. . . .
214 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 29, 1998
17 people want to read
About the author
Lynn Kerstan
30 books18 followersLynn Kerstan is a former college professor, folksinger, professional bridge player, and nun.
Her first book, A Spirited Affair, published in 1993, was a double RITA finalist. In 1996, she took home a prestigious RITA Award for Gwen's Christmas Ghost, written with Indianapolis resident Alicia Rasley via E-Mail. A pioneer of on-line collaboration, she had previously collaborated with Rasley and Julie Caille on Lessons in Love, the world's first Electronic Regency Romance.
A four-time RITA finalist and regularly featured on awards lists, Kerstan has won the CRW Award of Excellence, the Golden Quill Award, two San Diego Book Awards, two Romance Communications Awards, and been a finalist for the National Readers' Choice Award, several Romantic Times awards, and the Holt Medallion.
Kerstan lives in Southern California, where she plots her books while riding her boogie board and does character research at the San Diego Zoo.
Her first book, A Spirited Affair, published in 1993, was a double RITA finalist. In 1996, she took home a prestigious RITA Award for Gwen's Christmas Ghost, written with Indianapolis resident Alicia Rasley via E-Mail. A pioneer of on-line collaboration, she had previously collaborated with Rasley and Julie Caille on Lessons in Love, the world's first Electronic Regency Romance.
A four-time RITA finalist and regularly featured on awards lists, Kerstan has won the CRW Award of Excellence, the Golden Quill Award, two San Diego Book Awards, two Romance Communications Awards, and been a finalist for the National Readers' Choice Award, several Romantic Times awards, and the Holt Medallion.
Kerstan lives in Southern California, where she plots her books while riding her boogie board and does character research at the San Diego Zoo.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 20, 2014
This is a good airplane book. I did not read the book before it, but the back-story was pretty well filled in. Enjoyed the hero and it was quite cute that he kept proposing because he thought it was the honorable thing to do, when really he just wanted to marry her! Diana's story was interesting and she was quite brave, and I think she and Alex will be very happy together.
February 8, 2014
This story is about Diana Whitney, the shy friend of Lucy from Lucy in Disguise. When visitors come to Candale, Diana retreats to Lakeview, the residence of Colonel Alexander Valliant, James and Kit's brother. Alex has been away in the army for six years so Diana assumes that she's safe from strangers at Lakeview. One night she hears a housebreaker and hits him over the head with a frying pan. When she discovers that the housebreaker is none other than the homeowner, she wants to retreat. Unfortunately for Diana, the local gossips have already started to talk so Alex offers marriage to Diana. Diana refuses to marry anyone because she feels that no one will ever look at her and not see her scar. Diana's uncle and Sir Basil have other plans though and Diana is forced into a marriage of convenience with Alex. Alex is gruff and scary and has ghosts from his past that he refuses to acknowledge. Diana is shy of her appearance and refuses to be seen by strangers. Aided by Alex, Diana seeks to improve the plight of the locals and grows into a confident young woman. Then it's time to work on her marriage, but Alex is withdrawn and Sir Basil refuses to give up. The character development in this book is very good. Diana is an interesting and sympathetic character and I really like how she grows. However, I dislike Alex and don't really understand him. Readers have the opportunity to find out what happens to James and Celia, and Lucy and Kit, which is fun but their inclusion felt forced. The story has potential but the word limit makes the story awkward towards the end. The understanding comes too late and is mostly summarized and isn't anywhere near as shocking as I believed the secret to be. I assumed it had something to do with Lord Kendal's first wife and the reason why Alex joined the army. Another major weak point is how the story takes too long to wrap up the loose ends from Lucy in Disguise. The final chapter feels tacked on but contributes to the character development. This book has more depth than the typical marriage of convenience plot but in my opinion, this it the weakest of the three books in the trilogy. It would have been better as a stand-alone plot.
September 9, 2022
QNPoohBear's review summarizes the plot really well and most of my feelings towards this book. It was actually better than expected. I picked it up at random from my ever growing pile of Regency romance and did not realize that it was the third in a series and a marriage of convenience plot (don't like those). You do not need to have read the first two books to appreciate this one. I could tell very quickly that it was a sequel but had no problem following the story.
The heroine is surprisingly good. She believes herself to be weak due to her upbringing, but she is actually pretty strong and daring -much more, in some ways, than the hero. The H was okay. I appreciated that he treated the h kindly (although he could be pretty surly) and didn't expect her to be intimate with him until she was ready.
One of the reasons I don't like marriage of convenience plots it's that usually one spouse is pining for the other (female for most part) and the other is a jerk (male for most part). In this case, the H seemed to actually be more interested in the h, at first, and that made the relationship more equitable. I also appreciate that the author did not have the characters forever pining. There was a lack of communication between them, which felt natural both for the time period and the circumstances they were in.
The letdown was the ending. It did feel rushed and anticlimactic. When the two characters from book 2 showed up on the scene they, literally and figuratively, got in the way of the main characters' relationship and it became tedious. I also believe that the H's issue with the war was not as intense as I imagined it would be and, when the main characters finally "got together", it was not very exciting (clean romance though with fade to black bedroom scene).
All in all, I enjoyed the book well enough and don't feel like I wasted my time, so that's a win in my book (no pun intended).
The heroine is surprisingly good. She believes herself to be weak due to her upbringing, but she is actually pretty strong and daring -much more, in some ways, than the hero. The H was okay. I appreciated that he treated the h kindly (although he could be pretty surly) and didn't expect her to be intimate with him until she was ready.
One of the reasons I don't like marriage of convenience plots it's that usually one spouse is pining for the other (female for most part) and the other is a jerk (male for most part). In this case, the H seemed to actually be more interested in the h, at first, and that made the relationship more equitable. I also appreciate that the author did not have the characters forever pining. There was a lack of communication between them, which felt natural both for the time period and the circumstances they were in.
The letdown was the ending. It did feel rushed and anticlimactic. When the two characters from book 2 showed up on the scene they, literally and figuratively, got in the way of the main characters' relationship and it became tedious. I also believe that the H's issue with the war was not as intense as I imagined it would be and, when the main characters finally "got together", it was not very exciting (clean romance though with fade to black bedroom scene).
All in all, I enjoyed the book well enough and don't feel like I wasted my time, so that's a win in my book (no pun intended).
August 25, 2008
Who knew there was a whole Regency era romance genre? This is the first book I've read like this, and as far as romance novels go, it was pretty good. I definitely enjoyed it.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews