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Mr. Montgomery's Quest
Charlotte Pelham hides her identity as a woman to take a job as a guide on a walking tour across northern England, but her journey turns out to be more interesting than she had planned when Harrison Montgomery, a handsome but enigmatic man, joins the trip on a mysterious quest of his own. Original.
- GenresRegencyClean Romance
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 2001
36 people want to read
About the author
Martha Kirkland
33 books5 followersMartha Kirkland is a graduate of Georgia State University and has taught both English and drama at the high school level. A classical singer, she believes it was the years she spent practicing scales that gave her the discipline needed to write twenty-six books. She is a lifelong resident of Atlanta, and her family includes a husband and two daughters.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 5, 2015
How do you solve a problem like Maria kept running through my head while reading this books. "How do you solve a problem like Charlie?" For Miss Charlotte Pelham, her tomboy/athletic nature is a problem. In her childhood she could keep up and best her younger brother and his friend but she is aware that her behavior is not ladylike in the eyes of the rest of the world. Only her beloved late father and her younger brother(s) supported her behavior. Now with her mother newly married to a vicar with young children of his own, Charlotte needs to find employment. Not being suited to working as a governess or a companion, she applies to lead a cross-country walking tour in the north of England. SHE knows she's qualified but just in case Bonadventure Tours dismisses her application because she's a girl, she applies as Mr. Charles Pelham. She'll figure out how to solve her problem of lying to her customers later. Mr. Harrison Montgomery is on a special quest to locate the little brother he last saw 12 years ago. He has reason to believe his brother is one of Miss Pelham's younger brothers traveling with her, but which one? He resorts to blackmail to join the tour and try to figure out the mystery of the missing brother. Charlotte is infuriated with Harrison and wonders why he's on the tour. When mysterious accidents start to occur, she suspects him but at the same time, she's attracted to the man. She tries to remain focused on her tour but it's difficult with a handsome, virile man taunting her at every step. Likewise Harrison tries to keep his mind on his quest but it's difficult to concentrate on anything except Charlotte's lips and figure.
This book is part travelogue and part mystery and part romance. I liked the blend of the three but I felt that there was just a bit too much going on and the author should have limited it to one mystery. The second mystery wasn't all that necessary though it added drama to the plot and kept me hooked to see if Charlotte would make it. There's not much here to indicate that it's set in the Regency era except the fashions, a brief mention of current events and one brief Assembly scene. It could really be any time before women worked. I liked how the author kept the reader guessing as to which boy was Charlotte's brother. I figured it out before Harrison did but it wasn't easy to tell. The romance plot was a little weak. The hero spends too much time thinking about Charlotte's figure and lips and dreaming of kissing her. I would have preferred a little more friendship and connection between them
Charlotte is a fabulous heroine. Some may say she's too modern but I think there must have been some girls like her. She's athletic, intelligent and strong in spirit. She's confident in her ability to lead this tour and doesn't fall apart easily. I can see why Harrison fell in love with her. She's so different from the sheltered women he's always known. Any man would be proud to have her in his family, as her brother/s are. I think she found a kindred spirit in Lady Griswall. I would like to know more about Lady Griswall because she's so unconventional. I really enjoyed her and how shrewd she was.
I was ambivalent about Harrison. If he didn't spend so much time lusting after Charlotte, I would have liked him better. He's strong, confident, brave and though a bit arrogant, he is willing to give Charlotte a chance. He believes in her and supports her and I think he would be a good husband. My reservation is that Charlotte doesn't know him very well.
Jonathan and Peter are the best characters in the book after Charlotte. They're two peas in a pod and are obviously very proud of Charlotte. They accept that she's better at all their childhood games than they are and they accept she's the leader of this tour and she knows what she's doing. They were both well brought up and will be fine gentlemen when they're older. I liked that the mystery was dragged out and not played out like a cheesy novel. The author made it seem realistic. The other men are not very fleshed out and appear as little more than stereotypes but they're good supporting characters for this type of novel.
I picked this up at the library for 25 cents and it was well worth it.
This book is part travelogue and part mystery and part romance. I liked the blend of the three but I felt that there was just a bit too much going on and the author should have limited it to one mystery. The second mystery wasn't all that necessary though it added drama to the plot and kept me hooked to see if Charlotte would make it. There's not much here to indicate that it's set in the Regency era except the fashions, a brief mention of current events and one brief Assembly scene. It could really be any time before women worked. I liked how the author kept the reader guessing as to which boy was Charlotte's brother. I figured it out before Harrison did but it wasn't easy to tell. The romance plot was a little weak. The hero spends too much time thinking about Charlotte's figure and lips and dreaming of kissing her. I would have preferred a little more friendship and connection between them
Charlotte is a fabulous heroine. Some may say she's too modern but I think there must have been some girls like her. She's athletic, intelligent and strong in spirit. She's confident in her ability to lead this tour and doesn't fall apart easily. I can see why Harrison fell in love with her. She's so different from the sheltered women he's always known. Any man would be proud to have her in his family, as her brother/s are. I think she found a kindred spirit in Lady Griswall. I would like to know more about Lady Griswall because she's so unconventional. I really enjoyed her and how shrewd she was.
I was ambivalent about Harrison. If he didn't spend so much time lusting after Charlotte, I would have liked him better. He's strong, confident, brave and though a bit arrogant, he is willing to give Charlotte a chance. He believes in her and supports her and I think he would be a good husband. My reservation is that Charlotte doesn't know him very well.
Jonathan and Peter are the best characters in the book after Charlotte. They're two peas in a pod and are obviously very proud of Charlotte. They accept that she's better at all their childhood games than they are and they accept she's the leader of this tour and she knows what she's doing. They were both well brought up and will be fine gentlemen when they're older. I liked that the mystery was dragged out and not played out like a cheesy novel. The author made it seem realistic. The other men are not very fleshed out and appear as little more than stereotypes but they're good supporting characters for this type of novel.
I picked this up at the library for 25 cents and it was well worth it.
September 25, 2009
Regency
July 29, 2013
A cute, though improbable story with an easy-to-deduce villain and a little romance and excitement. Kirkland could have made more of the fun side characters that she created.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews