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A Very Merry Chase
Set in early 19th century Regency England, and harking back in style to the heyday of Georgette Heyer and Barbara Cartland, A Very Merry Chase is a comedy of manners and errors that boasts empire fashions, dashing characters, verbal sparring matches and witty repartee mingled with just a hint of mystery, danger and intrigue.
***
The highwayman was tall, so much so that he had to stoop to see his worthy opponent...even through the coach's open door. He wore a dark cloak topped off with a wide brimmed hat and a black mask, off-setting large gray eyes, which glittered like steel in the moonlight. A sardonic smile played over his generous, well formed lips and highlighted the strength of his jaw.
"Would I be correct in assuming you to be the famous—or shall we say, infamous—Lady Sabrina St. Clair? She, who dazzles the male population of the ton with her beauty only to break their hearts, and who causes the ladies to bristle with envy as dark and as green as her own lovely eyes?"
Her look of disgust elicited a deep laugh that only made her more beautifully angry. The devil took hold of him. He could not resist further goading her. "Before you so rudely interrupted me, My Lady, I do believe we were discussing recompense."
Sabrina grabbed up her reticule which she flung once more into his smirking face. "Take this and be done with it! Aye, and the jewels as well," she said, kicking the heavy case nearer to the door. "Take them all and be done with it. ‘tis a small enough price to pay to be rid of you."
"You offer your jewels most freely, my pet. Could it be that you do not cherish them overmuch—or could it be that you have other jewels upon which you set a higher value?"
“I am most certainly not your pet! And I am indeed most assuredly apologetic, sir, if you are disappointed in my meager supply of jewels." Her carefully articulated words slowly dripped with near deadly venom. "When next we meet, I will contrive to bring a better selection for your procurement."
"Ah, but you mistake my simple words, my p... my lovely Firebrand. Cold hard stones cannot hold a candle to the living, breathing prize I see before me. No...my love, I think I would prefer that which mere coin cannot purchase…a closer look at the emerald of your eyes, the warm luster of your pearly skin, and the touch of your ruby lips—that...that my dear lady would be prize plunder indeed."
He expected genteel fireworks; but received instead a heartfelt shock. His reward was neither ladylike blushes nor even a delicate swoon. Sabrina retaliated with a stinging slap and a veritable tirade of angry rants and furious imprecations.
When her angry diatribe finally wound to a breathless close, he laughed out loud before slowly, exaggeratedly applauding her most unladylike display of temper. "Well done. Well done, indeed, little Firebrand."
Insulted and outraged, she started to speak, but he stopped her with a finger to his well-formed lips and a shake of his head. "Seriously, my dear. Tsk. Tsk. And here I believed myself in the company of a fine lady—showing you all the courtesy due to one of your supposedly elevated station."
"Bloody hell, you did." she replied, attempting to land another stinging slap.
At this point, Lady Bethany, shocked absolutely to the core of her gentle soul, could take no more and swooned dead away.
He pointed this out with no little enjoyment. "Now, my fine lady, look what you've done.
***
The highwayman was tall, so much so that he had to stoop to see his worthy opponent...even through the coach's open door. He wore a dark cloak topped off with a wide brimmed hat and a black mask, off-setting large gray eyes, which glittered like steel in the moonlight. A sardonic smile played over his generous, well formed lips and highlighted the strength of his jaw.
"Would I be correct in assuming you to be the famous—or shall we say, infamous—Lady Sabrina St. Clair? She, who dazzles the male population of the ton with her beauty only to break their hearts, and who causes the ladies to bristle with envy as dark and as green as her own lovely eyes?"
Her look of disgust elicited a deep laugh that only made her more beautifully angry. The devil took hold of him. He could not resist further goading her. "Before you so rudely interrupted me, My Lady, I do believe we were discussing recompense."
Sabrina grabbed up her reticule which she flung once more into his smirking face. "Take this and be done with it! Aye, and the jewels as well," she said, kicking the heavy case nearer to the door. "Take them all and be done with it. ‘tis a small enough price to pay to be rid of you."
"You offer your jewels most freely, my pet. Could it be that you do not cherish them overmuch—or could it be that you have other jewels upon which you set a higher value?"
“I am most certainly not your pet! And I am indeed most assuredly apologetic, sir, if you are disappointed in my meager supply of jewels." Her carefully articulated words slowly dripped with near deadly venom. "When next we meet, I will contrive to bring a better selection for your procurement."
"Ah, but you mistake my simple words, my p... my lovely Firebrand. Cold hard stones cannot hold a candle to the living, breathing prize I see before me. No...my love, I think I would prefer that which mere coin cannot purchase…a closer look at the emerald of your eyes, the warm luster of your pearly skin, and the touch of your ruby lips—that...that my dear lady would be prize plunder indeed."
He expected genteel fireworks; but received instead a heartfelt shock. His reward was neither ladylike blushes nor even a delicate swoon. Sabrina retaliated with a stinging slap and a veritable tirade of angry rants and furious imprecations.
When her angry diatribe finally wound to a breathless close, he laughed out loud before slowly, exaggeratedly applauding her most unladylike display of temper. "Well done. Well done, indeed, little Firebrand."
Insulted and outraged, she started to speak, but he stopped her with a finger to his well-formed lips and a shake of his head. "Seriously, my dear. Tsk. Tsk. And here I believed myself in the company of a fine lady—showing you all the courtesy due to one of your supposedly elevated station."
"Bloody hell, you did." she replied, attempting to land another stinging slap.
At this point, Lady Bethany, shocked absolutely to the core of her gentle soul, could take no more and swooned dead away.
He pointed this out with no little enjoyment. "Now, my fine lady, look what you've done.
284 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 19, 2010
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71 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 13, 2017
I thought this was a nicely written little story that promised more than it delivered in the end, particularly in the area of sexual tension and banter. It was just a bit bland.
November 5, 2011
Actually I wrote this book...35 years ago--during the original heyday of Georgette Heyer and Barbara Cartland--before Regency Romance novels contained sex. So it is indeed a genuine old-fashioned "clean" Regency Romance novel.
I originally attempted to publish it at the time it was originally written, but the editor who so enthusiastically requested to read it, left the publishing house before I could get the final revision completed and get it mailed off to her. It was returned to me with a cursory note and the advice to get an agent. So it literally sat on a shelf for 35 years while I went onto other types of writing, having children and getting a education, and then acquiring a very demanding job to pay for the children and the education. The kids are out of college now and finally I have the time on my hands to return to my dream of writing. A Very Merry Chase is the first of my books that I polished up and self-published (No agent or publisher required...yay!). There are more to follow.
Smiles and Good Fortune...because it's never too late to live your dreams....
Teresa Thomas Bohannon
Published Author of A Very Merry Chase
Download the free sample chapter at either Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
See the video book trailer here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE1umo...
PS There is a revised edition available in a over-size, large print, paperback format. Also the edition is in English too--not Portuguese! I just can't seem to get the system to allow me to correct it.
I originally attempted to publish it at the time it was originally written, but the editor who so enthusiastically requested to read it, left the publishing house before I could get the final revision completed and get it mailed off to her. It was returned to me with a cursory note and the advice to get an agent. So it literally sat on a shelf for 35 years while I went onto other types of writing, having children and getting a education, and then acquiring a very demanding job to pay for the children and the education. The kids are out of college now and finally I have the time on my hands to return to my dream of writing. A Very Merry Chase is the first of my books that I polished up and self-published (No agent or publisher required...yay!). There are more to follow.
Smiles and Good Fortune...because it's never too late to live your dreams....
Teresa Thomas Bohannon
Published Author of A Very Merry Chase
Download the free sample chapter at either Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
See the video book trailer here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE1umo...
PS There is a revised edition available in a over-size, large print, paperback format. Also the edition is in English too--not Portuguese! I just can't seem to get the system to allow me to correct it.
January 26, 2019
This book was ok. I liked the heroin, she was smart, popular, wealthy, bold, and beautiful.
February 10, 2011
Last month I won an e-version of A Very Merry Chase, a fun regency romance written by Teresa Thomas Bohannon. I have to admit I admire Ms. Bohannon--in the intro of the book she tells that this was 30+ years in the making. Personally, I am not sure I would ever have that much patience with the process; however, I think the end result was worth the effort because A Very Merry Chase has memorable characters and fast moving plot. I particularly liked Sabrina St. Clair, the lead character in the novel. She is a spunky woman who more than meets her match in Lord Branderly.
Synopsis:
AVMC is a mostly light-hearted tale with just the tiniest taste of Napoleonic era intrigue. The heroine is the Right Honorable, Lady Sabrina St. Clair, who is wealthy, beautiful, and most independently minded, and who also happens to be on the verge of becoming--according to her less generous peers--an ape-leader and antidote. Sabrina is a bit anachronistic in that she does some things that no well-bred lady of the Regency era would ever do more than dream of doing; but she's not particularly blatant about it. For Sabrina, the rebellion is more passive-aggressive in style, manifested, I would imagine, much the same as the small rebellions of most women actually living in the Regency (or any other historical era). The hero of the story is Brenton, Lord Branderly, Duke of Brensted, an unusually tall gentleman, who has returned to England in search of a bride and heirs, after spending most of his adult life wandering the world. They meet under rather unusual circumstances, clash repeatedly and eventually fall in love--she reluctantly, he determinedly--against a comfortably Regency backdrop of witty repartee, beaux, belles, dancing, mishaps, mayhem and misunderstandings. (Included as part of an interview Ms. Bohannon gave with Joyce DiPastena, which you can read here.)
July 16, 2012
Thanks to the author, I have a personalised copy of this book now. I'm reading it and will get back to you on what I think about it. ;]
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Let us begin by saying that it is a romantic fiction. Incidentally it's also a historical fiction. The heroine is fiery, passionate and headstrong, and the hero is charming, roguish and her match exactly.
It's really a formula that refuses to fail and if the author had not wanted to write a historical romance so badly it could have been a hit.
I actually like the story, but its greatest enemy is the language its written in. Generic historical romance writers like Lisa Kleypas, Eloisa James and Julia Quinn have thrown out even the pretence of writing in a language that would fit the period they write about. Ms. Bohannon wanted to be faithful to that era- and I understand that- but I feel that someone some where should have pointed out to her that watching A&E's Pride and Prejudice ten times could not possibly begin to give her a grasp of 19th century upper class British English.
[As it is, a better part of that class, back in that time, was hardly school educated- so the Jane Austen's books aren't very good guides either- the language is too good.]
Overall, I think the author did a decent job with the story and should try again. The world could always do with more enthusiastic romance writers like her.
****************************
Let us begin by saying that it is a romantic fiction. Incidentally it's also a historical fiction. The heroine is fiery, passionate and headstrong, and the hero is charming, roguish and her match exactly.
It's really a formula that refuses to fail and if the author had not wanted to write a historical romance so badly it could have been a hit.
I actually like the story, but its greatest enemy is the language its written in. Generic historical romance writers like Lisa Kleypas, Eloisa James and Julia Quinn have thrown out even the pretence of writing in a language that would fit the period they write about. Ms. Bohannon wanted to be faithful to that era- and I understand that- but I feel that someone some where should have pointed out to her that watching A&E's Pride and Prejudice ten times could not possibly begin to give her a grasp of 19th century upper class British English.
[As it is, a better part of that class, back in that time, was hardly school educated- so the Jane Austen's books aren't very good guides either- the language is too good.]
Overall, I think the author did a decent job with the story and should try again. The world could always do with more enthusiastic romance writers like her.
January 4, 2011
The well sought after and beautiful Lady Sabrina St. Clair was surprised when her coach was stopped on her way to London by highwaymen. How dare they, regardless that it was in the dead of night, her only companion the madenly Lady Bethany Danvers, and that they were riding in a hired coach against several tries to disuade them otherwise. It was a good thing that Sabrina was very skilled with a pistol. The experience, however, still left her upset mostly due to her injured pride and the attraction that had unexpectedly surged up betweem her and the second highwayman. However, on to London they were allowed to go and Sabrina eventually believed she was over the experience. However, it was brought to her mind again when the dashing ninth Duke of Brensted decided to come to town. He reminds her of her highwayman, but they can't possibly be the same man, can they?
I went into this with no expectations as it was from a new author and I won it in a giveaway. I ended up really enjoying it. It was a quick, fun, regency romance. I expected how the story would end, but not the twists in the plot. There are also some humorous and witty spots as well.
Content: Clean except for some brief, mild language (the D word).
I went into this with no expectations as it was from a new author and I won it in a giveaway. I ended up really enjoying it. It was a quick, fun, regency romance. I expected how the story would end, but not the twists in the plot. There are also some humorous and witty spots as well.
Content: Clean except for some brief, mild language (the D word).
October 22, 2011
I was transported to the past when I enjoyed the pleasure of reading a Georgette Heyer or a lighter Carla Kelly for the first time.
This book was a delightful light Regency Romance that amused me from start to finish. Misunderstandings, witty dialogue, and plot twists were ready fare.
The heroine is a beautiful head strong lady who is used to having male admirers and doing as she pleases.
The hero is a man who has found his fortune and received his title after a harsh upbringing that made him of sterner stuff than the average nobleman about Town.
A misunderstood situation involving the two of them starts them off on the wrong foot, but a greedy villain who will go his length to get what he wants, a mystery surrounding her missing brother, and supporting characters who help or hinder as the case may be send them on this Very Merry Chase of love.
And to think this was the author's first writing effort. Enjoy it, I did!
This book was a delightful light Regency Romance that amused me from start to finish. Misunderstandings, witty dialogue, and plot twists were ready fare.
The heroine is a beautiful head strong lady who is used to having male admirers and doing as she pleases.
The hero is a man who has found his fortune and received his title after a harsh upbringing that made him of sterner stuff than the average nobleman about Town.
A misunderstood situation involving the two of them starts them off on the wrong foot, but a greedy villain who will go his length to get what he wants, a mystery surrounding her missing brother, and supporting characters who help or hinder as the case may be send them on this Very Merry Chase of love.
And to think this was the author's first writing effort. Enjoy it, I did!
November 13, 2014
This was a fun regency read. I liked the story and thought that Sabrina and Branderly had good chemistry together. For the most part the story moved along nicely, there were few slow parts that I thought dragged a little, but overall it was very enjoyable. I liked Sabrina, but admit I got a little tired of hearing how beautiful she is and kind of thought she was a little conceited. I liked that she was feisty and stood up for herself, but at times it came across a little too harsh. I guess I would have liked her more if she had a little more sweetness or humility. I’ll be keeping my eyes open for what Bohannon writes next. If you like clean regency stories, then you would enjoy this!
December 18, 2011
I loved receiving a personalized version of this ebook! The author captures the Regency voice well in this sweet Regency romance. I'm not a big fan of heroines swearing to demonstrate their "spunk", but aside from that, I enjoyed this fiery and spirited heroine. "A Very Merry Chase" is a welcome addition to the world of clean romance!
April 15, 2011
This was an enjoyable, clean, spirited regency romance; Georgette Heyer-esque. Well worth the 2.99 on amazon for this story. I thought I would be able to guess the plot right off, but I was wrong! What a happy surprise! The punctuation formatting and editing left something to be desired. I remembered seeing things like "isle" instead of "aisle." All in all, though, a good book.
March 27, 2012
This is an old-fashioned book, clean and cute. I liked it. I only think that the plot has a lot of clichés. But it is good entertainment.
February 2, 2012
Very funny story.
November 13, 2024
I thought this book was going to be a 5, but about half way through it started to lose its rating.
I really loved the premise of the book, but there were too many loose ends with the ward (what ever happened to him?), Judith and Barrington (??), Branderly’s past. There were too many side plots of a lost brother, random spies, evil fortune hunter guy along with ballroom fun.
Also, beware of a spoiler ahead:
I cannot understand why Branderly kisses Judith? To my knowledge Sabrina never finds out and Judith doesn’t tell her? And then it felt like after that Judith disappeared from the story. This should have been brought up so that Branderly has to sincerely apologize for his mistake and Judith tells Sabrina like an honest friend!
I honestly feel like a 4 rating is generous for this book, but some of the scenes are 5 worthy so that is why I am leaving it there.
I really loved the premise of the book, but there were too many loose ends with the ward (what ever happened to him?), Judith and Barrington (??), Branderly’s past. There were too many side plots of a lost brother, random spies, evil fortune hunter guy along with ballroom fun.
Also, beware of a spoiler ahead:
I cannot understand why Branderly kisses Judith? To my knowledge Sabrina never finds out and Judith doesn’t tell her? And then it felt like after that Judith disappeared from the story. This should have been brought up so that Branderly has to sincerely apologize for his mistake and Judith tells Sabrina like an honest friend!
I honestly feel like a 4 rating is generous for this book, but some of the scenes are 5 worthy so that is why I am leaving it there.
June 20, 2022
Charming
Beautifully written, humorous and so romantic. So many engaging characters and sparkling dialogue. Like Heyer, it grabbed and entertained me from the first paragraph. I have to read a lot of mediocre stuff to find a few good books, but finding a gem like this once in a blue moon makes it all worth it. I sure hope she writes more regencies. Maybe even one starring the heroine’s wonderful brother Devlin.
Beautifully written, humorous and so romantic. So many engaging characters and sparkling dialogue. Like Heyer, it grabbed and entertained me from the first paragraph. I have to read a lot of mediocre stuff to find a few good books, but finding a gem like this once in a blue moon makes it all worth it. I sure hope she writes more regencies. Maybe even one starring the heroine’s wonderful brother Devlin.
August 7, 2011
As this is a new edition, please see ebook version for reviews.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews