Sylvester or The Wicked Uncle in Clean Romances

Jan 16, 2018 Kathy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-in-2018

I'm in a Georgette Heyer reading phase currently. So yes this is another book by her, my 3rd one this week. I'll likely take a break to catch up on a few other books I need to get read but will definitely come back to Heyer's novels soon as there are still over a dozen of her books I want to read.

This one has an entertaining storyline. Sylvester is painted to be a wicked uncle but nothing could be further from the truth. Phoebe never intends to marry and certainly would never consider the arroga ...more

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Mar 04, 2015 Andi rated it liked it

Eh.

TASTEFUL REGENCY ROMANCES.

That is what I shall call these books. True, they're not Jane Austen but they're something like Jane Austen and that's good enough for me!

I liked the characters, however the story was pretty simple and happened to exist within the course of less than a couple weeks. :/ I also found the character development miniscule.

YET. I COULD NOT TURN AWAY? I am a sucker for stories that have to people at odds. It's my guilty book pleasure. This one had it in spades.

I'm curiou ...more

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Jan 11, 2024 Sadie rated it really liked it

Shelves: 3-and-half-stars

3.5 stars. I enjoyed the characters in this novel. I enjoyed the plot development and the pacing. Most modern romances, regency or otherwise, rush the build up. Although this story did start to feel a little long near the end, I appreciated how much development Heyer put in to her characters and the plot.

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Oct 06, 2011 Linda Banche rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A duke who needs to be taken down a notch or fifteen and a battered down young miss who fights back the only way she can. Did I say SYLVESTER, or THE WICKED UNCLE by Georgette Heyer?

Sylvester, the Duke of Salford has decided to marry. And he has his list of requirements and five prospective candidates. Why shouldn't he? He deserves nothing less.

And then he meets Phoebe, a young girl without money, connections or looks. A more unsuitable lady cannot be found. Her straightforward manner attracts a A duke who needs to be taken down a notch or fifteen and a battered down young miss who fights back the only way she can. Did I say SYLVESTER, or THE WICKED UNCLE by Georgette Heyer?

Sylvester, the Duke of Salford has decided to marry. And he has his list of requirements and five prospective candidates. Why shouldn't he? He deserves nothing less.

And then he meets Phoebe, a young girl without money, connections or looks. A more unsuitable lady cannot be found. Her straightforward manner attracts a nobleman who has always been catered to.

But only up to a point. That point is reached when Sylvester discovers Phoebe is the authoress of a novel which skewers the rich the famous of the ton, but most especially him. Never expecting the novel to be published, Phoebe cast him as the villain, based on her then-limited knowledge. But when the ton fools blow up the novel's meaning to absurd proportions, everyone assumes she knew all the intimate details of her characters' lives, which she didn't. They punish her for it. Especially Sylvester, whom she has come to like.

Sylvester is a load of fun as the action ricochets from one improbably funny scenario to another. Ms. Heyer pokes fun at fatuous fribbles, feather-brained ladies, too-rich-for-their-own-good noblemen, spoiled brats, and horse-mad country squires who care more for their horses than their children. And she's wrapped it all up in her delightful Regency language.

Sylvester is also a tale about hiding--and what happens when you can't hide any more. Sylvester is an unusual type of hero, the closet tyrant--affable on the outside, but ruthless underneath. Phoebe also fits the closet motif. Powerless under the sway of a cruel stepmother and a weak father, she fights back against the brutal ton that disdains her by writing a novel ridiculing them.

I didn't care for either character. Sylvester is brutish in his attempts to punish Phoebe, and Phoebe accepts the blame for something that is not her fault. But they are appropriate to the time and partially redeem themselves by the end of the book.

I did like Phoebe's life-long friend, Tom, a decent, level-headed young man who calls a spade a spade and sticks up for Phoebe against Sylvester's wrong-headed treatment.

If you like Regency, SYLVESTER is another sensational ride into Georgette Heyer's historical world.

ARC provided by Sourcebooks ...more

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