The Secret History of the Pink Carnation (Pink Carnation, #1) in Around the Year in 52 Books

Apr 17, 2008 Ann rated it it was ok

Shelves: england, 19th-century, romance, london, france, regency, espionage-international-intrigue, paris

Don't be fooled by the cover: this book is a romance novel pretending to be historical fiction. I was completely shocked when the first sex scene started (in a small boat on a river which was currently being rowed by someone else! I kept thinking I had missed something and the rower had left the boat, but no). Along with the requisite sex, there are also the requisite shallow protagonists. I kept thinking there must be more to the characters (because I was duped by the cover!), but they really a ...more

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Mar 24, 2010 Beth F rated it liked it

Shelves: mystery, 2010, chick-lit, historical-romance, src-spring-2010

If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck it must be a duck, right? Right? Guess again, pal, because this book is no duck. It’s more like a jackelope.

Just take a look at how people have this thing shelved, I dare you. Is it historical fiction? Is it chick lit? Is it a romance novel? Is it a mystery? What is it really? It made me ask myself, “Can a book like this actually exist in the wilds of its reader’s imaginations or is it so mythically unbelievable that it better watch itself for the r ...more

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Feb 24, 2010 Nadine in NY Jones rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-romance, womens-day, romance, napoleonic-wars-and-spies

I picked this book up expecting it to be a fairly blase historical romance, and I was pleasantly surprised to find the first two chapters quite charming. And even more surprised to get home and see so many bad reviews on GoodReads! ;-) Maybe some people were expecting more than it is, based on the impressive cover? I don't usually find myself reading "chick lit" but I'd say that's what this is, combined w/ a healthy dose of "historical romance."

The basic premise is that a Harvard grad student i ...more

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Nov 12, 2008 Jessica rated it it was ok

Look, I have nothing against romance novels. Nothing at all. It's just that I was expecting something more - some nice historical fiction with a mystery and some romance tossed in for good measure. Instead, the book is one romance novel cliche after another, "heaving bosoms" and all. In fact, as romance novels go, this isn't even a particularly good one. The heroine was maddeningly dense - she would leap to one conclusion after another, and her behavior made little sense to me. I saw the identit ...more

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Jul 18, 2008 Jaime rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-2008, mystery, historical-1800s, multiple-timelines, victorian

I adored this. From Eloise’s spunky confrontation with Colin over the family papers to her weakness for champagne to Amy and Jane’s scheming to the surprise of Miss Gwen to Richard’s family, this book was a jewel. I can’t believe it was out there for three years before I heard of it. I liked the fast pace and the humor, even during serious situations. Amy is independent and adventurous and not as smart as she needs to be, and it all adds to her charm. I wish we had gotten to know Jane a little b ...more

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Dec 04, 2007 Hilary rated it it was ok

Shelves: library_books, chick_lit

Hmm. So it's chick lit, historical romance novel, and spy thriller all in one. The more explicit romance parts are a little more than I'd like.

Finished: It was sort of so-so. The "surprise" at the end was something I didn't really care about, even though yes, I was surprised. The explicit parts were embarrassing for me because I wasn't expecting them. I don't know why it kept flashing forward to the present; not sure what this added. All in all a very mediocre read. ...more

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Jan 25, 2008 Missy rated it liked it

Shelves: romance

Light and relatively entertaining...sometimes I'm in the right mood for a wallpaper historical and sometimes...I'm not. Huge, huge bonus points for the sheer fun of the Scarlet Pimpernel being real and just the beginning, but then almost as many minus points for the reaction of our modern-day researcher to the identity of the Pink Carnation.

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Feb 19, 2008 Kathleen (itpdx) rated it did not like it

Light, silly. I have a hard time visualizing Eloise as a doctoral history candidate or the Purple Gentian described in the book as the same person who accomplished all that he supposedly had before the story.

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