Hello, a little help if you would be so kind :)

[Sophie]

Hello!! I am Sophie and the latest member of this group :)

As some of you may have seen (as I have repeated myself a bit ;) ) I am new to Heyer. I was recommend by the lovely Nicole as a way to go after loving the Austen's so much (as I am sure is quite common).

I read Cotillion first and finished it just this morning and I loved it!! Nicole infact invited me to this group and I felt I am going to be a huge fan of Heyer and so joined :)

I LOVED Cotillion!! Freddy was so sweet and it was a great read and a great place to go from Austen!

Now I am wondering which next. I am thinking about Arabella (?) and I also would love some suggestions of which are the best! I am a romantic person so they will most appeal, rather than the mystery ones she wrote.

I like the romantic aspect but I also like a good laugh! :)

Thank you! :D

[Donna]

Arabella is another great book in the same vein as Cotillion, combining a romance and much humor. Another good one would be The Grand Sophy, though it has more laughs than romance throughout. But my all time favorite comfort read from Heyer with much humor and a wonderful romance would have to be Frederica. There is a great cast of characters, all of them having an important part in the story. The romance begins unconventionally and is more developed than in most Heyer books. It evolves over time and is based first on obligation, then on friendship, and eventually on love. Since you liked Cotillion so much, I believe you would enjoy Frederica, as well. Happy reading!

[Teresa]

Arabella would be a very good choice if you loved Cotillion. It blends humor and romance perfectly. Arabella is one of my favorite Heyer heroines, especially when she is in a passion about something!

[Sophie]

Thank you Donna!! Those three are all on my list!! All three sound good and I can't wait to delve more into the world of Heyer's novels!!

And I think I will go for that one next Teresa, especially If it is like Cotillion (which I really enjoyed!) thank you!!

[Kim]

Soph, if you like romance, then you would probably like Venetia, which is probably the most romantic of all of Heyer's novels. As you like Austen, Sylvester may appeal to you, as the heroine is a feisty young woman who has written a novel. And if you are fond of Cotillion, you should probably read Friday's Child, as the original model for Freddy appears in that book as a supporting character named Ferdy Fakenham.

[Barbara]

Yes indeed , Donna and Kim have said it all. I also love A Civil Contract to pieces, but perhaps come at that after the more obviously fun romantic ones. Can't get better Than The Grand Sophy or Arabella or Frederica or Cotillion. Or The Unknown Ajax for the lovely Hugo..........

[Sophie]

Thank you both!! Really appreciate all these recommendations so I know which to go to as she wrote so many!! :)

[Leslie]

Kim wrote: "...And if you are fond of Cotillion, you should probably read Friday's Child, as the original model for Freddy appears in that book as a supporting character named Ferdy Fakenham."

As a teenager, Friday's Child was my favorite Heyer and over the years I have read it many times, but I never thought of Ferdy as being the model for Freddy in Cotillion before. Freddy always struck me as being like Bertie Wooster but I can see a similarity between all three - Ferdy, Freddy, and Bertie.

[Sara]

For funny and wonderful my favorites are the Reluctant Widow and the Talisman Ring.
For a serious and lovely story about real love - I think A Civil Contract.
For just a great story Frederica.
For a wonderful absolutely unrealistic trip into silliness, wonderfully written - These Old Shades and it's Sequel Devil's Cub. And if you love them, read the hidden prequel The Black Moth (which was her first novel, I think)
Actually, I love all of them, with the possible exception of April Lady. And even that, I've read it several times.
I envy you so much. To reading them all for the first time...such a bliss awaits you.

[Leslie]

Sara wrote: "For funny and wonderful my favorites are the Reluctant Widow and the Talisman Ring.
For a serious and lovely story about real love - I think A Civil Contract.
For just a great story Frederica. ..."

Ha ha ha! I had to double check that this wasn't my posting!! We are in sync ;)