Reviews of books by Book View Cafe members

[Katharine]

I thought we could use a topic on books written by Book View Cafe members. These books can be either re-issued books, or original ebooks.

To start things off, I thought I would mention Madeleine Robins' Regency romances, starting with ALTHEA. Her second Regency re-issue, MY DEAR JENNY, came out this summer, and the third, THE HEIRESS COMPANION, will be released November 1, 2011.

ALTHEA, a novel of Regency England, is a reprint of a book circa 1980, and would be called a Sweet Regency Romance in 2011. It’s also the first novel by the author, and it’s fun to compare this to the Sarah Tolerance books, and see how the writing has grown and changed.

Our heroine is the daughter of an opinionated country squire who does not appreciate her skillful managing of his household. Papa is inclined to officially disinherit her every time she does or says something that upsets him. Fortunately for Althea, monetarily she has her portion from her late mother’s estate that her father cannot touch. She also has an older sister -- beautiful, a bit scattered, but well-married and living in London.

So, the next time Papa disinherits her, Althea promptly flees to London, there to finally have the season her father always denied her. Tall, dark and inclined to adventures, the antithesis of her dainty sister, Althea will stand out from other debutantes. We see the oddities and prejudices of the Regency upper crust through Althea’s eyes, and see that she is both quite mature and responsible in some ways, and a babe in the woods in others. Althea also thinks she’s better at managing men than she might be (her father and brother being a very small sampling.) Trouble, of course, will ensue.

This is Georgette Heyer Lite – the supporting characters already show Robins’ masterful way of bringing them to life with the touch of a brush. Lady Peg, the aunt of one of Althea’s suitors, is a special favorite. This is not a book to challenge The Grand Sophy or masterworks like Pride and Prejudice, but it’s a lot of fun when you need a confection of diversion. And it is attractively priced! Fans of sweet Regencies need to get this one.

I liked it so much, I promptly read MY DEAR JENNY, and am now reading an ARC of THE HEIRESS COMPANION. Plus, I've read the first two Sarah Tolerance mysteries. So I am big on Robins' writing!

[Brenda]

Oh dear, oh dear, another must read! My stack is taking over the room.

[Katharine]

I know the feeling -- I just picked up five non-fiction books at Half Price Books. I begin to think that the Grim Reaper can't catch me as long as there are unread books in my house.

[[deleted user]]

Thanks for the review Katharine!

[Katharine]

Thanks for reading, Sue!

[Estara]

I own this ... I just need to get around to reading it, heh.