Moonlight and Mistletoe
Author: Louise Allen
Copyright: 2005, Harlequin (296 pages)
Series: Historical #830
Sensuality: Subtle
Violence: nothing significant
Where & When: Regency England; December 1814
Who: Hester Lattimer and Guy Westrope, Earl of Buckland
Summary (back blurb): Local ghost stories would not scare Hester from her new house —- especially not at Christmas! Though her heart told her to trust the mysterious earl, she knew she had to be wary. Even if Guy as not behind the strange events, letting him get too close would inevitably reveal her scandalous past!
Comments: I chose this book because I had enjoyed two other books written by Ms. Allen. Her heroines are usually rational women and her heroes are usually strong without being too Alpha: they aren’t afraid to admit they’ve made a mistake.
Hester is impetuous and kind-hearted young woman. She bought Moon House after seeing it only once, when she passed through the village of Winterbourne St. Swithin. She is determined to make it a home and establish herself respectfully in the neighborhood. Her household consists of Susan, her housemaid; Miss Maria Prudhome, her companion/chaperone; and Jethro Ackland, her teenage butler/groom. They no sooner arrive at their new home when Hester is called upon by the Earl of Buckland
Guy is interested in Moon House. He learned, too late, that it was on the market. He has come to Winterbourne St. Swithin with the hope of persuading the new owner to sell it to him. Hester refuses, of course. Guy won’t tell her why he’s interested in the house, and he is not discouraged by her answer either. He doesn’t get far into his campaign to change her mind when strange things begin to happen at Moon House. Before long, Guy, Hester, and her household are working together to solve the mystery and expose the guilty party. Guy also comes to realize that he’s more interested in courting Hester than trying to persuade her to sell the house. He’s falling in love.
Hester is also attracted to him but is hesitant to encourage it, due to the undeserved smear on her reputation. Guy’s initial reaction to the rumors regarding her past gives her the impression that he believes them instead of trusting in her. Hester refuses to explain the situation to a man who claims to love her one moment, but then doesn’t trust her the next. Guy quickly realizes that he blundered and must convince her he loves her, despite the rumors.
Though the story is set in December, the primary focus is on the mystery and not the holiday season. I thought it was obvious who the guilty party was and how the culprit was getting into the house to cause mischief. The “why” of Guy’s interest in the house, and the motive for “ghostly” activity were easy to guess if you paid attention to the clues. I enjoyed the book. There were some cute moments and Guy could be witty at times.
Favorite Quotes:
“Your clothes must be filthy.”
“My valet sent me out in my second-best housebreaking outfit.”
– Hester, Guy
Guy suppressed a smile. The automatic reaction of the household to any emergency appeared to be to put the kettle on.
– Guy’s observation of Hester’s staff
“I must win some sort of prize for the most wretchedly timed proposal ever. You are cold, shaken, hurt and we are standing in a filthy barn at midnight. I think I must take you home, call again and attempt to do this once more in form.”
– Guy
Started: 13 November 2007
Finished: 30 November 2007
Enjoyed it!
Rating:
To see what I wrote about Alex and Hebe’s story, go here.
The Society Catch
Author: Louise Allen
ISBN: 0-373-29409-3 (Harlequin Historical – Regency)
Finished: 1 April 2007
Who: Miss Joanna Fulgrave and Colonel Gregory Giles
From the back: Miss Joanna Fulgrave has turned herself into the perfect society catch to be worthy of dashing Colonel Giles Gregory. But all her hard effort to improve herself comes to nothing when it looks as if Giles is about to propose to someone else. Deciding that bad behavior is infinitely more attractive than perfection, Joanna flees her shocked family. Giles is hot on her trail, determined to catch her and bring her safely home.
I enjoyed Ms. Allen’s previous Harlequin Historical, The Earl’s Intended Wife (793), very much and I hoped this one would be just as enjoyable. Though there where a few things I thought were far-fetched, I could easy overlook them because the over all story held my interest.
Joanna’s best-laid plans fall apart when she believes the man she’s in love with is going to propose to another woman. The shock is so great that Joanna throws away her status as the perfect debutante and behaves recklessly, much to the consternation of her parents. For nearly two Seasons, they’ve stood by as Joanna rejected suitors with very little explanation. Rufus Carstairs, Earl of Clifton, has expressed his desire to court Joanna and is even willing to overlook her behavior. Joanna won’t have him. Her parents, pushed to the end of their patience, decide to pack her off to Bath and elderly relative — instead of joining the family in Brighton — until she comes to her senses and agrees to marry Clifton. So Joanna does the only thing she thinks she can do: she runs away.
Colonel Gregory has a lot on his mind and is completely unaware that he’s the man who broke Joanna’s heart. He’s in London with plans to cash out of the army and return to his family estate to help his father, who’s health isn’t as good as it should be. The woman Joanna thinks he’s in love with is an old family friend. And though he does love her, it’s platonic. He’s trusted by her family and it’s understood that there is nothing serious between the pair. However, to a causal and uninformed observer, it appears that there is an understanding between them. Giles is visiting Alex and Hebe (the couple from The Earl’s Intended Wife) when Mrs. Fulgrave comes to the earl for help in locating Joanna. Since Hebe is very pregnant, Giles is dispatched to retrieve the runaway.
I liked Joanna and Giles. Though she ran away, she wasn’t a flighty character; just a heartbroken girl needing some time to think without pressure from her parents to marry. Giles was a nice guy, trustworthy, kind, and the perfect hero who rides to the rescue. I was disappointed with the author for including a scene almost similar to the one in The Earl’s Intended Wife, where the hero takes unwitting advantage of the heroine. The reader already knows that Giles has fallen for Joanna and we also know that Joanna thinks that Giles desires Lady Suzanne, so the scene was unnecessary. Fortunately, the scene did not go as far as the scene between the delirious Alex and Hebe.
Liked A Lot
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I’m currently reading The Society Catch by Louise Allen, which is set after this book. I’m a little less than halfway, so it won’t be long before I’ll have a review. In the meantime. . .
The Earl's Intended Wife
ISBN: 0-373-29393-3 (Harlequin Historical – Regency)
Finished: 13 September 2006
Who: Hebe Carlton and Major Alex Beresford, 4th Earl of Tasborough
From the back: Hebe Carlton had little idea of her own charm until Major Alex Beresford arrived on the island of Malta. She made no attempt to cast out lures and treated him with warm practicality, showing an insight and ability to read him that few others had managed. His attentions made Hebe blossom, and her stepmother began to entertain hopes of a wedding. Then a letter arrived for Alex. The proposal of marriage he’d made to another before ever meeting Hebe had been accepted at last. He should be happy. . . But now Alex could only contemplate marrying one person — and it wasn’t his betrothed.
Hebe is no diamond of the first water. Orphaned and living with her widowed stepmother on Malta, Hebe is everyone’s friend. She isn’t out to snare a husband and she doesn’t excite the interest of the officers of the Royal Navy or Army. That is, until she meets Major the Honorable Alex Beresford, second son of the 3rd Earl of Tasborough.
Alex is no rake. An Army intelligence officer, he makes his first appearance in Hebe’s home bone weary, having just arrived from a mission. He isn’t in the mood to be charming to a young, and he assumes, marriage-minded miss. He is surprised, therefore when Hebe arranges for him to have an afternoon nap in the garden.
The author packs a lot in a short book. She tries to make every scene count. When Hebe and Alex are tossed overboard and washed ashore in France, she prudently decides not to make their trip one near miss after another and fraught with danger. Instead, she develops the characters. Hebe is resourceful in a crisis. She dresses Alex’s saber wound, and the author ups the stakes by making Alex susceptible to a marsh fever when exposed to prolong cold or wet. He gets them to a shepherd’s hut before succumbing.
A delirious Alex takes advantage of Hebe while they are hiding from the French. Hebe believes Alex thinks she’s Clarrisa, the woman he’s betrothed to. Though the experience is painful, Hebe is quick to realize that part of her didn’t want him to stop. She loves him. As for Alex, he awakes from his fever with a vague memory of the incident, but she convinces him that he was dreaming. Since neither has revealed their loved to the other, more misunderstandings ensue. However, the truth finally comes to light and they have their happily ever after.
I like how the author decided not to make Anna a former lover or mistress of Alex’s. She makes it very clear that Anna and Alex are friends because of Anna’s late husband, and there was never anything between the major and his sergeant’s wife.
Shout out to Jane Austen: Hebe is seen reading both Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice.
One pet peeve: Anna, a Spanish lady who confesses that she doesn’t read English very well, points out the newspaper’s death notice of the Earl Tasborough to Hebe.
The book also introduces, very briefly, the couple of the author’s next book. Hebe’s cousin, Joanna Fulgrave and Major Gregory, friend and groomsman of Alex.
Liked A Lot
