“It begins with a very promising love story, if a rake and a sensible lady almost on the shelf is your kind of thing. Both are intelligent people who don't care much about what the rest of the world think--or at least one of them does. It's so clear that they've fallen in love since the beginning, although they start out as good friends instead of jumping straight into it. You can't help but liking Venetia's lively mind, having sympathized with her boring life before the arrival of the most scandalous person of Quality. I like her immensely, especially after all the efforts she made to rebel against the better judgment of people of better experience. Though she is indeed a "green girl", she has proven to be far more sensible than silly girls who fall heads over heels for rakes, simply just because of their bad reputation.
Venetia's style of writing reminds me much of Jane Austen. The rural background, family and neighbors' influence (I must say Edward Yardley shares a resemblance to Mr Collins of P&P), marriage and reputation (then again, which regency fiction doesn't talk of marriage?), with slight tease of the extravagance of the ton. Having read several other Heyer's works, I've come to realize that I like this kind of style better compared to the other books where a lot of funny fashion terms pop up every one or two pages. Country living is as dull as it sounds like, but it allows more characters elaboration as well as their quirky behaviors. I find Aubrey a fascinating character development: brilliant but quick tempered, conceited, egoist, which is not at all hard to imagine for people in his situation. The way Heyer described him is as though there's nothing wrong with that at all (when we see it from Venetia and Damerel's POV), when otherwise to other people of that time, pity and/or ill opinions could be readily made up upon seeing such "lame".
The few last chapters are truly delightful. I love the way conversations are conducted between the two, the quick banters and usage of poetic lines--not unlike any other Heyer's works, but also much more than that as well. It may sound cheesy, but after such a delightful romp, how could you not allow yourself at the end to fall for such silly romantic line as Demerel's "What regret I can never undo, for the gods don't annihilate space, or time, or transform such a man as I am into one worthy to be your husband."?”
consumativ wrote this review Tuesday, April 29 2008.
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