Of the four Amanda McCabe books I have read, this is easily the best. The first two books - A Scandal in Venice and The Spanish Bride - - had interesting premises but fizzled half way through. The third book - Lady Rogue - was simply awful (I picked it up mistaking it for the Errant Earl, her fourth work). I say that because there was a non-plot with absolutely no tension between the characters, and it made me hesitate before picking up this one.
But do try The Golden Feather, McCabe's fifth book. The heroine is a gaming house owner - a Mrs Archer. [Those who know a bit about the late Georgian era will have a good laugh here]. She meets, in unexpected circumstances, a man who she had seen only once before in her gaming house. Since "Mrs Archer" is trying to return to respectable life to give her young sister a chance at a good marriage eventually, she is naturally afraid that the man in question - Lord Lyndon - will find out her past and condemn both her and her sister for it.
This was a delightful character-driven book with an unusual heroine (a widow, who turns gaming house owner, turns respectable widow) and an almost equally unusual hero (a Black Sheep sent off to India by an irate father, who learns sobriety and maturity out there). Add in a dissolute younger brother of the hero and a matchmaking and somewhat reckless younger sister - both lacking in fashion sense, or possessed of an unique fashion sense. If Ms. McCabe can write like this in the future, I will definitely be writing more positive reviews
But do try The Golden Feather, McCabe's fifth book. The heroine is a gaming house owner - a Mrs Archer. [Those who know a bit about the late Georgian era will have a good laugh here]. She meets, in unexpected circumstances, a man who she had seen only once before in her gaming house. Since "Mrs Archer" is trying to return to respectable life to give her young sister a chance at a good marriage eventually, she is naturally afraid that the man in question - Lord Lyndon - will find out her past and condemn both her and her sister for it.
This was a delightful character-driven book with an unusual heroine (a widow, who turns gaming house owner, turns respectable widow) and an almost equally unusual hero (a Black Sheep sent off to India by an irate father, who learns sobriety and maturity out there). Add in a dissolute younger brother of the hero and a matchmaking and somewhat reckless younger sister - both lacking in fashion sense, or possessed of an unique fashion sense. If Ms. McCabe can write like this in the future, I will definitely be writing more positive reviews
Margaret N. (maggie74) reviewed The Golden Feather (Signet Regency Romance) on + 31 more book reviews
A quick, entertaining read about a widow left only with a gaming establishment as her portion. Her troubles while contriving to earn enough to eventually sell out, then take her place in society, complicated by the ubiquitous 'notorious rake', lead one from page to page.
