Lord Nightingale's Debut

Rating:
Summary: A delightful read!
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed reading "Lord Nightingale's Debut" and eagerly await the rest of the series. The story was filled with humor and warmth and the main characters were so delightfully human and compassionate. The book had intrigue, but was a lighter story than some of her previous books and I especially enjoyed the "frog and prince" references. As always her vivid descriptions of the characters and settings were so well written that I could easily picture them. I would highly recommend this book to my friends and fellow Regency romance readers and it is a "keeper" as are all my other books by Judith Lansdowne. I never tire of re-reading them.

Rating:
Summary: 5 Stars? Forget it...
Review: I usually enjoy a Judith Lansdowne romance. I think my favorite was from one of her anthology short stores from "Notorious and Noble", the Hawk and Priscilla. However, I found this book to be to long full and full of paper characters. There was not enough of a story to stretch it out. The story was perhaps a bit too fanciful, even for a Lansdowne book. Singing birds, bitter family members, disfigured children, gothic "dippy" women, spinsters, shy earls, smugglers, just too much. It would have been better as a short story focusing in on the romantic involvement of the Earl and Sera. I also read Judith's comments about the varied opinions on this book and I must say I was slightly offended. Just because I find that attractive characters sometimes (not always) add more zest to a romance than plain ones does not mean that I enjoy handsome rapist's who can't keep his word. Shoot me - I too (like another reviewer) enjoy reading about attractive people. No, they don't all have to be Incomparables or devilishly handsome Rakes. Lord Wright's Eleanor was a plain Jane but the romance worked maybe because she was nice and smart. In this book, while Sera was perhaps too gothic and annoying, there was no spark between her and the frog Earl. Sorry, but while the frog was sweet, a dash of confidence and looks might have made him more appealing. He seemed like someones sweet, younger brother who has not grown up yet. Regarding the sequel, I will probably the skip the story of the spinster cousin Eugenia and her rolling walk and her mysterious Marquis. Hey - the author describes her as a plain spinster not me!

Rating:
Summary: Did not like...
Review: I usually enjoy a Judith Lansdowne romance. I think my favorite was from one of her anthology short stores from "Notorious and Noble", the Hawk and Priscilla. However, I found this book to be to long full and full of paper characters. There was not enough of a story to stretch it out. The story was perhaps a bit too fanciful, even for a Lansdowne book. Singing birds, bitter family members, disfigured children, gothic "dippy" women, spinsters, shy earls, smugglers, just too much. It would have been better as a short story focusing in on the romantic involvement of the Earl and Sera. I also read Judith's comments about the varied opinions on this book and I must say I was slightly offended. Just because I find that attractive characters sometimes (not always) add more zest to a romance than plain ones does not mean that I enjoy handsome rapist's who can't keep his word. Shoot me - I too (like another reviewer) enjoy reading about attractive people. No, they don't all have to be Incomparables or devilishly handsome Rakes. Lord Wright's Eleanor was a plain Jane but the romance worked maybe because she was nice and smart. In this book, while Sera was perhaps too gothic and annoying, there was no spark between her and the frog Earl. Sorry, but while the frog was sweet, a dash of confidence and looks might have made him more appealing. He seemed like someones sweet, younger brother who has not grown up yet. Regarding the sequel, I will probably the skip the story of the spinster cousin Eugenia and her rolling walk and her mysterious Marquis. Hey - the author describes her as a plain spinster not me!

Rating:
Summary: Very funny and entertaining
Review: I waited until I had all four of the Nightingale books before I started reading the "trilogy". I have just finished Lord Nightingale's Debut and loved it. Nicky was wonderful! It was so refreshing to have a caring, thoughtful man as a hero instead of the usual selfish, lustful rake. Serendipity was a lot of fun, especially near the end where she had me in stitches. I thought that the two were ideally suited, and found their falling in love very believable.

One of the reasons this book was so special was the extraordinary cast of secondary characters. Delight is charming, Lady Wickenshire is a wonderful mother, Eugenia is entertaining (I see that she is the heroine in LNLS), Neil is a deliciously funny villain (surely there is room for redemption here), and I totally fell in love with Jenkins who is one of the best butler's I have ever read about.

Of course you can't talk about this book without mentioning the splendid array of animal characters. Lord Nightingale is the main focal point of the book, but he definitely gets a run for his money from Sweetpea and Stanley Blithe.

This was an excellent book. It was extremely entertaining, the hero and heroine were charming, and the story had my laughing out loud in several places. I was sorry when it ended, but then I immediately started the next book in the series (at midnight, although I did read only a couple of chapters). If it's anywhere near as good as LND I will be an extremely happy reader.

Rating:
Summary: Very funny and entertaining
Review: I waited until I had all four of the Nightingale books before I started reading the "trilogy". I have just finished Lord Nightingale's Debut and loved it. Nicky was wonderful! It was so refreshing to have a caring, thoughtful man as a hero instead of the usual selfish, lustful rake. Serendipity was a lot of fun, especially near the end where she had me in stitches. I thought that the two were ideally suited, and found their falling in love very believable.

One of the reasons this book was so special was the extraordinary cast of secondary characters. Delight is charming, Lady Wickenshire is a wonderful mother, Eugenia is entertaining (I see that she is the heroine in LNLS), Neil is a deliciously funny villain (surely there is room for redemption here), and I totally fell in love with Jenkins who is one of the best butler's I have ever read about.

Of course you can't talk about this book without mentioning the splendid array of animal characters. Lord Nightingale is the main focal point of the book, but he definitely gets a run for his money from Sweetpea and Stanley Blithe.

This was an excellent book. It was extremely entertaining, the hero and heroine were charming, and the story had my laughing out loud in several places. I was sorry when it ended, but then I immediately started the next book in the series (at midnight, although I did read only a couple of chapters). If it's anywhere near as good as LND I will be an extremely happy reader.

Rating:
Summary: Lord Nightingale's Delight is a DELIGHT!
Review: Judith A. Lansdowne's latest book, Lord Nightingale's Delight, is another fantastic journey of wonderful characters, delightful imagery and sumptuous language. As usual, Ms. Lansdowne does not dwell in the trite and ordinary, but once again offers the reader a delightful ride riddled with humor, warmth and spirit. Revealing too much of the story in a short review would be a crime. Like so many of Ms. Lansdowne's other books, it must be experienced! Lord Nightingale's Delight is best read tucked into bed, curled up with a delicious cup of hot tea. Thanks, Ms. Lansdowne, for another great book! I recommend it wholeheartedly!

Rating:
Summary: The impoverished lord receives an unusual bequest...
Review: Nicholas is a farmer who just happens to be an earl...an impoverished earl who has been working hard for years to pay off the debts of his father and make his estates profitable again. He cannot even think of marriage...until his aunt leaves him a fortune in her will...provided he can teach her parrot to sing again!

Serendipity and her sister have been left penniless and homeless as their father's title and estates have gone to a distant cousin, who, far from being willing to help them, has designs on Sera's virtue. Teaching a parrot to sing may be a strange occupation, but it certainly beats the other alternatives!

The plot is a little far-fetched and the romance not very convincing, but I find this otherwise to be a very pleasant little story. I do find myself look forward to the next installment of Lord Nightingale's adventures.

Rating:
Summary: A delightful debut...
Review: Reading Judith Lansdowne to me is like slowly savoring a fine, aged brandy. Once I have finished the two, I am left with nice feelings of warmth and contentment. Brandy, on the one hand, might go to my head but Lansdowne's prose goes to my heart. I've only read a few of Judith Lansdowne's regencies because most are hard to find. Lansdowne's heroes are not your run of the mill arrogant, pleasure-seeking, useless men of the aristocracy. Her heroes are of the warm, honest, loyal, sweet, tender selfless variety.(Need I go on?) The heroines are usually a match for the hero.

Nicholas Chastiain, the Earl of Wickenshire, inherited his title and a mountain of debts from his wastrel of a father at the age of 13. Since that time, he has worked almost like a common laborer on his estates to pay off these debts and improve the estates. Now years later, he is finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. He also stands to inherit a large amount of money from an aunt that will further his improvements. But the will comes with a stipulation. He must teach his aunt's bird, Lord Nightingale, to sing. And he has a deadline.

Thank goodness his cousin has a school chum who can sing and is in something of a bind. Serendipity's (Sera) father has died leaving his title and money to a distant relative. This dastardly relative has removed Sera and her much younger sister, Delight, from the ancestral home and now threatens to remove them from the family's London home as well. When Wickenshire's offer comes to teach Lord Nightingale to sing, Sera grabs the offer like an anchor (she has no idea that Lord Nightingale is a bird).

Nicky's interaction with Delight, who has a facial birthmark, are some of the most touching scenes I've read in many a day. Nicky, himself, is a well sketched character. He has no idea of his own worth (a trait of Lansdowne heroes). He doesn't think he is fit to be an earl because of his lack of social skills and of the callouses on his hands from hard manual labor. If I were to venture a guess, I'd say his aunt made the strange provision in her will because the all-too-serious Nicky needed some fun in his life.

This book is the first of a trilogy (actually four) to be released every month til Christmas. I can't wait for September. Debbie Jett

Rating:
Summary: A delightful read!
Review: Regency novels have always been a favorite genre of mine. Filled with light-hearted humor, wonderful characters and interesting, somewhat silly plots. Lansdowne's newest novel is one of the best examples of its type. In the tradition of the finest regency heroes, Nicki is strong and intelligent, but vulnerable and insecure around Sera, our heroine. Delight, Stanley Blithe, Jenkins - a little girl, a dog and a butler- add just the right humor to the book. Lord Nightingale, the star of the trilogy (of four books?) has more dimensions to his character than would be expected from a parrot. All in all, the book was an excellent read and hard to put down. I'm looking forward to the next installments.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent regency
Review: Regency novels have always been a favorite genre of mine. Filled with light-hearted humor, wonderful characters and interesting, somewhat silly plots. Lansdowne's newest novel is one of the best examples of its type. In the tradition of the finest regency heroes, Nicki is strong and intelligent, but vulnerable and insecure around Sera, our heroine. Delight, Stanley Blithe, Jenkins - a little girl, a dog and a butler- add just the right humor to the book. Lord Nightingale, the star of the trilogy (of four books?) has more dimensions to his character than would be expected from a parrot. All in all, the book was an excellent read and hard to put down. I'm looking forward to the next installments.