Lord Avery's Legacy (Signet Regency Romance)

Rating:
Summary: Another mediocre romance...
Review: Lord Avery's Legacy is far from unique with it's family in finacial ruin combined with unwanted attention from a 'gentleman' plot line. It wasn't as fast-paced or well-written as the better romance novels I've read. Even so, it was an amusing read.

Rating:
Summary: Enough Fool!
Review: These two words are so overused in this book, you begin to wonder if you're not a fool for continuing to read on after you've had enough.

In trying to create a strong female character, Lane's reverse role feminist answer to a strong male presence is the all knowing, all seeing, all wise Penelope, who becomes emasculating, harpish, hypocritical, and insufferable to read about. Indeed the entire Avery family are a pack of preachy know-it-alls, who should do what they lecture other to do.

Super woman takes over rearing her step-siblings at the humble age of 12, when her step-mom dies and her father gives up on the world. Super woman starts stewarding the farm at 17. Somehow without a governess, she manages to be educated in everything. When did she have the time and how did she learn pottery and ostrich rearing? A godess just knows these things. Even her well-travelled uncle couldn't get his ostriches to live, but hers do.

I hate these preaching to the modern woman about feminism through a romance book books. Hello, we know about women's rights in the regency era: get on with the romance. This character is drawn too like a modern woman for this genre. Feminism at this period did not reach such a peak that women, especially of Penelople's class, could assume male roles without impunity. Why so many writers present us with these high spirited, independent women, who don't give a wit for their reputations, social standards, marriage, children & family, and are nursing secret dreams of being a man, I cannot tell. The characters' roles are not only irregular for their period, but also unnatural for men & women of that era.

Lane's super woman fights better than a man, stewards and farms better than a man, is better educated than a man, knows architecture, literature and reasons better than any man. Hard to know why she even needs a man. Give the man vs. woman competition a rest. This is supposed to be a romance, not a gender war on page. Is there anything this meddlesome character doesn't know about or can't do that a man does (except sing - she can't sing or do many feminine things. Lord!). She has a gorgeous body and bosom, plus despite her claims of not being beautiful, she resembles her mom who was sooooo beautiful - Help.

One likes that at the core that these characters, they are really ladies and gentlemen despite their protests. This character is so rude, inelegant, unladylike, (doing and saying things, broaching subjects with a man no woman of this period ever would), and common that you lose interest in the romance. She is not good enough for the male lead, or suitable, or compatible. The male lead starts out well, but so Penelope can shine, he loses his knowing and common sense: he becomes a wimp who is constantly apologizing to her, drooling over her chest and is never right ... Boring.

Insult, fight, insult, fight - quarrel, quibble, lecture - It's endless. Everybody is a know-it-all, and ready to rebel. Only during the final quarter do they stop fighting and aplogizing long enough to fake a happy ending. The book is disjointed. The female character is hostile, and the is plot recycled. The best thing are the ostriches.

If you want to fight with someone who has left the country, or work out hostilities against men, or need to feel superior to a man by being a man, this book may help you to get started. Otherwise, work out your agressions in a gym, and attract a great strong male who won't partonize your strong womanly ... chest.