Falling for Chloe (Signet Regency Romance)

Rating:
Summary: A pair of childhood pals find themselves suddenly engaged!
Review: A sudden rainstorm forces Gil and Chloe to spend the night in a nearby cottage. Then someone places a notice of their engagement in the newspaper, and the pair must seek a way to end their engagement that will not damage their reputations. Since Chloe wishes never to marry, she plans to release Gil from his obligations. Gil, however, doesn't want to saddle Chloe with the reputation of being a jilt. Besides, when Chloe comes to London with a new wardrobe and finds herself surrounded by admirers, Gil is struck by the thought that she would be the perfect wife for him. How frustrating that she seems to be attracted to the same rakehell ladies' man that is destroying his sister's marriage!

On her part, Chloe is beginning to look at Gil as more than an old pal as well, but doesn't believe he reciprocates, so she sets about trying to help her friend--Gil's somewhat addlepated sister--save her marriage. Tish has taken up with one of the smoothest rakes around in an attempt to make her husband jealous, but only succeeds in driving the two of them further apart. In an attempt to prove the rake's true character to her friend, Chloe flirts with him herself, but finds herself way out of her league with this practiced seducer.

In the end, it is up to Gil and Tish's very wise mother to set things to rights with these two troubled pairs. A delightful Regency romp for anyone with a romantic soul.

Rating:
Summary: A pair of childhood pals find themselves suddenly engaged!
Review: A sudden rainstorm forces Gil and Chloe to spend the night in a nearby cottage. Then someone places a notice of their engagement in the newspaper, and the pair must seek a way to end their engagement that will not damage their reputations. Since Chloe wishes never to marry, she plans to release Gil from his obligations. Gil, however, doesn't want to saddle Chloe with the reputation of being a jilt. Besides, when Chloe comes to London with a new wardrobe and finds herself surrounded by admirers, Gil is struck by the thought that she would be the perfect wife for him. How frustrating that she seems to be attracted to the same rakehell ladies' man that is destroying his sister's marriage!

On her part, Chloe is beginning to look at Gil as more than an old pal as well, but doesn't believe he reciprocates, so she sets about trying to help her friend--Gil's somewhat addlepated sister--save her marriage. Tish has taken up with one of the smoothest rakes around in an attempt to make her husband jealous, but only succeeds in driving the two of them further apart. In an attempt to prove the rake's true character to her friend, Chloe flirts with him herself, but finds herself way out of her league with this practiced seducer.

In the end, it is up to Gil and Tish's very wise mother to set things to rights with these two troubled pairs. A delightful Regency romp for anyone with a romantic soul.

Rating:
Summary: FALLING FOR CHLOE was great fun to write!
Review: Childhood chums Chloe and Gil aren't sure who placed a notice of their engagement in the London papers. All they know is, Gil didn't ask, and Chloe didn't accept! And now that Chloe has left her country home to come to London and untangle this snarl, too many men ... Gil included ... seem to be Falling for Chloe ...

"Falling for Chloe is a divine Regency story. Diane Farr's writing is like Regency aromatherapy -- it fills the senses with the essence of the time period and by the time you turn the last page, you're feeling relaxed and happy. One of the best Regency voices." -- Romance Journal

"The author's feel for the era is excellent, as is her writing craft, and she caps it all with a wonderful note of humor." -- RomCom

Rating:
Summary: A comedic romance in the style of Georgette Heyer
Review: Diane Farr is excellent at writing couples who have no idea that they're in love with each other, even when everyone around can see that they're in love. In this book, Gil and Chloe have known each other for years. They're the best of friends, but have never seen each other in any other light. Until one night they're stranded together in a cottage. Although both protest that nothing happened, suddenly a notice of their engagement appears in the newspapers.

Gil can't jilt Chloe. Chloe doesn't want to humiliate Gil. So they agree to carry on for a while, and when they realise that Gil's (married) sister is being pursued by a rake, Chloe decides to pretend that the engagement is real in order to encourage the rake to flirt with her too.

Farr makes excellent use of jealousy in this book; there are some wonderful scenes in which Gil sees Chloe with Lord Rival and realises just what his feelings for his childhood friend are. But he still has the major problem that Chloe, for very good reasons, has no wish to marry...

There is a very well-written secondary plot - which is one reason why I found this book reminiscent of a Heyer (another is the extremely well-drawn cast of cameo and secondary characters). Gil's sister and her husband are well-drawn and Farr makes us sympathise with them in their difficulties. Gil's mother, who appears near the end, is also a wonderful character!

And, just to make the Heyer comparison even clearer, Farr has actually set this story in one of Heyer's books! Who else recognised Alverstoke and his sister, from 'Frederica', and recognised the ball Chloe attended as being the one Alverstoke threw for his cousin Chloe and Frederica's younger sister?

Rating:
Summary: Wishing I could rate it higher
Review: Farr definitely writes with the flavor of Heyer, and the story starts out with great promise. Unfortunately, the more I read, the more I was disenchanted by it.

Chloe is supposed to be vibrant, independent, and innocent; more often, she comes across as ridiculously naive and reckless, lacking in common sense. I want to like to her, and at times succeed, but she can be so hare-brained! She often longs for a man to take the burden off her shoulders; rightly so, since she usually makes a mess of it. However, her failure to recognize Gil's growing romantic feelings, her conflicting responses to Lord Rival, and her concern for her sister-in-law are well done.

Gil, her best friend, is a lovely young man who is almost too perfect. His greatest fault is a tendency to let Chloe run wild (and roughshod over him). Some of his finest moments come when he puts his foot down. Although Chloe obviously needs him, I almost felt that he was too good for her.

The sister-in-law is irresponsible and annoying, while her husband receives most of the sympathy in their troubled marriage. Thankfully, Tish & Gil's mother saves the day; she's an interesting character, but she did something totally wrong in society's eyes while being presented as the paragon of social mores. Also odd is the "fact" that she and her husband have a wonderful marriage (and he's a wonderful man), but the reader never sees Sir Walter.

The most interesting character, however, is the "villain," Lord Rival. The dashing rogue is the most complex character in the book: jaded, bored, not particularly praiseworthy, but he has begun to lament his life and his choices. There's a depth to his character that is missing from the others. He vacillates too readily between these two aspects of his character, though, and eventually just walks out of the book. I'd love to read a story about him and an equally complex heroine.

Sometimes the wording is stilted (too many uses of "one" for example -- one can do what one......) Sometimes the historical social context is faulty in order to further the plot. And I cannot for the life of me figure out why Gil's friends are his friends; they seem to have nothing in common with him.

It's a nice story that I wanted to like more than I actually did. As I read, I just became more disappointed. I'm not sure I'll be happy with the rating I'm choosing simply because I'm so conflicted about the book. I suppose if you like simplicity and flagrant historical/social errors don't make you want to hurl the book across the room, you'll like it better than I did.

Rating:
Summary: Truly charming in every respect
Review: Here is a Regency I found pleaurable to read in every respect. If it had any faults, I definitely forgot them under the spell of its charm.
The 'forced' engagement undertaken by the couple with the intention of later breaking it, is almost a hoary old cliche in this genre. Sometimes it works and mostly it is just a yawn - one has read it all too often. Here, however, there was no such impulse or faint praise.
The characters were all sympathetic and believable - from the protagonists Gil and Chloe, to the important secondaries of Gil's sister, brother-in-law and Lord Rival.
Chloe actually matures in a believable way, she is made to see the error of her youthful attempts to make everything right as being foolish. She discovers how little she truly knows about those she loves the most and suffers as the result of grave misjudgments of her sister's marriage and relations with the rakish Rival.
However, the most interesting lesson she is taught, is at Gil's hands. His angry confrontation with her, that makes her realize the depths of her selfish lack of consideration for him and his opinions is very well done indeed. All too often the heroine in a romance does such things and escapes censure at the hero's hands, while the hero is always rightly brought to book.
Rival of course is the too-attractive semi-villain many love to sigh over. He very successfully almost overshadows Gil - but his undoubted paucity of active virtues put him into the category of the undeserving. Thankfully Gil was not 'too good to be true', no he was definitely very human and his realization of love was well drawn.
Of course the 'in' joke of the Heyer references made the reading all the more enjoyable.

Rating:
Summary: Traditional Regency
Review: One of my favourite modern authors, I normally have a book shelf of books I haven't quite read yet that get put aside when Diane Farr brings out a new title. Interesting characters, and good dialog, the plot revolves around a couple of quite reasonable misunderstandings. The absolute purist might find the odd word from more modern times in the dialog but overall reasonably accurate.

From the cover of the signet paperback edition....

Dashing Sylvester "Gil" Gilliland would no more think of ravishing-much less marrying-his comely childhood friend Chloe than he would his own sister. But Gil's mother happily sees more to their bond than either yet realizes. And when the two innocents are caught in a deceptively compromising situation, she wastes no time in using it to her advantage-and theirs....

Soon enough, the pair find themselves no less than engaged-and no less than panicked at the very idea. But in a case of mother knows best, what seems a tender trap may free two stubborn hearts....

Rating:
Summary: Traditional Regency
Review: One of my favourite modern authors, I normally have a book shelf of books I haven't quite read yet that get put aside when Diane Farr brings out a new title. Interesting characters, and good dialog, the plot revolves around a couple of quite reasonable misunderstandings. The absolute purist might find the odd word from more modern times in the dialog but overall reasonably accurate.

From the cover of the signet paperback edition....

Dashing Sylvester "Gil" Gilliland would no more think of ravishing-much less marrying-his comely childhood friend Chloe than he would his own sister. But Gil's mother happily sees more to their bond than either yet realizes. And when the two innocents are caught in a deceptively compromising situation, she wastes no time in using it to her advantage-and theirs....

Soon enough, the pair find themselves no less than engaged-and no less than panicked at the very idea. But in a case of mother knows best, what seems a tender trap may free two stubborn hearts....

Rating:
Summary: Great Read!!
Review: This was a great read. I am really looking forward to seeing Lord Rivals story in the near future, what a name!!. His character really caught my attention and he definitely could use some "reforming"...hint... hint.