Heartless Lord Harry (Signet Regency Romance)

Rating:
Summary: drivel
Review: Farrell's Heartless Lord Harry is an entertaining and interesting outing in the Regency genre. There is unusual depth, and a darkness, about the characters of Harry Lifton and Lynette Richmond that is typically missing in these light-hearted novels. Ms. Farrell writes a solid plot, but I was somewhat disappointed with the ending, which did not seem entirely motivated by what we come to learn about the characters.

Rating:
Summary: Regency froth with a dark underpinning
Review: Farrell's Heartless Lord Harry is an entertaining and interesting outing in the Regency genre. There is unusual depth, and a darkness, about the characters of Harry Lifton and Lynette Richmond that is typically missing in these light-hearted novels. Ms. Farrell writes a solid plot, but I was somewhat disappointed with the ending, which did not seem entirely motivated by what we come to learn about the characters.

Rating:
Summary: Not a romp, not amusing and not frothy --
Review: instead, this is a serious story about some serious issues: the ephemeral value of good looks, the effects of battle, loss of self-worth and the value of deep friendship.

One reviewer has criticised this book for not making it plain who was the hero and the heroine. I don't think the author intended to have just one for this is the story of two sisters, raised in slighty unusual circumstances who fall in love (with reservations!) with two friends who are as close as brothers and who are themselves very unlike each other. We have two heroines and two heros - and, why not?

Harry, Marquess of Sidmouth, against the wishes of his family took a commission and fought in Wellington's Spanish campaign. As a young and impressionable man, he witnessed the terrible atrocities that followed the successful siege at Badajoz. What happened to him caused him to lose some of his faith in humanity and most certainly the the value of love and the sexual expression of love. He needs healing but is unaware of this.

His friend James, Lord Clitheroe, had always done what his somewhat stuffy and proud family demanded but, by the time we meet him, he is having doubts about the merit of letting others run his life.

Kate Richmond, always the sensible one in a family of eccentrics, and Lynette, beautiful but scholarly, meet these two men and despite a few false starts, each ends with the right man.

Farrell brings in a May Day celebration in Cornwall as a plot device to allow everyone to shed some of their inhibitions and pre-conceived notions. Although not an ideal device, it does get the point across and is the turning point for all concerned.

Farrell does not write amusing, frothy stories about mindless love. She makes you think and she lets her characters act out the story in a way that fits their timeframe. Cheers for this. In this story, one of our heroines experienced molestation as a child and the sexual implictions of this are part of the focus of the story. Although not my favourite of her novels, nonetheless, I recommend this to those of you who like a good story with excellent characters who grow and learn about themselves in a credible way.

Rating:
Summary: Not a romp, not amusing and not frothy --
Review: instead, this is a serious story about some serious issues: the ephemeral value of good looks, the effects of battle, loss of self-worth and the value of deep friendship.

One reviewer has criticised this book for not making it plain who was the hero and the heroine. I don't think the author intended to have just one for this is the story of two sisters, raised in slighty unusual circumstances who fall in love (with reservations!) with two friends who are as close as brothers and who are themselves very unlike each other. We have two heroines and two heros - and, why not?

Harry, Marquess of Sidmouth, against the wishes of his family took a commission and fought in Wellington's Spanish campaign. As a young and impressionable man, he witnessed the terrible atrocities that followed the successful siege at Badajoz. What happened to him caused him to lose some of his faith in humanity and most certainly the the value of love and the sexual expression of love. He needs healing but is unaware of this.

His friend James, Lord Clitheroe, had always done what his somewhat stuffy and proud family demanded but, by the time we meet him, he is having doubts about the merit of letting others run his life.

Kate Richmond, always the sensible one in a family of eccentrics, and Lynette, beautiful but scholarly, meet these two men and despite a few false starts, each ends with the right man.

Farrell brings in a May Day celebration in Cornwall as a plot device to allow everyone to shed some of their inhibitions and pre-conceived notions. Although not an ideal device, it does get the point across and is the turning point for all concerned.

Farrell does not write amusing, frothy stories about mindless love. She makes you think and she lets her characters act out the story in a way that fits their timeframe. Cheers for this. In this story, one of our heroines experienced molestation as a child and the sexual implictions of this are part of the focus of the story. Although not my favourite of her novels, nonetheless, I recommend this to those of you who like a good story with excellent characters who grow and learn about themselves in a credible way.

Rating:
Summary: drivel
Review: The only thing that rescued this book from the dreaded 1 star was the excellent writing. Marjorie Farrell has an excellent grasp of the English language and is very easy to read. Unfortunately, this book's ease of reading isn't its problem.

The book opens with Harry and his friend James going on a walking tour of Yorkshire during the middle of the season. They hit a freak snow storm and are forced to seek shelter at a country home. They are befriended by the two lovely daughters of the house, Lynette and Kate [see where this is going?]. Then everyone goes to London for the season and then to Padstow to see a May Day celebration.

Farrell cannot seem to decide who her hero or heroine is. She flip-flops between the two sisters. Lynette must struggle with the terrible problem of being stunningly beautiful. Kate must struggle with the problem of being completely uninteresting. Harry spends much of the book mooning over Lynette though he is supposed to be in love with Kate. James just is. Furthermore, there is absolutely no chemistry between any of the characters [but by the end, I really didn't care].

When the book isn't going through the boring lives of the characters, it is trying to force some action through external means and it just doesn't work. The plot remains extremely boring and forgettable.

Trust me when I say that the good grammar cannot make up for a terrible book and uninteresting characters. Pass on reading this one.