Mini Reviews - XX (Barbara Metzger)

Miss Lockharte's Letters

- Barbara Metzger

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

After going through nearly all the Heyer novels, and some of them twice, over last couple of years, I was looking for some authors who wrote in the similar vein - set in regency era, light/chaste romance, and lot of wit and humor. This one had been popping up on GR in a few "readers also liked ..." automated recos, had a very interesting theme or at least the start, and had highly favorable reviews.

I wasn't disappointed at all, and quite enjoyed it. The writing style is engaging - full of humor and wit, even when the heroine describes or ponders over her miseries, and the plot is a fantastic sequence of adventures and misadventures and hilarious situations. In short, a complete entertainer.

It seems to be set in the same time frame as Heyer novels, But my mind, more attuned to the flowery and formal language of Heyer, found the language and style more modern comparatively. I have, of course, no idea which one is more authentic to the time.

 Miss Treadwell's Talent

- Barbara Metzger

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

For most of the book, there is a flow of witty and sarcastic exchange of dialogues between the lead pair, which is what I was looking for. I enjoyed the banter, and thought it was going on well, until the end, where it became full of fantastic coincidences, supernatural intervention, and inexplicable tidy closures.

I would have preferred to see a greater role of Maylene's well-advertised talents in solving the mysteries than the supernatural guidance from the seances held by her mother. We hear a lot about her abilities, but see little in actual action, and even less done without the hero's assistance. I could not warm up to the hero - Hyatt keeps insulting Maylene throughout. He may be excused for his cynism, but not for failing to apologizing to her even when his presumptions are proven false.

In order to provide a cut-and-dried solution for the heroine's happily-ever-after, one innocent girl is deplorably forced to marry her lecherous cousin, Lady Crowley marries Shimpson for no reason we could see, and Lady Tremont is paired off with the duke unnecessarily (not to say weird!).

A highly unsatisfactory conclusion, for which i subtracted a point from the rating.

A Loyal Companion

 - Barbara Metzger

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

This is a simple romance, though with over-the-top action, and sometimes language, for a regency. In most regency novels of my experience, duchesses don't spout curses, and evil lords fall just short of kidnapping a high-born girl (commoners are fair game for them, with no-one raising an eyebrow).

The plot is typical - a headstrong but kind and thoughtful girl falls instantly in love with a wronged but charismatic hero (not to say titled and rich); and an impoverished nobleman (who is not really noble in his actions) wants to marry the girl for her money to pay his debts. The heroine is just too sweet and perfect, and manages to solve all of the hero's problems. And he, in turn, turns a knight in shining armor or rather a major in dress uniform, and rescues her from the nefarious villain.

What raises it above the par is the dog, who is the narrator of the book. Each chapter starts with his voice, sometimes philosophical thoughts but often sarcastic observations of the human society. What would have been a run-of-the-mill sugary romance otherwise, is lifted to a quirky adventure by this loyal companion.