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The Reluctant Cavalier
Miss Annabella Smith must discover who is the masked stranger at the ball who sweeps her off her feet and awakens her heart--the noble Duke of Stratton, the gentlemanly Mr. Wentworth, or the lustful Sir Quentin Barnaby. Original.
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 1996
1 person is currently reading
95 people want to read
About the author
Karen Harbaugh
19 books26 followersKaren Harbaugh is a half-Japanese U.S. Northwesterner Navy brat with a BA in English, is happily married to a sweet and supportive engineer, and has one alarmingly intelligent son. She has found being a full-time romance writer, mom and wife to be a heck of a lot more challenging than being a Quality Assurance Analyst for a major HMO or being a technical writer. The job has longer hours, for one thing, and she is on call a good 24 hours a day, and there is no such thing as vacation time. She has written for HarperCollins under the pseudonym, Kathleen Elliott.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 9, 2016
++Spoilers++
4 stars
A really good romance for those who like the story/love to develop slowly and naturally.
We have an honorable hero who is at first depicted as being rather dull but slowly evolves into quite a dashing and brave man.
The heroine is sweet, proper and likable, but a bit spoiled and is a bit of a mamma's girl. She does however rebell slightly but not terribly so as to upset those who are picky regarding historical "propriety" for she stays well within those bounds.
The pace is pretty slow, but not uninteresting. The plot kept me engaged and I did not skim.
My only complaints, which reduced my rating down a star, was:
The action didn't really pick up until about 80%
The loving scenes were mild and came at the near end (no pun intended)
The villian was a bit ridiculous in his motives. I don't care for antagonists who are evil by insanity.. unless it's done right, but here the lack of development of his character was the reason the author didn't quite pull it off.
I don't understand the logic of killing a man and saving the body. Made no sense.
The heroine's transition from liking the hero as a friend to loving him was akin to flipping a switch. It was too abrupt.
It was a bit far fecthed that the villian stopped his attempts to rape the heroine because she was going to vomit. It just didn't sit right with me.
Overall I enjoyed it and would recommend it to others.
Safety:
Hero-Virgin. First, only and last time with heroine
Heroine-Virgin
OM/OW-The heroine is considering another suitor, but doesn't like him at all
Cheating-No
Violence- some, not detailed
Rape- attempted-thwarted
Cursing-No
Adultery-No
Sex-Yes, mildly detailed
May 23, 2025
I couldn’t even tell you how this book got on my radar (it was convoluted and circuitous, that’s about all I can remember), but ultimately I’m really glad it did.
I’m kind of marveling at my 4-star rating of this book, because 4 stars came so naturally and so surely to me, and yet I’ve rated other, arguably-better-written books lower? I think it’s because, in a lot of ways, The Reluctant Cavalier is simply very competent? It knows what it’s aiming for, and to its credit it hits the mark right on the money. It isn’t high art, it doesn’t have an obvious socio-political agenda, but it tells a cute story, and tells it well, and you know what?—sometimes that’s enough. (Sometimes I daresay that’s even better than a lot of loftier-minded-but-more-badly-constructed books.)
Our hero is untitled second son, Parsifal Wentworth. His family is old and very well-established among the English aristocracy, but also has a reputation for being wild, and Parsifal’s the black sheep of the bunch because—in a long line of rakes and rogues—he’s a socially-awkward introvert who would much rather be toiling in his garden than attending a party. (As someone who finds a lot of social gatherings tiring after the first twenty minutes, Parsifal is eminently #relatable.) He’s been pining for his pretty neighbor, Annabella Smith, but has always been too shy to make a move. That all changes, however, when his little sister cajoles him into attending a masquerade ball with her (“Mom says I can’t go unless you go with me!”), and the cavalier costume he wears—originally belonging to one of his ancestors—seems to imbue him with a newfound boldness. Next thing you know, he’s saving Annabella from an assault, (gently!) stealing a kiss from her, and even chasing off a highwayman from another couple attendees as they make their way home. Hilariously, Parsifal is basically like, “WTF is wrong with me???” when looking back over his actions from the night.
Despite his determination to turn over a new leaf, though, and start putting himself out there more often, Parsifal still despairs, because at the end of the day, he still doesn’t have that much to offer Annabella, who’s an heiress in her own right. And when it comes out that a handsome duke is courting her, well, what chance does untitled, eccentric Parsifal have? Never mind the way she’s clearly enamored with his mysterious alter-ego, the Cavalier.
Annabella is perhaps less interesting as a character (she doesn’t have the existential crisis going on that Parsifal does), but I still really enjoyed her as a heroine. Her relationship trajectory with Parsifal is essentially that of “friends-to-lovers,” but it’s also a little different in that you actively get to see the friendship established—she’s been aware of Parsifal’s existence, what with their estates being next to each other, but has never really interacted with him before the events of the story. Lo and behold, though, when circumstances throw them together, she finds herself pleasantly surprised that he’s not at all like the rest of his family, but is instead quiet and kind and very gentlemanly. These two get on really adorably, and you can genuinely see just how well-suited they are to each other, once they start spending time together. Annabella has a sensible head on her shoulders, doesn’t jump to asinine conclusionsbecause the author needed to manufacture drama to stretch out her word count, and while she’s emphatically a “good girl” by the standards of the era, she still has a mind of her own and a bit of a rebellious streak, so avoids outright “doormat” territory, which is nice.
That said, it isn’t all honey and roses, so to speak. There’s another assault (this time on Annabella’s mother), and a murder that is actually rather grisly (the decomposing body later shows up in Parsifal’s garden)—but on the whole the tone here is “cozy.” It isn’t so light that I would describe it as outright “fluff,” but the story is definitely a sweet confection of sorts. Not cotton candy, but…a tiramisu, perhaps—unmistakably a dessert, but with an earthiness that helps ground it and give it a little more substance.
One thing I noted is that—rather unusually for a romance novel—the focus is more on the hero than the heroine. The POV is third-person, and goes between Parsifal and Annabella (with occasional segues into the Duke of Stratton’s or Annabella’s mother’s head), but the story here is really Parsifal’s, not Annabella’s. He’s the one who really has to grow and come into himself, which is a big part of why he’s the most compelling character here. It’s unusual, as stated, and I quite enjoyed the novelty of it, so if you’re looking for a more hero-centric romance, this one might fit the bill.
As far as other aspects go, I thought it was well-paced, but heads up that it is a bit of a slow-burn on both the relationship and action fronts. Things pick up toward the end, which leads to a nice, dramatic finish, but this is not an adventure story by any means, so you can’t go in expecting adventure-style pacing. There is a slight hint of the fantastic/supernatural (Wentworth Abbey is supposedly haunted, and there’s the suggestion that Parsifal is maybe being spiritually influenced by the ghost of one of his “wilder” ancestors), but I found this surprisingly well-woven-in and not particularly distracting—I think it helps that the author doesn’t go ALL IN on the supernatural stuff, and instead walks that fine “maybe it’s magic, maybe it’s mundane” line.
Shout-out to Annabella’s apparent sexual awakening when she happens upon Parsifal in the middle of some shirtless landscaping (JUMP THAT PLANT NERD, ANNABELLA; JUST GO FOR IT), and shout-out to Parsifal’s titled older brother, Geoffrey (the Earl of Grafton), who’s certainly something of an arrogant, philandering ass, but who’s ultimately not a wholly terrible person. (Related to that second point, one of the book’s more inspired bits is where Parsifal ruminates on just how much his father’s death has negatively impacted the family without their realizing it—for instance, Geoffrey became more cynical and sarcastic, while Parsifal drew even further into himself. Honestly, I was expecting it to be revealed that but apparently this was not the case, and I kind of have to applaud the author for not going there? Like, it would be such an easy way to create angst and drama, but it would also be pretty cheap for the same reasons.)
Anyway, trigger warning for the above-mentioned assaults, and also for an attempted rape near the end. I’ve previously railed about how I hate it when authors use rape (or attempted rape) for drama, but it actually kind of works for me here? (I think a big part of it is because so it’s built into the narrative and actually makes sense, in that respect.) Also, big props for the way Annabella isn’t just a damsel-in-distress during the climax, but is instead an active participant who not only helps herself, but helps bring the villain to justice.
So, tl;dr: you have to meet this book on its own terms, you can’t go in expecting it to be anything more than a sweet, mostly-light-hearted lark, but if you can do that, then you’ll probably have a good time. For my part, color me curious about the rest of Karen Harbaugh’s back-catalogue, because she’s doing some things here that I really liked and appreciated. One maybe doesn’t want tiramisu every day, but occasionally (believe it or not!) I am indeed in the mood for a well-crafted little dessert.
I’m kind of marveling at my 4-star rating of this book, because 4 stars came so naturally and so surely to me, and yet I’ve rated other, arguably-better-written books lower? I think it’s because, in a lot of ways, The Reluctant Cavalier is simply very competent? It knows what it’s aiming for, and to its credit it hits the mark right on the money. It isn’t high art, it doesn’t have an obvious socio-political agenda, but it tells a cute story, and tells it well, and you know what?—sometimes that’s enough. (Sometimes I daresay that’s even better than a lot of loftier-minded-but-more-badly-constructed books.)
Our hero is untitled second son, Parsifal Wentworth. His family is old and very well-established among the English aristocracy, but also has a reputation for being wild, and Parsifal’s the black sheep of the bunch because—in a long line of rakes and rogues—he’s a socially-awkward introvert who would much rather be toiling in his garden than attending a party. (As someone who finds a lot of social gatherings tiring after the first twenty minutes, Parsifal is eminently #relatable.) He’s been pining for his pretty neighbor, Annabella Smith, but has always been too shy to make a move. That all changes, however, when his little sister cajoles him into attending a masquerade ball with her (“Mom says I can’t go unless you go with me!”), and the cavalier costume he wears—originally belonging to one of his ancestors—seems to imbue him with a newfound boldness. Next thing you know, he’s saving Annabella from an assault, (gently!) stealing a kiss from her, and even chasing off a highwayman from another couple attendees as they make their way home. Hilariously, Parsifal is basically like, “WTF is wrong with me???” when looking back over his actions from the night.
Despite his determination to turn over a new leaf, though, and start putting himself out there more often, Parsifal still despairs, because at the end of the day, he still doesn’t have that much to offer Annabella, who’s an heiress in her own right. And when it comes out that a handsome duke is courting her, well, what chance does untitled, eccentric Parsifal have? Never mind the way she’s clearly enamored with his mysterious alter-ego, the Cavalier.
Annabella is perhaps less interesting as a character (she doesn’t have the existential crisis going on that Parsifal does), but I still really enjoyed her as a heroine. Her relationship trajectory with Parsifal is essentially that of “friends-to-lovers,” but it’s also a little different in that you actively get to see the friendship established—she’s been aware of Parsifal’s existence, what with their estates being next to each other, but has never really interacted with him before the events of the story. Lo and behold, though, when circumstances throw them together, she finds herself pleasantly surprised that he’s not at all like the rest of his family, but is instead quiet and kind and very gentlemanly. These two get on really adorably, and you can genuinely see just how well-suited they are to each other, once they start spending time together. Annabella has a sensible head on her shoulders, doesn’t jump to asinine conclusions
That said, it isn’t all honey and roses, so to speak. There’s another assault (this time on Annabella’s mother), and a murder that is actually rather grisly (the decomposing body later shows up in Parsifal’s garden)—but on the whole the tone here is “cozy.” It isn’t so light that I would describe it as outright “fluff,” but the story is definitely a sweet confection of sorts. Not cotton candy, but…a tiramisu, perhaps—unmistakably a dessert, but with an earthiness that helps ground it and give it a little more substance.
One thing I noted is that—rather unusually for a romance novel—the focus is more on the hero than the heroine. The POV is third-person, and goes between Parsifal and Annabella (with occasional segues into the Duke of Stratton’s or Annabella’s mother’s head), but the story here is really Parsifal’s, not Annabella’s. He’s the one who really has to grow and come into himself, which is a big part of why he’s the most compelling character here. It’s unusual, as stated, and I quite enjoyed the novelty of it, so if you’re looking for a more hero-centric romance, this one might fit the bill.
As far as other aspects go, I thought it was well-paced, but heads up that it is a bit of a slow-burn on both the relationship and action fronts. Things pick up toward the end, which leads to a nice, dramatic finish, but this is not an adventure story by any means, so you can’t go in expecting adventure-style pacing. There is a slight hint of the fantastic/supernatural (Wentworth Abbey is supposedly haunted, and there’s the suggestion that Parsifal is maybe being spiritually influenced by the ghost of one of his “wilder” ancestors), but I found this surprisingly well-woven-in and not particularly distracting—I think it helps that the author doesn’t go ALL IN on the supernatural stuff, and instead walks that fine “maybe it’s magic, maybe it’s mundane” line.
Shout-out to Annabella’s apparent sexual awakening when she happens upon Parsifal in the middle of some shirtless landscaping (JUMP THAT PLANT NERD, ANNABELLA; JUST GO FOR IT), and shout-out to Parsifal’s titled older brother, Geoffrey (the Earl of Grafton), who’s certainly something of an arrogant, philandering ass, but who’s ultimately not a wholly terrible person. (Related to that second point, one of the book’s more inspired bits is where Parsifal ruminates on just how much his father’s death has negatively impacted the family without their realizing it—for instance, Geoffrey became more cynical and sarcastic, while Parsifal drew even further into himself. Honestly, I was expecting it to be revealed that but apparently this was not the case, and I kind of have to applaud the author for not going there? Like, it would be such an easy way to create angst and drama, but it would also be pretty cheap for the same reasons.)
Anyway, trigger warning for the above-mentioned assaults, and also for an attempted rape near the end. I’ve previously railed about how I hate it when authors use rape (or attempted rape) for drama, but it actually kind of works for me here? (I think a big part of it is because so it’s built into the narrative and actually makes sense, in that respect.) Also, big props for the way Annabella isn’t just a damsel-in-distress during the climax, but is instead an active participant who not only helps herself, but helps bring the villain to justice.
So, tl;dr: you have to meet this book on its own terms, you can’t go in expecting it to be anything more than a sweet, mostly-light-hearted lark, but if you can do that, then you’ll probably have a good time. For my part, color me curious about the rest of Karen Harbaugh’s back-catalogue, because she’s doing some things here that I really liked and appreciated. One maybe doesn’t want tiramisu every day, but occasionally (believe it or not!) I am indeed in the mood for a well-crafted little dessert.
November 12, 2022
The premise: Parcifal, the shy, black sheep of a titled family, dons a Cavalier costume for a masquerade and finds himself acting heroic and dashing...much unlike himself. Perhaps he is possessed by the ghost of his grandfather who is purported to haunt his home. Whatever it is, he manages to catch the eye of the woman he has loved from afar, Miss Annabella Smith. But she is nearly betrothed to the highly eligible Duke of Stratton. Can a meek man overcome his innate reticence to win her love?
Miscellaneous notes: Yes, he can. Surprised? Neither was I.
There are two major problems with this book.
1. The writing.
2. The plot.
Not much left to recommend it, is there? Not a page went by when I wondered how this book ever became published. I have read fanfiction for years and noticed several similarities to these amateur pieces of fiction. ("It was Annabella's turn to blush.") In fact, that is the best word to describe this book: amateurish. Ms. Harbaugh uses the same turns of phrase over and over, making them uninteresting. Her writing is not descriptive at all, leaving the dialogue open to the reader's own interpretation. And the dialogue certainly does not feel as if it came from the 19th century. It sounds more like modern-day snobs. And, the coup de gras...if she uses one exclamation point, she uses a thousand! Rather than describe the emotions of speaker, she uses this punctuation! Even the narration uses it! I wonder if Ms. Harbaugh shouts a lot in real life!! If so, that must become quite tiresome!
This story could have been quite cute. The solitary and sensitive Parsifal falling in love with the lovely Bella and finding that she feels the same about him. But the supernatural twist did not work. Additionally, the villain, the Duke of Stratton, was not realistic at all. I'm supposed to believe that a person of education would believe that having sex with a virgin will cure him of an STD? Oh, please. Also, he was way over-the-top evil. I half expected him to start twirling his moustache.
Could these characters possibly blush more? They spend the entire book with red faces. I've never seen anyone blush that much, and I'm a medical professional.
And, finally, the sex. This book remains very clean and proper throughout Parsifal and Annabella's courting. The epilogue has them screwing like rabbits. Now, I enjoy reading a good "roll in the hay" book, but it really should be consistent throughout.
Oh, and before I finish, who the hell is that in the background on the front cover? He's watching our two heroes and scratching his chin. Also, Annabelle never wore that dress to a masquerade. Who drew this cover? Probably someone lucky enough to have not read the book!
Miscellaneous notes: Yes, he can. Surprised? Neither was I.
There are two major problems with this book.
1. The writing.
2. The plot.
Not much left to recommend it, is there? Not a page went by when I wondered how this book ever became published. I have read fanfiction for years and noticed several similarities to these amateur pieces of fiction. ("It was Annabella's turn to blush.") In fact, that is the best word to describe this book: amateurish. Ms. Harbaugh uses the same turns of phrase over and over, making them uninteresting. Her writing is not descriptive at all, leaving the dialogue open to the reader's own interpretation. And the dialogue certainly does not feel as if it came from the 19th century. It sounds more like modern-day snobs. And, the coup de gras...if she uses one exclamation point, she uses a thousand! Rather than describe the emotions of speaker, she uses this punctuation! Even the narration uses it! I wonder if Ms. Harbaugh shouts a lot in real life!! If so, that must become quite tiresome!
This story could have been quite cute. The solitary and sensitive Parsifal falling in love with the lovely Bella and finding that she feels the same about him. But the supernatural twist did not work. Additionally, the villain, the Duke of Stratton, was not realistic at all. I'm supposed to believe that a person of education would believe that having sex with a virgin will cure him of an STD? Oh, please. Also, he was way over-the-top evil. I half expected him to start twirling his moustache.
Could these characters possibly blush more? They spend the entire book with red faces. I've never seen anyone blush that much, and I'm a medical professional.
And, finally, the sex. This book remains very clean and proper throughout Parsifal and Annabella's courting. The epilogue has them screwing like rabbits. Now, I enjoy reading a good "roll in the hay" book, but it really should be consistent throughout.
Oh, and before I finish, who the hell is that in the background on the front cover? He's watching our two heroes and scratching his chin. Also, Annabelle never wore that dress to a masquerade. Who drew this cover? Probably someone lucky enough to have not read the book!
October 11, 2025
Our hero is called Parsifal, which is the worst name ever, happily he hates it too. He's your nice, average doormat guy in love with the girl next door estate Annabel. Annabel doesn't really know he exists. She knows their neighbours got 2 sons, she's seen the younger son somewhere, sometime... Was he that guy at that place?
Enter the Duke who is rich, handsome, titled and interested in Annabel. Mom and dad are ecstatic, Annabel not so much. And then because of reasons Annabel gets repeatedly thrown together with Parsifal, the not so rich, not so handsome, not at all titled guy next door.
Its got a bit of a fairytale, mystery, magic feel so you gotta roll with it. Its not realistic but I liked it. There were a quite few points in which the author really surprised me in a good way by not going down the usual trope that I expected. I also liked that although Parsifal starts out as a doormat to his family he very quickly and naturally becomes more assertive without turning into a completely different person.
On the downside the villain makes no sense. Not to spoil he does the equivalent of hiring an arsonist to burn down the house he wants to inherit. The writing was very simple and the scenes at time cartoony. Its a fairytale. Roll with it :)
Its clean-ish but for those who want their clean really, really clean:
Pet peeve: Kindle edition cover. The hero is described as dark skinned, with shoulder length wavy/curly hair, not older than 25. I got the impression he took after some Spanish ancestors. The young man on the kindle cover is asian and doesn't fit the description.
Enter the Duke who is rich, handsome, titled and interested in Annabel. Mom and dad are ecstatic, Annabel not so much. And then because of reasons Annabel gets repeatedly thrown together with Parsifal, the not so rich, not so handsome, not at all titled guy next door.
Its got a bit of a fairytale, mystery, magic feel so you gotta roll with it. Its not realistic but I liked it. There were a quite few points in which the author really surprised me in a good way by not going down the usual trope that I expected. I also liked that although Parsifal starts out as a doormat to his family he very quickly and naturally becomes more assertive without turning into a completely different person.
On the downside the villain makes no sense. Not to spoil he does the equivalent of hiring an arsonist to burn down the house he wants to inherit. The writing was very simple and the scenes at time cartoony. Its a fairytale. Roll with it :)
Its clean-ish but for those who want their clean really, really clean:
Pet peeve: Kindle edition cover. The hero is described as dark skinned, with shoulder length wavy/curly hair, not older than 25. I got the impression he took after some Spanish ancestors. The young man on the kindle cover is asian and doesn't fit the description.
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