That Would Be A Fairytale

by Amanda Grange

When poverty forces Cicely to sell her family manor house, she is devastated to find that the new owner is a businessman who doesn't love the beautiful home as it should be loved. She is determined to dislike him, but when circumstances force her to take a job as his secretary her feelings begin to change. Alex Evington is handsome, charming and...a mystery. Why has he really bought Oakleigh Manor, and why is he hosting a sparkling house party there? Why is he so determined to dislike Cicely? And when his feelings towards her change, can there be a fairy tale ending for them both?

Set in the glamorous Edwardian period - the era of Downton Abbey - this charming romance has all the hallmarks readers have come to expect from Amanda Grange: humour, adventure and most of all romance, with a guaranteed happy ending.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Edwardian, Historical Fiction, Ebooks

169 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Amanda Grange was born in Yorkshire and spent her teenage years reading Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer whilst also finding time to study music at Nottingham University. She has had twenty-five novels published including six Jane Austen retellings, which look at events from the heroes' points of view. She has also had two books published under different names: Murder at Whitegates Manor (as Eleanor Tyler; a Regency cosy crime murder mystery) and The Rake (as Amy Watson; a very light and frothy Regency romance).

Woman said of Mr Darcy's Diary: "Lots of fun, this is the tale behind the alpha male," whilst The Washington Post called Mr Knightley's Diary "affectionate". The Historical Novels Review made Captain Wentworth's Diary an Editors' Choice, remarking, "Amanda Grange has hit upon a winning formula."

Austenblog declared that Colonel Brandon's Diary was "the best book yet in her series of heroes' diaries."

Amanda Grange now lives in Cheshire. Her profile photo was taken at the Jane Austen House Museum, Chawton. The museum is well worth a visit!

You can find out more by visiting her website at http://www.amandagrange.com You can also follow her on Twitter @hromanceuk and find her on Facebook

Reviews

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite one yet! And as I have only one left to read I do not think it will be overtaken!
This was a perfect read for me! :D

To sum up my opinion...
if you want a light, amusing, fun, charming, romantic easy to read but intriguing (and not without its drama) story set in a lovely time period, beautifully described and in detail, then this is a great choice - it will brighten up a gloomy afternoon or even improve an already great afternoon! Definitely a re-read before too long!

And now in detail, a lot I fear ;D
Firstly, comedy! It was hilarious! There were some hilarious incidents (starting from page 2!) and some hilarious conversations, especially between the hero and heroine!

Secondly, romance! The most romantic of her books, in my opinion! The romantic encounters were .... *sigh* enough said! It even satisfied my romantic needs (whilst, importantly for me, remaining clean!) - which are very high! And the ending could not have been more perfect (apart from the fact that it ended!)

Thirdly, fun! It was a really fun book! The incidents were fun and many of the scenes were fun! The conversations between the hero and heroine, or often arguments!, were just so... (you will never guess!) fun!

Fourthly, the story! If not as mysterious as her others it still had its twists and turns. Although it all was not as serious as her others, (which was nice and made it more funny!) there was still drama! Some romantically dramatic incidents and some action filled moments!

Fifthly, the characters! I LOVED the characters in this one. The hero and heroine firstly. A very crushable hero - I now have a crush on him - with a great sense of humour, but also great passion lurking behind. And then the heroine was great! So strong willed and the relationship between the two was great - a traditional hate turned love but with interesting and different reasons why the hatred (on both sides) and how the prejudices and problems are removed. It was hilarious to see those two argue, neither holding back in saying what they were thinking!
And then there is the secondary characters! Cicely's best friend Alice was a lovely character, as were her aunt and cousin Sophie from later in the book. My favourite secondary character had to be Lord Chuffington aka Chuff Chuff! He was great! Loved the language used by him and I could picture him vividly in my head!

Lastly, (I knew this would be a long review and should stop now!) the setting. I had been reading lots of regency set stories and then suddenly plumbing and motor cars appeared on the scene! But it was a refreshing change and, just as in her regencies, Amanda Grange has caught the time period perfectly and it was so interesting to read! I also love her style, almost like a script. This allows me to imagine it going on in my head and picturing everything which I always love! That way I can be there, in the story! (or on many occasions imagine myself being the heroine Cicely! ;) )

If you have read all this review, thanks, but I wouldn't be surprised if not ;)
Basically, read it! (if my summing up of my opinion sounds like what you are looking for!)
:D

[Jakayla Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a wonderful tale told in the olden days, but not to old. it tells the stories of cicely, a hong duchess who looses her estate. and a dashing young Alex Hamilton, a business man, or "cit" as cicely would say. They both are determined to hate each other but after a few close calls and electric sparks between the two of them they are attracted to each other. It goes on to tell of the adventures they go through to be together, in the end, Its a Fairy Tale.

[Melissa’s Bookshelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another cute story by Amanda Grange. This novel was set in the Edwardian period in England. It's a fun, clean romance with a hint of mystery. I really like this author's style of writing. She seems to capture the time periods she writes in very well. I could easily picture the Manor and loved the characters, especially the quirky Chuff Chuff.

[Annalea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars for a great story concept. But if Ms. Grange were my English student, we'd need to sit down and have a good, long session with a red pencil. This is a nice story, with a LOT of untapped potential. With more work, this could be a tremendous book. I really like the time period, and after a long regency kick, having a heroine that can go about on her own without getting into hot water is a breath of fresh air. ;-) As it stands, it's a nice read, and stays fairly well within the realms of chastity. It felt like a screenplay, the way things kept working out so smoothly . . . but there were a lot of things I would have loved to see more clearly. The Honorable Martin Goss, for example. While a prime element of the story, he's only described at the very end--you just hear a little about his character and light fingers until then. And there were moments in the story glossed over that I would have loved to read a good half page (or more) about. I would love, though, to sit down with the author and go over the manuscript to bring the quality of the writing and the coherence of the story up where it could be. So, with those things in mind, enjoy. :-)

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cicely must sell her families estate upon her fathers death to cover his debts and now live in lesser circumstances in a cottage on the estate although she is still very much a lady. Her attorney arranges for the sale with an Alex Hamilton, no better off than a tradesman as Cicely views him and is determined to hate a man who buys an estate without seeing it himself. Alex doesn't like society classes due to how they treated his sister when she was in servitude but seems attracted to Cicely. Both attracted to the other but determined to hate each other. Although they are thrown into each others company often as Cicely needs to assist him in establishing himself in the community and to act his part in society. She learns the true reason behind the estate purchase and he learns she is not a spoiled lady in society that he hates. A kiss leads to heartache while they each try to discern the others true feelings and the plan Alex has to restore his sisters reputation will have them working together to catch a thief. Fun tale!

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the characters and the plot. It was a little simplistic (not alot of real witty dialogue) but it was fun nonetheless. I enjoyed that the main characters just really didn't know how the other one felt until the very end when they were forced to have a real conversation about things. I liked the depth and emotion that Alex Evington showed toward the end of the book. I also enjoyed the mystery of how to catch a jewel thief. An easy read but worth it.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars because I like this author and enjoyed the story but this definitely was not her best writing. Too much telling, not enough showing; too many unnecessary explanations and descriptions. I did like the more independent heroine though. After reading dozens of Regencies in the past few months, the Edwardian era is a nice change of pace. What a difference 100 years can make! And then again, how things stay the same in many ways. This book had a lot of potential just needed more work.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good one by this author. The only reason I gave it 3 stars instead of 4 is because she did use the "B" word in it two times towards the end of the novel.

Other than that, good, clean, fun romance.

[Gerrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually read this as a Kindle book under its new title That Would Be A Fairytale. It was a delightful book in many ways, and I would give it a solid 3.5 stars.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had GREAT parts and boring parts. The story line was good but the road was bumpy.

[Dyea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. A Sweet love story in the Edwardian Era .

[Madison · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a pretty good book, similar to Grange's other books. But an easy and enjoyable read.

[Deanna Stanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you can ignore the historical inaccuracies, you're left with characters that aren't interesting and a contrived climax. Not awful, just meh.

[Mimi]

Published on Kindle as "That Would Be a Fairy Tale."