テムズの恋人たち

Westham-Brentwood #2

by Kasey Michaels

孤児だったアミーリアはキャロライン皇太子妃の養子となり、その後はコンパニオンとしてずっと生活をともにしてきた。ところが、キャロラインに思いがけず離婚話が持ち上がり、二人の周囲にはにわかに危険な雰囲気が漂い始める。そんななか、キャロラインの熱狂的な支持者だというペリー・シェパード伯爵が面会を求めてきた。上品な物腰と、端整な顔立ちをした、なんてすてきな男性なのかしら。アミーリアはひと目でペリーに惹かれたものの、ペリーがある目的を持って彼女に近づいたとは想像もつかなかった。

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Fiction, Regency

362 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 15, 2005

About the author

Kasey Michaels is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 100 books (she doesn't count them). Kasey has received three coveted Starred Reviews from Publishers Weekly, two for the historical romances, THE SECRETS OF THE HEART and THE BUTLER DID IT, and a third for contemporary romance LOVE TO LOVE YOU BABY (that shows diversity, you see). She is a recipient of the RITA, a Waldenbooks and Bookrak Bestseller award, and many awards from Romantic Times magazine, including a Career Achievement award for her Regency era historical romances. She is an Honor Roll author in Romance Writers of America, Inc. (RWA)

Kasey has appeared on the TODAY show, and was the subject of a Lifetime Cable TV show "A Better Way," in conjunction with Good Housekeeping magazine, a program devoted to women and how they have achieved career success in the midst of motherhood (short version: "with great difficulty").

A highly praised nonfiction book, written as Kathryn Seidick, "...OR YOU CAN LET HIM GO," details the story of Kasey and her family during the time of her eldest son's first kidney transplant.

Kasey has written Regency romances, Regency historicals, category books including novellas and continuities and a few series "launch" books, and single title contemporaries. She has coped with time travel, ghosts, trilogies, the dark side, the very light side, and just about everything in between. Hers is also the twisted mind behind her ongoing Maggie Kelly mystery series starring a former romance writer turned historical mystery writer whose gorgeous hunk of a fictional hero shows up, live and in color, in her Manhattan living room – to melt her knees, to help her solve murders, and to leave the top off her toothpaste. And, says Kasey, she's just getting started!

Series:
* His Chariot Awaits
* Lion On the Prowl
* Crown Family
* London Friends
* Chandlers Request
* The Trehan Brothers
* Maggie Kelly Mystery
* Romney Marsh
* Sunshine Girls

Reviews

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical romance.

[Sue F · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun and slightly different Regency romance…

Although I mostly read murder mysteries, I am a fan of a good Regency romance from time to time, and Kasey Michaels has written a really fun one in Shall We Dance? Most Regencies just take place during that early 1800s time period and refer to the future King George IV (Prinney) and his wife Princess/Queen Caroline in passing. This one, though, features Caroline as a central character, recently returned to England after the death of Prinney’s father, and caught up in intrigue far beyond her ability to manage. But in spite of (or perhaps because of) that intrigue, some amusing couples in her entourage manage to find happiness. And a couple of villains get their comeuppance too.

There is a tinge of sadness woven throughout the story, because any good Regency reader knows that thing aren’t going to work out well for Caroline. But that is offset by Michaels’ humorous story-telling, and by a bittersweet but satisfying epilogue. And there’s also an author’s note at the end that provides some much-appreciated historical background. All-in-all, I found Shall We Dance? to be an engaging and enjoyable romance, and I’m now going to go hunt down Michaels’ book, The Butler Did It, in which Percy Shepherd is introduced. And my thanks to the author, who made review copies of Shall We Dance? available to readers of her newsletter.

[Emily Stafford]

Nothing's ever straight

I do believe royal politics are worse than regular ones. Cute game Perry & the Queen played about his dancing. If the Queen hadn't realized Amelia had fallen for Perry I wonder if she would have announced that Amelia was her daughter & the English heir. Loved Aunt Rowena's play on a bird causing the Queen's death; i.e., Mrs. Pigeon.

[Mindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a complimentary copy for an honest review. While the book was enjoyable, and humorous, in all honesty, the beginning was a bit difficult to get into. The many characters were introduced in short scenes that seemed rather disconnected, initially. Once the threads started to sort themselves out, the plot emerged, and the book became another rollicking hit.

[Elena Micheli · Rating 2 out of 5]

noioso

[Louise Broadfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

i liked the couple in this book better then the last one. im glady the villain from the last book is gone. i feel so sorry for the queen. i got a little bored near the end but otherwise i enjoyed it.

[BJ Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved The Butler Did It and was looking for more of the same amusing read with this sequel. After a slow start, it was really enjoyable for a good part of the book when spies -professional and otherwise - were coming out of the woodwork. There was a sweet young-romance between secondary characters, and the bittersweet romance of the main characters, and the farce of the somewhat-factual public battle between the King and the Queen Consort he wanted to divorce. But it lost something along the way, and dropped from "I really liked it" to a blander "I liked it" feeling by the end.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a companion to The Butler Did It and tells the story of Perry Shepherd, Earl of Brentwood.
I did not like this story as well as the previous one. I find the whole idea of a secret daughter of Queen Caroline and Prinny to be absurd. The marital strife between the two has been explored in at least one other regency romance I've read lately (The Book of Scandal by Julia London).
It was an annoying plot device in that book as well.

[Karen Desmond · Rating 2 out of 5]

2

[Frances · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining

It's fast paced and filled with peril of all sorts. It's classic Kasey Michaels I look forward to reading the next book.