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The Unlikely Rivals
Regency fiction.
217 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 3, 1981
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 5 reviews
August 4, 2019
DNF - Bored and forgot about it. I started reading this 6 years ago lol.
Considering these lesser known paperbacks are harder to get one's paws on - every dud is rather annoying!
Considering these lesser known paperbacks are harder to get one's paws on - every dud is rather annoying!
April 5, 2015
Saskia Van Hooten has enough to do looking after her romance novelist mother and 4 younger siblings so when her eccentric great-aunt demands Saskia come to Bath, Saskia goes reluctantly, hoping her aunt will make Saskia her heir. Derek Rowbridge spent his life at sea fighting the French and now a half-pay officer, he has little money to pay off his father and grandfather's enormous gambling debts. He's not afraid of hard work, but when he receives a summons from a previously unknown great-aunt, he has hopes for some money coming his way. When he encounters Saskia at an inn on the road to Bath, he feels self-conscious about his shabbiness and thinks Saskia is haughty. She thinks he's a rudesby for noticing her noticing him and he insulted the Dutch besides! Sparks fly when they discover they share the same eccentric great-aunt. Their aunt, who has traveled the world and outlived three husbands, is bored in Bath and wants the young people to go sleuthing and discover how she can purchase Rowbridge Manor, her family's ancestral home. The house was purchases years ago by a mysterious Mr. Banks who refuses to sell. Saskia's hands are full escorting her sister Beatrix, the new belle of Bath and crossing verbal swords with Derek whenever they meet. Yet when Derek begins paying a lot of attention to Trix, Saskia feels strange. What can this feeling be? When Derek's Captain pays court to Saskia, he finds himself facing an enemy worse than the French - jealousy. Saskia could never marry a penniless man like Derek so he should just set his feelings aside and hope to win his aunt's money.
This is a really cute story. I borrowed it from openlibrary.org and I am glad I did. The writing style is very good. It flows smoothly and the plot goes along at a good pace. It's super predictable but even so, I wanted to know how it turned out and stayed up late to finish. There are a lot of Pride and Prejudice references and a clergyman who rivals Mr. Collins in absurdity. What I especially like about the story is Saskia's Dutch heritage. Though I was unfamiliar with many of the terms, the inclusion of Dutch phrases, pet names and foods made the story so real.
The characters are near to being top-notch. I'm not sure they're long-lasting memorable but I enjoyed them. I loved Saskia's cozy, crazy family. They were all so unique and yet they love each other. Trix is a little too Jane Bennet kind for me but she's sweet and I wouldn't want to exclude her from the plot. Saskia is a tart-tongued, outspoken young lady who compares herself to Elizabeth Bennet. She's not quite as nice as Elizabeth. She's proud and headstrong at times. I liked her though despite her faults. They made her seem more real and gave the romance some spark. Derek is also proud and honorable. He's a little stuffy at first but he has a sense of humor and he's very kind. I especially loved the eccentric aunt. She was quite a surprise and very funny though she has a bit of a cruel sense of humor. I also loved Cornelia, Saskia's mother, who writes romance novels to support the family. She's a little vague but funny. Jannie, the Dutch housekeeper, has a small role but I liked her immensely. She adds warmth and heart to the story and provides Saskia with a mother figure. The fact she speaks only Dutch makes the family unit seem more realistic and more cozy because they use Dutch pet names with Jannie. Opa is a bit of a stock character. Nothing about him surprised me at all except for the initial introduction.
This is one of the better early Regencies and an unknown one. I highly recommend it to those who like classic Regency love stories, Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer.
This is a really cute story. I borrowed it from openlibrary.org and I am glad I did. The writing style is very good. It flows smoothly and the plot goes along at a good pace. It's super predictable but even so, I wanted to know how it turned out and stayed up late to finish. There are a lot of Pride and Prejudice references and a clergyman who rivals Mr. Collins in absurdity. What I especially like about the story is Saskia's Dutch heritage. Though I was unfamiliar with many of the terms, the inclusion of Dutch phrases, pet names and foods made the story so real.
The characters are near to being top-notch. I'm not sure they're long-lasting memorable but I enjoyed them. I loved Saskia's cozy, crazy family. They were all so unique and yet they love each other. Trix is a little too Jane Bennet kind for me but she's sweet and I wouldn't want to exclude her from the plot. Saskia is a tart-tongued, outspoken young lady who compares herself to Elizabeth Bennet. She's not quite as nice as Elizabeth. She's proud and headstrong at times. I liked her though despite her faults. They made her seem more real and gave the romance some spark. Derek is also proud and honorable. He's a little stuffy at first but he has a sense of humor and he's very kind. I especially loved the eccentric aunt. She was quite a surprise and very funny though she has a bit of a cruel sense of humor. I also loved Cornelia, Saskia's mother, who writes romance novels to support the family. She's a little vague but funny. Jannie, the Dutch housekeeper, has a small role but I liked her immensely. She adds warmth and heart to the story and provides Saskia with a mother figure. The fact she speaks only Dutch makes the family unit seem more realistic and more cozy because they use Dutch pet names with Jannie. Opa is a bit of a stock character. Nothing about him surprised me at all except for the initial introduction.
This is one of the better early Regencies and an unknown one. I highly recommend it to those who like classic Regency love stories, Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer.
June 19, 2011
Pleasant Heyeresque regency set mostly in and around Bath. The heroine is half Dutch which adds a little spice and there are some splendid eccentric secondary characters. The hero's called Derek though...
October 25, 2019
Traditional Regency romance - kisses only, at the very end of the book. Unfortunately not much chemistry between the romantic lead characters, and the plot is ridiculous.
Alan Cass, the cover's painter, knows how to draw very attractive, sexy people in elegant Regency settings (and Signet probably sold a lot of romances with his covers), but he had very little understanding of Regency dress norms for women. A proper Regency lady like the heroine of this book would NEVER have worn a dress like the one on this book's cover, with bare shoulders and evidently no undergarments.
Alan Cass, the cover's painter, knows how to draw very attractive, sexy people in elegant Regency settings (and Signet probably sold a lot of romances with his covers), but he had very little understanding of Regency dress norms for women. A proper Regency lady like the heroine of this book would NEVER have worn a dress like the one on this book's cover, with bare shoulders and evidently no undergarments.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 5 reviews