Cupid's Calendar

by Norma Lee Clark

Is it too late for love?

Although she is only 25, lovely Lady Ursula Liddiard is resigned to her single state. Little does Ursula dream that Cupid has his own calendar for love's ripening--and soon she faces the daunting decision of which temptation to resist.

Genres: Regency, Historical, Regency Romance

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 7, 1992

About the author

Pseudonym: Megan O'Connor

Born in Jefferson City, Missouri, Clark began her career in show business with the Pittsburgh Children’s Theater and later acted at the Rochester Arena Theater. In the late 1940s, she moved to New York to take the female lead in the Buck Rogers TV series, “Captain Video and His Video Ranger,” which ran 1949 to 1955.

Her marriage to lighting designer David Clark ended in divorce.

She is survived by husband, Dimitri Vassilopoulos, her two daughters, Megan Clark and Emily Carvajal, and two grandchildren.

Reviews

[Linda (NOT RECEIVING NOTIFICATIONS) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lady Ursula Liddiard, at five and twenty, had devoted her life to taking care of her elderly mother. She had been a caustic, self-centered woman and it took its toll on her daughter. Ursula missed out on opportunities to marry someone and start a family because of her demonstrative parent.

It had been a week since her mother's death and Ursula desperately wanted to move on. Her older brother, Rupert, had paid her a visit expecting his sister to take over the care of his young son. He tried to play on her sympathies. Ursula's answer was a firm 'no'.

"Rupert, if you want the word with no bark on it, I am not bereaved. I am freed!"

She soon leaves to visit her dear childhood friend: the empathetic and sweet Lady India Youngreaves and her loving husband, Robert. Along the way she meets Lord Henry Somerton, someone she had feelings for when she was very young. He is interested but Ursula flees. Then Lord Henry has an accident and is injured; Ursula finds him unconscious on the side of the road and takes him to her friend's estate to seek medical care.

I fell in love with the storyline until about 2/3's of the way in.

There was the dreaded Big Misunderstanding and, for me, the romance took a dive until the very last page. I am still giving CUPID'S CALENDAR a very, VERY generous three stars because I enjoy Ms. Clark's style of writing and I will continue to look for her other books.

[Catsalive · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely Lady Ursula Liddiard was resigned to her single state. Though she was but five-and-twenty, the world of romance had passed her by during years spent nursing her ailing mother. What man could possibly want her now? Certainly not the infinitely attractive Lord Henry Somerton, who had ignored her when she was in the bloom of youth. And just as certainly not the divinely handsome Sir Tarquin Rochdale, who had his pick of the marriage mart.

Little did Ursula dream that Cupid had his own calendar for love's ripening - and that she would face the daunting decision of which temptation somehow to resist... and which to risk her unconditional surrender...

A nice tale, if a little silly. Ursula Liddiard is a likeable character, although a bit slow on the uptake, & the supporting characters are entertaining, particularly her bosom bow, India. Henry & Tarquin are both good men, & there are no absolute cads for a change. Miss Blanche Vernon is the villain of the piece & one must hope that she will change her ways or her life will be a miserable, friendless one.

[LemontreeLime · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super adorable old school regency. I love how the majority of the characters dithered around protecting each other's feelings and avoiding saying anything directly unless under duress.

[Claire S · Rating 4 out of 5]

This will not be a very comprehensive review but just some thoughts on the book. Lady Ursula has been nursing her sick and difficult mother for five year until the mother finally dies. Ursula is more relieved than grieved since she can now move on with her life (she is 25) and decides to visit her only friend, India. On the way there, she sees someone at an inn whom she met when she came out about 6 or 7 years before and very much admired, although he doesn't remember her. Upon the continuation of the journey, she finds him after he suffers an accident and takes him to recuperate at her friend's house and they get to know each other.

At first, I was afraid this would be one of those stories where a naïve/sheltered woman has had a tendre for someone all her life and goes on to being completely overcome by him. So I was very surprised when she shows herself to be very level headed and not at all desperately in love. This was a sensible person who maintained her cool while interacting and getting to know Lord Henry. What impressed me the most is that most of the characters were actually very nice. The other love interest was sweet and I felt sorry for him when Ursula dismissed him. I also appreciated the relationship between India and her husband, Robert. They had a beautiful partnership and he was very kind to Ursula. Another surprise was Ursula's brother. He felt awkward with her in the beginning of the book, and I thought he would be one of those who would complaint about her unmarried status and having to take care of her. However, he actually cared for Ursula and ended up having a stronger bond with her at the end of the book. Finally, Ursula and India's relationship was all one could want in a friendship (no jealousy or pettiness just a strong bond and lots of love).

The only "villains" of the story were Robert's cousin, who was certainly a piece of work and, in a different way, Robert's mom. At first I thought the cousin would get away with a sort of happy ending (done intentionally by the author) but she does get her comeuppance. The mother gets put in her place as well. My main issues were that Lady Ursula and Lord Henry did not spend as much time together as I thought they should in order to develop their relationship and feelings and the ending, when they get together, was super short. It was sweet but it was not even a page long and subdued. I was hoping for stronger emotions and a bit more time with them.

I was unsure if I would rate the book 3 or 4 stars but, ultimately, the strength of all the characters and their relationships elevated it to me (bonus points for a nice, non-rakish male protagonist).

[Nightwitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Traditional regency, told from a variety of perspectives - not just the hero and heroine's but friends and family also - with less of a love triangle than the back cover copy would suggest. Extremely predictable, and virtually no time spent to developing the romance; apparently it's really far more important that we spend a lot of time watching the villainess try, and fail, to attract the attention of all the men who have fallen in love with the heroine, and eventually get her comeuppance. For all that, it's not particularly mean-spirited and the heroine's happily-married best friend and her husband play significant roles in the book. Undemanding and unsurprising.