If you enjoyed ‘Curricle and Chaise’, ‘A Devilishly Difficult Decision’ or ‘Mr Forster’s Fortune’ then you should certainly enjoy ‘A Dashing Sort of a Blade’, with its handsome young hero, its procession of memorable characters, and some sparkling conversations which move the storyline along. After the rather quirky ‘Sovereigns’ Summer’ we return, in ‘A Dashing Sort of a Blade’ to the more mainstream approach of ‘traditional’ Regency romances in which the hopes and fears of everyday life are played-out in a world long-since gone.
I can't quite make up my mind about this. The syntax is both fairly awesome and kind of a gimmick. I found myself needing to subvocalize to make some of it clear, yet I enjoyed the effort and result.
I think it was a great idea for a story that the author herself is probably capable of pulling off better than she did. So I rate it highly for her effort and potential. But I would like to see it made stronger than it is in character development and plot progression, and a little more consistent. There's value to be found in it. And it has a lot of wit, but that wit could be...more evenly distributed?