Lanterns

Sanguinet Saga #10

by Patricia Veryan

AN ABANDONED ESTATE, A MYSTERIOUS STRANGER, AND A LADY DRAWN IRRESISTIBLY TO INTRIGUE!

As spirited as she is penniless, living sparingly on the dilapidated estate called Lanterns, Marietta Warrington is the backbone of a large family whose fortune has been gambled away. Then she becomes drawn to a devilishly attractive stranger with a notorious reputation.

How could a man able to gaze into her eyes with such love be a liar . . . even a murderer? The answer lies in a tangled web of mystery and danger, in a legacy of stolen treasure and family treachery, and in the truths that inhabit that most wondrous the human heart. . . .

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

328 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 1, 1996

About the author

Patricia Valeria Bannister was born in London. After World War II, she married Allan Louis Berg and moved to the United States; she lived on the West Coast and was the author of many historical novels from 1978 until 2002, using the pen names Patricia Veryan and Gwyneth Moore.

At the time of her death, she was living in Bellevue, Washington, USA.

Reviews

[Mela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Diccon! What a wonderful story of him. Now I want to read the previous part (those with him as an important character), just to see it from another perspective. And he was himself to the end, like e.g. Damon in Love's Duet.

I also appreciated the consistency of the characters of Eric and Sir Lionel.

Perfectly balanced action scenes with other parts, especially with those hilarious (I wasn't tempted to skip or skim).

And, of course, Arthur and the cat.

At one point I found Marietta's reasoning - about supposedly spying for a salary or for money for a family - annoying and stupid, but, well, let's say she was rationalizing her hurt pride.

[4.5-5 stars]

[Abi Demina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main problem with these books are the absolutely terrible covers. These are not bodice ripper books that I should be embarrassed to be seen reading, they are very well written regency romances with adventure and a great deal of humour.

I enjoyed this one a great deal, especially because it involves a slightly mad aunt who masquerades as a fortune teller and spends her days sipping tea in a parlour full of mannequins she pretends are her friends from town, and an endearing five year old brother who loves adventure and wants to be Sir Lancelot.

Fun stuff.

[Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

“ok - not sure if i liked it or not --- an awful lot of intrigue like in her Georgian period books. And definitely did not like him losing his arm at the end. Maybe a bit more evil in her stories than I am usually wishing for...”

[Tweety · Rating 5 out of 5]

Way better the second time around and in order!

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't care for the ending or the villains, but Arthur, Diccon and Marietta were splendid characters I loved reading for a few days.

[Frances · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my opinion, the best book of this series so far. Every character was well developed. There was humor, conversation, well constructed plot, and enough. Interesting twists to keep me entertained. This time through the series I kept a list of characters and plot. Essential to this author is that you read her books in order and keep track of the characters.

[Phylisha Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good well written regency romance that reads like a regency! I will be looking for other books by this author.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quirky and fun story.

[A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have one word. Diccon. The mysterious, serious, no back-story whatsoever spy has his own book. And it does him justice, I must say. Our nasty villain Imre Montiel is back (with his giant Chinese sumo-wrestler guy) for revenge. Which, I must say without spoiling anything, was foiled in a most hilarious way. Genius, Veryan, genius.