A Chance Encounter

by Emily Hendrickson

Rescued from the carriage accident that killed her guardian, Felicia Brooks hopes that her handsome savior, Henry, Lord Chessyre, can restore the inheritance out of which she has been cheated, without himself stealing her heart. Original.

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

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Doris Emily Hendrickson lives in Reno, Nevada, with her husband, a retired airline pilot. Of all the many places she has traveled around the world, England is her favorite, and the most natural choice as the setting for her novels. In addition to her Regency romances, she has written a Regency Reference Book.

She is also the recipient of the Romantic Times award for the Best Regency of 1993 for Elizabeth's Rake and the Colorado Romance Writers 1997 Award of Excellence for The Debonair Duke. She is a nominee for the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for Regency Romance.

Emily also enjoys stamps and stamping, and several of her flower designs, originally created for bookmarks for her Regencies, have been made into stamps.

Many of my books were re-published in England by Robert Hale Publishing House of London. My publisher requested that I use three pseudonyms for my English hard cover books. I chose the names: Emily Hendrickson, Emily Johnson, and Emily Harland.

Reviews

[Mary23nm · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Chance Encounter is usually the type of romance that I love. It had a good premise, but the delivery was very dry. Things started out well enough, but the slowly building romance wasn't the focus of the story. It became all about a play the characters became involved with and several other characters were introduced. The solving of the mystery of the heroine's inheritance came too slowly. Throw in a couple of murder attempts and then the hero proposes at the end. Up until that point, the heroine isn't really sure of his feelings at all. 2.5 stars, rounded to 3

[QNPoohBear · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot focuses more on the gothic than the romantic. As a result, I just didn't feel the romance between the two characters. The story is told mainly from Felicia's point of view, so that also added to the lack of chemistry between the two characters. Most of their interactions involve him wanting to protect her and her confused feelings for him. I preferred Lady Emma's story line. She's a woman who knows what she wants and goes after it, even if she is slightly unconventional. She made me chuckle a bit and relieved the tension of the gothic plot. There was too much going on and I often forgot that Felicia's uncle had told her that she had been cheated. The book isn't very tightly written but it's a quick, light read if you like the more traditional Regency plot. There a few kisses and chaste touching, nothing more.

Note: see pictures of Felicia's bed chamber at the official Strawberry Hill website.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This regency had a more gothic feel to it as the heroine's uncle stole her inheritance and there are mysterious attempts on her life. Unfortunately there was no chemistry between them, they don't actually interact very much and a lot of their interactions are told not shown so it fell far short in the romance department.

[Malvika Jaswal · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of a lady thrown on difficult times and finding a rescuer in a handsome young man. The formula is same but the writing is neat and well done. The heroine is not unnecessarily cloying or clinging. The twist at the end was fun even if the most macabre happenings were parcelled in perfect British behaviour.

[Donnalee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly good

[Sylvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Regency