A Tangled Web

The Hartford Ladies #3

by Donna Bell

To escape her mother's demands that she find a husband, Sincerity Hartford concocts a fictitious courtship with Sir Simon McKendrick. But when the surprised war hero hears of their purported engagement, Sincerity must convince him to join her charade...and the more they make believe, the more she really loses her heart

Genres: Regency

224 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2001

About the author

Donna Bell lives in Texas with her husband, three dogs, and a cat. She enjoys quilting and reading when not writing. She has been writing all her life and still has stories written when she was in second grade. She has also written under the name of Julia Parks.

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I realized I was about to end 2014 without having read a single Regency, which I've been reading since I was 12 and all of my family including my grandfather used to share around Marion Chesney books. I picked up 10 or so for a couple of dollars at annual used book sale in my town, so I went and fished though them trying to find one that sounded appealing for a quick read, and I ended up being really delighted by this one. The situation is farcical but the author is clearly aware of this and writes around it with a delightfully sharp edge. The characters are good, I could practically feel Sincerity's desperation for independence. The dialogue isn't consistently good, but it's never awful, and the plot overall was funny and appealing. I'm always happy when my quest for something that's light and fluffy turns up a book that is not only that, but passably well-written. Now I'm going to go reexamine my stack and see if I picked up any other Donna Bell books.

[Jan · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you enjoy Lucille Ball, this is probably for you. She is too much of a nitwit--abandoned mid-book!