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The Regency Matchmaker #1
The Blue Devil
In her impressive first novel, Skinner introduces Miss Kathryn St. David, newly arrived in London for a season under her formidable aunt Ophelia's patronage. Her first surprise is a masked ball in her honor. And the second is dashingly handsome -- and impossibly forward -- Nigel Moorhaven, Marquis of Blackshire. An intriguing mystery and a case of mistaken identities round out this delightful Regency tale.
271 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
September 28, 2012
Don’t you hate it when you go through and type up a nice review and then your computer dies and you lose everything? I was literally just seconds away from hitting save too. Oh well, that’s not really relevant to the story or my review, I just had to vent.
I liked this, I liked the characters and there were some nice moments. I even liked the plot, even though there were a couple weak elements, they were easily overlooked. What I didn’t like was the overwhelming amount of details. I just felt bogged down at times with overly descriptive passages; I ended up doing quite a bit of skimming. The parts I didn’t skim were good, but again there was just too much. It’s a pet-peeve of mine when characters conversations are interrupted by superfluous amounts of inner thought. Anyway, another slight problem I had with the story was the huge focus on our heroine age. Kathryn is three and twenty (had to do it Regency style), but at some points passes as fourteen. Really? Look, I have a young face and have had people guess my age to be younger than what I am (which I don’t mind at all). So, I could relate to Kathryn being thought younger than 23. But fourteen was a big stretch for me. And, while she is supposed to be this schoolroom miss, our hero has the hots for her. True, he thinks she is sixteen and is kind of freaked out by his attraction and is later relieved when he learns she is eighteen (she does a lot of age jumping, but her real age is 23), but still it was just weird for me. The only reason I am even bothering to mention the characters ages is because it is something that is talked about a LOT in the book. There were a few other things that bothered me, but I’m too tired to re-write all my thoughts. So, I’ll just say that overall I liked it and I’ll probably pick up the sequel.
Content: Pretty clean (see below), I did some skimming though so I might have missed something. There is no sex, but there is some innuendo. There is also mild swearing.
Kathy’s New Content Rating Scale
Squeaky Clean: No sex, chaste kissing if any.
Clean: No sex or behind closed doors, kissing.
Pretty clean: No sex or “fade to black”, mild innuendo and kissing.
Sketchy clean: No sex or left more to the imagination. Innuendo and passionate kissing.
Not clean: On screen sex or overly descriptive innuendo.
I liked this, I liked the characters and there were some nice moments. I even liked the plot, even though there were a couple weak elements, they were easily overlooked. What I didn’t like was the overwhelming amount of details. I just felt bogged down at times with overly descriptive passages; I ended up doing quite a bit of skimming. The parts I didn’t skim were good, but again there was just too much. It’s a pet-peeve of mine when characters conversations are interrupted by superfluous amounts of inner thought. Anyway, another slight problem I had with the story was the huge focus on our heroine age. Kathryn is three and twenty (had to do it Regency style), but at some points passes as fourteen. Really? Look, I have a young face and have had people guess my age to be younger than what I am (which I don’t mind at all). So, I could relate to Kathryn being thought younger than 23. But fourteen was a big stretch for me. And, while she is supposed to be this schoolroom miss, our hero has the hots for her. True, he thinks she is sixteen and is kind of freaked out by his attraction and is later relieved when he learns she is eighteen (she does a lot of age jumping, but her real age is 23), but still it was just weird for me. The only reason I am even bothering to mention the characters ages is because it is something that is talked about a LOT in the book. There were a few other things that bothered me, but I’m too tired to re-write all my thoughts. So, I’ll just say that overall I liked it and I’ll probably pick up the sequel.
Content: Pretty clean (see below), I did some skimming though so I might have missed something. There is no sex, but there is some innuendo. There is also mild swearing.
Kathy’s New Content Rating Scale
Squeaky Clean: No sex, chaste kissing if any.
Clean: No sex or behind closed doors, kissing.
Pretty clean: No sex or “fade to black”, mild innuendo and kissing.
Sketchy clean: No sex or left more to the imagination. Innuendo and passionate kissing.
Not clean: On screen sex or overly descriptive innuendo.
August 28, 2012
The premise of the tale was entertaining with a marquess cum spy and country miss who at 23 can pass for a 14 year old and infiltrates a school for young ladies to find her aunt's missing diary. Unfortunately, the actual tale left much to be desired. The reason for the deception was flimsy at best as well as her aunt's desire for secrecy. The obsession with Kathryn/Kitty's age felt vaguely creepy. Yes, we understand that she looks young, but don't beat me over the head with it- that makes the entire tale feel creepy. Oh and the exclamation points! Everywhere! It loses impact when everything has to be said like "Heavens! Absolutely everything is imperative! The diary! I love him! I hate him! How dare he like puppies!" Very disappointed.
January 7, 2012
Book 1 in The Regency Matchmaker Series
G-rated romance
Story was ok, but very repetitive. Found it hard to stay interested in story. There were too many details about insignificant items, and other scenes where the details are skipped leaving you empty.
G-rated romance
Story was ok, but very repetitive. Found it hard to stay interested in story. There were too many details about insignificant items, and other scenes where the details are skipped leaving you empty.
July 15, 2017
Unrealistic plot and annoying main character.
February 6, 2018
Great Fun! I have an issue though, about one inconsistency ~ Since Kat's parents so distrusted London and its evil influences on their precious child, hence their coming to the capital to rescue their darling, then they would have torn the town apart (including Ophelia) looking for her when Ophelia could not produce Kat at a moments notice upon their arrival. They would not just calmly accept Ophelia's explanation of her absence from the townhouse when their presence in such a dissolute city was undertaken with extreme reluctance and great sacrifice on their part just to make sure (for their own peace of mind) that Kat is all right, only to find out that she is not with her great aunt. Then at Hyde Park, they saw her with Nigel, Jeremy and Jane and she did not acknowledge them! Ophelia had a lot to answer for and the confrontation would not have been pretty, given their disgust for London. Another question, if Kat is sojourning with friends in Scotland (Ophelia's alibi for Kat's absence), does it not defeat the purpose for her going to London, which is for Ophelia to give her a Season? What would have been her parent's reactions to this implausibility? Also, Kat (at this point) would still be busy accumulating a new wardrobe which means visits to the dressmakers, milliners, glove makers, boot makers, and sundry establishments selling fripperies and other ladies' accoutrements... so she would not be traipsing about in the Highlands. The parents would NOT have bought such illogical reasoning and their placid acceptance and non~action do stretch the reader's credulity beyond the realm of probability to extreme gullibility.
Still a Good read, though.
Still a Good read, though.
April 22, 2019
Dopo aver passato in rassegna due-tre nuovi autori (autrici) che, nonostante vari 'awards' della stampa americana non meritavano neppure una recensione negativa, credevo, con M.B. Andrews, di aver voltato pagina: la scrittura spiritosa, le situazioni divertenti dei primi capitoli mi invogliavano a chiudere un occhio su più di un svarione sull'ambientazione storica e anche su qualche 'gap' nella logica dell'intreccio. Ma se è vero che (come ben sanno gli attori) la parte più difficile di qualunque dramma è 'l'uscita di scena', in questo caso l'autrice ha superato ogni limite: ladri, spie, incomprensioni, svenimenti, coltellate, matrimoni segreti, si susseguono nelle ultime (cinquanta?) pagine, in un groviglio inaccettabile. Man mano che andavo avanti nella lettura, il contingente di stelline si assottigliava: altre dieci pagine, e saremmo arrivati a zero.
Read
September 23, 2021Another gift via bookbub, I think. There were sides to this I quite enjoyed, and the spy issue was intriguing, but although on the whole the heroine was spunky, her tendency to jump to (in every case wrong) conclusions was terribly annoying and wearying. The hero was a bit too good to be true - except for his penchant to drown his woes in brandy at the drop of a hat... finally Lady Jane was the character with the most promise.
Nonetheless an entertaining read for bouncing around in a few trains and buses.
Nonetheless an entertaining read for bouncing around in a few trains and buses.
January 29, 2021
This. Um...Okay. So Kat is a country girl who comes to Town for a well overdue Season at the urging of her aunt. Auntie makes a huge mistake that sends Kat on an undercover investigation. The plot line is less believable than those old episodes of Dick Van Dyke where someone heard something while eavesdropping and got it all wrong and hilarity ensued. Still, if you can get past that, it is a fun read. Just not believable, but hey, it's escapism and that's why you read, right?
October 10, 2021
Really a 2.5. I do not understand why these writers of regencies do not have editors that know the history of that period. On the very first page we are made aware that it is 1815 and according to this book the Peninsular war is still going on. With just a tiny bit of research the author would have discovered that the Peninsular war was over and Waterloo has either been fought or was shortly going to be. There were other minor misses during the editing
September 26, 2017
The heroine spent a little too much time at the school "undercover" and I would have liked to see her more as her "real" self - therefore the book could have been a bit more of a faster read rather than bogged down at the different school rooms.
November 28, 2017
The Adventures Continue
Always love the stories with Aunt Ophelia. She is always a crackup. I always love how each niece she takes under her wing has the grandest adventures mixed with a bit of danger all in the name of matchmaking.
Always love the stories with Aunt Ophelia. She is always a crackup. I always love how each niece she takes under her wing has the grandest adventures mixed with a bit of danger all in the name of matchmaking.
January 29, 2019
Historical romance
This book was an adventure. It had ups and downs. Spies. Hidden identities. And love. I liked the book but felt it was a tad longer than it should have been. I enjoyed getting to know the characters.
This book was an adventure. It had ups and downs. Spies. Hidden identities. And love. I liked the book but felt it was a tad longer than it should have been. I enjoyed getting to know the characters.
February 27, 2019
Thoroughly enjoyable
It isn’t often the Napoleonic times are worked into a spy / match making story . The strong female characters are refreshing, and gentlemen with high standards are engaging. I fell in love with these people.
It isn’t often the Napoleonic times are worked into a spy / match making story . The strong female characters are refreshing, and gentlemen with high standards are engaging. I fell in love with these people.
December 15, 2017
they dont even have sex ??? also can’t take a hero seriously if his name is ‘nigel’
October 20, 2018
Such fun characters!
October 30, 2018
Choppy writing. Filled with unneeded sexual innuendo. The storyline didn’t quite work for me. It didn’t make much sense.
June 21, 2019
An enjoyable story involving the intrigue of Napoeonic spies layered over a Regency romance. Well written too.
July 29, 2019
I felt as though I was reading a ridiculous spy novel not a historical romance.
May 30, 2020
Fun and mysterious
I like her style. Keeps you guessing and people are unpredictable. Add in animals and children and you've got me.
I like her style. Keeps you guessing and people are unpredictable. Add in animals and children and you've got me.
November 2, 2020
Not bad.
April 23, 2021
Very entertaining read. Fun characters. Kept me interested the whole time.
August 4, 2021
Highly amusing story 😁
August 26, 2021
Delightful
Light, fast paced, cute … cat and mouse fun read! It had a little bit of everything with charming characters.
Light, fast paced, cute … cat and mouse fun read! It had a little bit of everything with charming characters.
October 24, 2021
Love and suspense
Melinda has kept the bedroom door closed which I appreciate and yet there is a lot of passion and suspense and mystery. A fun book. Good for all ages.
Melinda has kept the bedroom door closed which I appreciate and yet there is a lot of passion and suspense and mystery. A fun book. Good for all ages.
March 20, 2012
Kathryn St. David is starting her London season at her Great aunt Ophelia Palin's house. She arrives late to the Masquerades ball thrown in her name. She enters the house through the backdoor and decides to clean herself up after a long trip. She goes to the room she thinks has been assigned to her. While in the room she witnesses an exchange between a man and a woman. She makes a noise and runs away before she can be discovered. She misinterprets the situation and believes the man (Nigel Moorhaven, Marquis of Blackshire) was taking advantage of the lady. She is able to find the right room and proceeds to dress as the fairy character, Titania from A Midsummer Night's Dream. She decides to interfere and save the reputation of the lady. Later she declines to dance with the Marquis.
Her Great aunt discovers that she has lost her diary at an enemy's home, Lady Marchman's School for Young Ladies. Kathryn assumes the identity of a teenager while trying to recover the diary. To her surprise Nigel's ward becomes her roommate.
Blackshire has placed his ward there to investigate a possible traitor exchanging secrets with France.
Funny situations prevailed.
Fast-paced book.
2.5/5 Fangs
cross posted at my blog http://mrsleifs.blogspot
Her Great aunt discovers that she has lost her diary at an enemy's home, Lady Marchman's School for Young Ladies. Kathryn assumes the identity of a teenager while trying to recover the diary. To her surprise Nigel's ward becomes her roommate.
Blackshire has placed his ward there to investigate a possible traitor exchanging secrets with France.
Funny situations prevailed.
Fast-paced book.
2.5/5 Fangs
cross posted at my blog http://mrsleifs.blogspot
January 28, 2017
This is by far the best book in this series and a delightful read. Looking younger than my age, I totally commiserate with the heroine being able to pass as a teenager when she's in her early twenties. She is witty and fun while Blackshire is cunning and convincing. I enjoy getting to know the backgrounds of the characters and it doesn't disappoint. They fall in love quite naturally. The author's use of word play makes it really fun to read and to laugh out loud.
http://cleanromancereviews.blogspot.com
http://cleanromancereviews.blogspot.com
July 8, 2014
Oh my goodness, this was hard work. I think there might be a story in here but it's so ponderous. So much detail. So much background. So much internal monologuing. So many conversations that repeated the same points. I kept reading, getting tantalising flashes of something that might happen, but no. SO SLOW. So I got half way, skimmed the rest and confirmed that what story there was wasn't worth reading it properly.
January 2, 2017
Loved the beginning, slowed a bit in the middle, and got a little "What?!" towards the end. There is definite chemistry between Kathryn and Nigel, and it's fun and witty. Kathryn's naiveté was the best. Maybe a better edit would tidy it up? Clean romance.
January 5, 2012
Another poorly edited Kindle edition.
September 6, 2012
I like books that are funny and this one made me laugh.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews