Fair Deception

Newmarket Regency #2

by Jan Jones

When Kit Kydd rescues Susanna Fair from an abduction attempt, it seems to be fate—Kit needs to appear settled to be made his great-aunt's heir, and Susanna is an actress. By pretending to be engaged for the duration of a visit to Lady Penfold, Susanna will be hidden and Kit can protect her from further danger. But Lady Penfold lives in the horse-racing town of Newmarket, which holds the secret of Susanna's scandalous past. Meanwhile, the dishonorable Rafe Warwick has 2,000 guineas riding on making Susanna his mistress—and he doesn't take defeat lightly.

224 pages, Hardcover

First published October 31, 2008

About the author

A maths graduate, former computer programmer and erstwhile playgroup leader, Jan Jones writes contemporary romantic comedy, Regency romances, romantic suspense (often with a paranormal twist), cosy quirky mysteries, serials for women's magazines, short stories and poems. She won the RNA’s Joan Hessayon Award in 2005 with her debut novel Stage by Stage which came about through her experience of chaperoning her daughter during a touring production of Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. When in Georgette Heyer territory, she uses her fascination with history to write a series of Newmarket Regencies (The Kydd Inheritance, Fair Deception, Fortunate Wager etc) set 200 years ago in her nearest town. As with all writers, elements of her life also inspire her many short stories for women’s magazines (one of which won the RNA Elizabeth Goudge award in 2002). This could be why she gets funny looks whenever she takes out her notebook during conversations in the bar. Jan organises the annual RNA conference and is firmly of the opinion that the Romantic Novelists' Association is the friendliest, most supportive organisation around.

Reviews

[OLT · Rating 3 out of 5]

This, the second entry in Jones's Newmarket Regency series, is the third book of hers I've read and I've read them all out of order. (First #3, second #1, and now this #2.) If I had read this one first, I might not have ever looked for more. It's not that the writing is not good. It is. It reads somewhat as if Joyce Harmon had collaborated with Stella Riley to produce this. (I like both those authors. Harmon writes cute little Regencies. Riley writes somewhat more meaty Georgian romances.)

But I am glad to have read this one if only to see the relationship of the characters of Book #1 to Book #3. It all ties in together nicely now for me. The brother of heroine Nell of the first book, Kit Kydd, is the hero in this second one. In addition, we find that the Kydds (Nell and Kit) are great-niece and -nephew to Lady Penfold, of Newmarket, who owns a racing stable and has a connection to Caroline and Harry Fortune of Book #3.

So that's what I liked. But, unfortunately, Kit was not a favorite character in Book #1 and I'm not especially fond of him in his own book. He's only 25 and maybe it's his immaturity that irks me. He's good-looking and kind and fun to be around, so there's that.

And our heroine, Susanna Fair? She's a second-tier actress in London, having chosen that profession out of necessity because of unfortunate events in her life. She's a good actress and she is striving to remain respectable. Unfortunately, a creepy dissolute rake, Rafe Warwick, is obsessed with her and intends to make her his mistress by any means necessary.

Meanwhile, the Kydd estate is in financial trouble because of events of Book #1 and Kit needs to figure out some way to get funds to make everything come about. The best he can come up with is to play up to his wealthy Newmarket great-aunt, in the hopes she'll make him her heir. To that end, he asks Susanna to pretend to be his fiancee, thinking it will help his cause, making him look stable and ready to settle down. This will also have the additional side effect of keeping Susanna protected from Rafe Warwick.

Well, see how that all turns out. The best of plans and all that. Oh, and, BTW, there's also going to be a coinkydink of Susanna being connected to the Newmarket relations also. Who would have thunk?

Kit is too immature and rather useless for me. I liked proactive Captain Derringer much more than him in Book #1. Susanna, when compared to Nell of Book #1 and Caroline of Book #3, is, although very pretty, rather insipid and uninteresting. In addition, the plot here is somewhat basic and done before and the whole story lacks the fun and humor and wit of #1 and #3.

Now I have Book #4 to read. But I am hesitant because it features Adam Prettyman, actor and traveling theatre troop owner/manager. He did not impress me favorably in this book. Now I have to decide whether to give him a second chance in #4.

[Pauline Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great read in the series. This works well as a stand-alone but the early chapters would be an easier read coming straight after book 1, The Kydd Inheritance, or maybe it’s just me that forgets who’s who in no time flat. It doesn’t quite have the glorious humour of that book, and I found the hero just a tad too volatile for my taste, but the way the author weaves multiple strands of plot together into an entertaining braid is masterful.

Here’s the premise: Susanna Fair is scraping a living as a stage entertainer, barely even qualifying as a legitimate actress, in London. That’s bad enough, but she has a problem in Mr Rafe Warwick, who has laid a bet that he will bed her before too long, a bet he’s determined to win by any means necessary. To the rescue comes Christopher (Kit) Kydd, owner of the impoverished Kydd Court and he also has a problem. He needs money to restore his home, but he doesn’t want to marry an heiress and condemn himself to a loveless marriage. He has a wealthy aunt who has money to spare - but only if he can convince her he’s not in the least ramshackle. Maybe if he had a fake fiancee, he could convince her?

So the actress who needs to get out of town fast and the man in need of someone to play the role of his betrothed form an unlikely alliance. As with all fake betrothal tropes, it’s obvious how everything will end up, but along the way there’s a number of people to be convinced by the deception, a travelling theatre group, the reappearance by the villain and a great many misunderstandings between hero and heroine before matters are resolved.

Much of the misunderstanding arises because the heroine neglects to tell the hero some small but highly significant details about herself, and every time the hero discovers he’s been misled (again) he blows a fuse and throws a tantrum. I would have liked him a lot better if he’d shown a bit more restraint, but I suppose it wouldn’t have been so dramatic. There are no sex scenes but there’s a great deal of barely repressed sexual tension and passionate kissing, and both hero and heroine get weak-kneed at the mere sight of each other very early in the book. It’s not exactly insta-lust, but it’s certainly insta-desire and it seems about as realistic as these things usually are (ie not very).

One technical issue: a very minor plot point involves a marriage between minors which was declared invalid because they didn’t have the permission of parents/guardians. But it’s my understanding that this only applies with marriage by licence (special or common). In this case, since the banns were read in the usual way, the marriage would almost certainly have been perfectly legal.

The multiple plot threads get very entangled by the end, but naturally all is resolved in a suitable way and everybody gets what he or she wants (except the villain, naturally). I didn’t find this quite as gloriously entertaining as the first book, but it was still terrific fun and a good four stars.

[Sasha Greene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given the hardback version of this book as a gift and I'm glad I was because the cover isn't something I would have been immediately drawn to in a shop.

This book was selected for an RNA award and after reading it I can totally see why. Reading the book jacket I was initially a bit skeptical of the pretend marriage setup but the writing made it totally believable and I loved both the characters. I really like the way that Jan has managed to make a heroine that is free-spirited and independent while staying within the bounds of realism for a historical novel. I don't want to give away too many plot spoilers but the back story to the secret of Susanna's heritage was also set up in a way that was really brilliant.

Would definitely recommend a read; both for those who like historicals or just anyone who loves a good story.

[Anne Harvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second in Jan Jones’ Newmarket series. Actress Susanna Fair is being pursued by society rake Rafe Warwick, who has placed a bet on making her his mistress. When Kit Kydd intervenes to rescue her from Rafe’s advances, she has no idea they are about to be involved in a game of deception. He persuades her to masquerade as his betrothed in an attempt to persuade his wealthy great-aunt of his worth in inheriting her fortune. But Susanna was once a maid and is unsure whether she can carry out the subterfuge. Of course, it is not as simple as that and this is a fast-moving plot with numerous turns. I loved the characters Ms Jones has portrayed; underlying the whole is a sense of fun which is a delightful change.

[Volha · Rating 1 out of 5]

More and more often I wonder about inexplicable bacilli of politically correct history that turn books into inviable agenda-driven zombies. English gentry dining at one table with servants? In 1816? Making no difference between upstairs and downstairs? Discussing class issues with a parlour maid? No. Just... no.

[Jan Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author review - This is a new, updated edition of the original hardback. I have thoroughly enjoyed revisiting my Newmarket Regency series in order to make them available for a wider audience.

[Penny Hampson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another well researched and enjoyable story in this series.

[Iola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clean Regency romance with a little suspense. Good, but not great.