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Courting Trouble
PERHAPS YOU'VE HEARD OF ME?
The Duke of St. Fell, at your service. The women of the ton call me cynical, accuse me of gambling, drinking, seducing, and wanting to marry only for money. Guilty as charged. As for romance? Pure twaddle invented by brooding spinsters. Thank heavens for Arabella Swann. With her sharp wit, strong will, keen intelligence, and utterly delightful fortune, she'll make a perfect wife for me--as soon as she gets over her ridiculous notions of romance and realizes it. After all, I am a duke and devastatingly handsome and charming. It's not as if she could possibly find a better suitor than me.
Except for that pestilential Lord Stonecraft. The sap remembers Arabella's favorite flowers and perfume. He even writes epic poetry. He's everything she's ever wanted, damn him. Now that he's wormed his way into her affections, how can I possibly compete with such romantic perfection? And how will I ever prove to Arabella that this cynical duke no longer cares a whit for her fortune (heaven help me)...but only for her heart...
The Duke of St. Fell, at your service. The women of the ton call me cynical, accuse me of gambling, drinking, seducing, and wanting to marry only for money. Guilty as charged. As for romance? Pure twaddle invented by brooding spinsters. Thank heavens for Arabella Swann. With her sharp wit, strong will, keen intelligence, and utterly delightful fortune, she'll make a perfect wife for me--as soon as she gets over her ridiculous notions of romance and realizes it. After all, I am a duke and devastatingly handsome and charming. It's not as if she could possibly find a better suitor than me.
Except for that pestilential Lord Stonecraft. The sap remembers Arabella's favorite flowers and perfume. He even writes epic poetry. He's everything she's ever wanted, damn him. Now that he's wormed his way into her affections, how can I possibly compete with such romantic perfection? And how will I ever prove to Arabella that this cynical duke no longer cares a whit for her fortune (heaven help me)...but only for her heart...
320 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 31, 2013
This follow-up to The Ideal Bride focuses on the Duke of St. Fell. St. Fell is handsome, titled, and a rake. He has several younger brothers to support (all rakes) and needs to marry a fortune. When his friend, Gabriel St. Carr, introduces him to the wealthy porcelain artist Joseph Swann, St. Fell finds his intended heiress. Swann has two beautiful daughters who have just come to London for the first time. Swann wants his grandson to be a Duke and settles on his eldest, Arabella, for St. Fell. St. Fell thinks all he needs is for Arabella to set eyes on him for her to fall at his feet. He doesn't count on Miss Arabella Swann to lead him a merry dance. Arabella is five and twenty and never been kissed. She's unromantic and refuses to read the silly Minerva Press romances his younger sister and Aunt Ophelia devour. Her sister Diana has fallen head over heels in love with Lord Belcraven, a gawky, penniless ex-soldier. Arabella is convinced Diana is merely infatuated and once she meets Belcraven's formidable aunts she'll change her mind. Diana has a mind of her own and it includes getting her sister married off so she can marry her beloved. When Arabella meets the Duke of St. Fell, she's physically attracted to him but feels it's a mere infatuation. He's arrogant, unromantic and insufferable and she will not marry him... at least not until he declares his undying love for her. Enter Lord Stonehaven, a war hero and rake who writes poetry and remembers Arabella's favorite things. How can St. Fell compete with that? It will be easy if Arabella would just admit she's in love.
This book is so dreadful I don't even know where to begin. The story takes place during the events of The Ideal Bride but in the first book, Swann says he doesn't believe in marrying his daughter to a Duke, not yet. He seems to be bluffing because he does a 180 degree turn in this book. He spends most of the book either chasing rakes with his walking stick or being drunk. The other adult characters aren't much better. The aunts and St. Fell's mother provide a lot of the humor but the humor is based on innuendo. The main characters are entirely unlikeable. Arabella is a very human heroine and I wanted to like her. She eats bon-bons, cusses (in her head) and turns her nose up at romance novels. Unfortunately, she's also really annoying and immature. For some reason she longs to be a rake and she spends most of the book lusting after St. Fell. St. Fell is irritating. He is so insufferably arrogant. He's almost never serious and like Arabella, I felt like kicking him and throwing books at him. I also wanted to smack him. He annoyed me so much. The romance, if you call it that, consists of two attractive people lusting after each other, wanting to be alone in a dark corner together. Arabella seems to want something she really wouldn't understand. Diana's story is far more interesting. Though she reads silly romances, she's a practical girl who knows what she wants and goes after it; at least in the beginning. By the end I was disappointed in her too.
This book makes fun of romance novels both in the Regency era and current bodice rippers but it's not a whole lot better. There's a lot of panting, drooling and bawdy humor. I really didn't like this book and wouldn't recommend it to those who like intelligent, well-written, sweet romances.
This book is so dreadful I don't even know where to begin. The story takes place during the events of The Ideal Bride but in the first book, Swann says he doesn't believe in marrying his daughter to a Duke, not yet. He seems to be bluffing because he does a 180 degree turn in this book. He spends most of the book either chasing rakes with his walking stick or being drunk. The other adult characters aren't much better. The aunts and St. Fell's mother provide a lot of the humor but the humor is based on innuendo. The main characters are entirely unlikeable. Arabella is a very human heroine and I wanted to like her. She eats bon-bons, cusses (in her head) and turns her nose up at romance novels. Unfortunately, she's also really annoying and immature. For some reason she longs to be a rake and she spends most of the book lusting after St. Fell. St. Fell is irritating. He is so insufferably arrogant. He's almost never serious and like Arabella, I felt like kicking him and throwing books at him. I also wanted to smack him. He annoyed me so much. The romance, if you call it that, consists of two attractive people lusting after each other, wanting to be alone in a dark corner together. Arabella seems to want something she really wouldn't understand. Diana's story is far more interesting. Though she reads silly romances, she's a practical girl who knows what she wants and goes after it; at least in the beginning. By the end I was disappointed in her too.
This book makes fun of romance novels both in the Regency era and current bodice rippers but it's not a whole lot better. There's a lot of panting, drooling and bawdy humor. I really didn't like this book and wouldn't recommend it to those who like intelligent, well-written, sweet romances.
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September 13, 2015Dropped after 5 chapters. Dare I say it? It was too silly. Ok, I laughed a few times. But I was also rolling my eyes because it just seemed too farfetched. This is a 'Regency' romance that plays fast and loose with the genre
Yes, there was duke. A fortune hunter who was used to getting his way. And a daughter of a tradesman who was loaded with money. But it was a chicklit regency which is not my cuppa. I didn't know it when I bought Ms. St. George's two books or I wouldn't have started to read either of them. Just be forewarned before you buy her romances. I wish I had.
Yes, there was duke. A fortune hunter who was used to getting his way. And a daughter of a tradesman who was loaded with money. But it was a chicklit regency which is not my cuppa. I didn't know it when I bought Ms. St. George's two books or I wouldn't have started to read either of them. Just be forewarned before you buy her romances. I wish I had.
March 29, 2011
I love this book. I think it's a little better than the first one, but that one is good too. This one makes me laugh out loud. Arabella's stubbornness and frustrations, while a bit silly, are relate-able. St Fell's antics to make her fall in love with him are hilarious. They are perfect together. The side character are great fun and really fill in the story in addition to making me laugh in their own right. The author does a good job of pulling you into the story and everyone's emotions. Definitely a good read.
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October 26, 2020
This author writes humor well and this book was a nice way to spend some time relaxing before bed when I didn't want to read anything stressful.
July 31, 2009
Quite possibly my favorite book. Ever.
November 11, 2018
This is funny, sarcastic, smart book with plenty of LOL moments. And it's hilarious spoofing of some of the romance genre's clichés.
January 26, 2012
Hilarious! I laughed through the whole book! And couldn't put it down.
January 3, 2015
Extremely witty and amusing, both the heroine and hero were fun and feisty and the secondary characters in the book were all fun. A thoroughly enjoyable read.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews