Autumn Rose

Regency Trilogy #2

by Marjorie Farrell

Lady of Mystery

To the ton, Honora Dillon was a person beyond the pale, soiling her hand with ink to pander to popular taste. To the haughty Countess of Alverstone, Honora was an adventuress, trying to snare the Countess's son. To Miranda, Honora 's adoring daughter, Honora was a saint, giving and giving up all to raise Miranda in comfort. To the devastating Viscount Marcus Vane, Honora was the only woman with the beauty and brilliance to make him want to wed.

But only Honora knew the truth about herself--the truth too shocking to tell no matter what its cost to hide...

Genres: Regency, Romance, Historical Romance, Regency Romance, Historical

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 2, 1991

Reviews

[Lyuda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely traditional regency story which doesn't diminish its appeal on re-read thanks to a very nice writing, characterization and satisfied plot. Here we have two love stories and in both cases the characters are refreshingly mature, likable and well deserve their HEA. This is the second book in a group of related novels - the first is Miss Ware's Refusalwhich is one of the most realistic stories I've read describing a blind hero. The author is in my top ten favorite traditional regency authors.

[Brontesruleromance · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an incredible book. All of the characters felt genuine, particularly Nora, the heroine, who was a loving mother and the star of the novel for me. She was so well written that you could feel her conflicting emotions on a visceral level. I'll let Farrell's writing speak for itself. “She kept walking faster and faster, as though to outrun her jealousy. For that was, after all, the feeling that tore at her. Her daughter was loved in a way that she herself had never been loved.”

"There is still a part of me who is that seventeen-year-old looking for a knight in shining armor, she thought. And that young girl has just seen someone else who has been granted the reality, not the fantasy. And she is dying from it.”

[Lily Pad · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a sweet and lovely story. Honestly, all the characters in this book were great. I like that there is not a overly comical villain or naive sweet weirdo. Everyone being so mature and self aware is probably the most unbelievable part of the the book, but it was so refreshing. I can't say it was heavy on romance though. The romance was sprinkled between two couples, but it just didn't feel very romantic. It seemed mainly about Nora's secret, the drama and way to keep Miranda and Jeremy apart. I wish there was a bigger focus on the romantic relationships and courtship, but that's my only criticism.

[Seema · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was part of a series but I read this one last. I liked this story about a young girl, Margaret or Nora, who runs away and then has to suffer the consequences of her actions. Her daughter Miranda falls in love with an Earl. The real story is about Nora and her life as a successful writer who is still haunted by her behavior when she was young. It was not really a romance. I didn’t enjoy the end as much due to some unnecessary misunderstandings.

[Eden · Rating 5 out of 5]

2019 bk 193. A well-written regency - and one that captured my attention. In this slim novel the reader embarks upon not one, but two tales of romance set in the regency time period. A perfect relaxing read.

[Mary23nm · Rating 3 out of 5]

I needed to see a little more romance between Nora and Sam. It also would have been nice for the reunion of her family(that was to occur in spring) to be in the book. 3.5 stars

[HistoricalHussy · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

Insipid. Very little romance as the heroine spends more time confiding in secondary characters than interacting with H. Also easy to poke massive holes in the story if you know anything about Scottish marriage laws of the period.

[Susannah Carleton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Delightful!