Historical Romance Book Club discussion

Discussion thread for the first BOTM for November 2024. Please remember to use the spoiler tags when necessary! (Please see 'some HTML is ok' for instructions.)


The Courtship Dance by Candace Camp

Join us in reading this HR that features the theme Americana!


Synopsis:

A fan favorite from New York Times bestselling author Candace Camp, originally published in 2009.

Lady Francesca Haughston has given up on romance for herself, finding passion instead in making desirable matches for others. So it seems only fair, when she learns she’d been deceived into breaking her own long-ago engagement to Sinclair, Duke of Rochford, that she now help him find the perfect wife.

Of course, Francesca is certain any spark of passion between them has long since died—her own treatment of him saw to that. The way Sinclair gazes at her…well, that’s merely practice for when a younger, more suitable woman catches his eye. But soon Francesca finds his lessons in love scandalously irresistible—and a temptation that could endanger them both.


Happy reading!

This one has been on my TBR for ages, so I definitely plan to read it when November comes around. Apparently it's fine as a standalone, although I did read #1, The Marriage Wager, ages ago. Looking back at my review, I see it was a BOTM back in 2020, for 'matchmaker' trope. LOL.

I like that this one has mature-aged protagonists. That's something I often enjoy. Fingers crossed this one is good!

I am also in for this one. I just need to remember....and not mix up the month

I have this one checked out of the library and have a miserable cold. I hope I can renew it.

I put it on my TBR just now. I did not read the previous books in the series, though, and wonder if it will lessen the joy.

I started this a couple of days ago and now just over half way through. I can hardly remember the first book, which I read a while ago, but I don't think it matters. There have been a few references to characters from the earlier books, which if you'd read them (recently) would probably make more sense LOL. But really, I think it can easily stand alone. Not a problem.

I'm quite enjoying the story so far. It is a bit of a slow burn. The MMC, Sinclair, seems like a true, old school gentleman with manners and integrity. I like him. I also like Francesca, and she seems to be the traditional 'true lady' - elegant, polite and kind, always well-dressed, knows how to handle any social situation. So the two of them are clearly suited to each other. She's just a bit lacking in personal self-confidence at times. Chapter 10(view spoiler)[ Francesca's low confidence in her sexuality due to her horrible first husband makes her keep second-guessing herself and her reactions to Sinclair. I'm starting to get a little tired of that, and hoping the pace of the romance picks up a bit soon. (hide spoiler)]

Overall I'm enjoying the book so far, and happy to keep reading.

The matchmaking theme is a definite element of the story, so this book fits this month's trope well. (The reference to 'Americana' in the intro above is a little boo-boo - it's meant to be 'Matchmaking'.)

Merry wrote: "I have this one checked out of the library and have a miserable cold. I hope I can renew it."

Even 'just a cold' can make you feel truly miserable, can't it? Hope you're feeling better soon, Merry.

Merry wrote: "I have this one checked out of the library and have a miserable cold. I hope I can renew it."

Sorry you're not feeling well, Merry.

Jan wrote: "I started this a couple of days ago and now just over half way through. I can hardly remember the first book, which I read a while ago, but I don't think it matters. There have been a few reference..."

Just finished. It does pick up, Jan. There's much excitement yet to come--romantically and otherwise! And yes, Francesca is the traditional 'true lady' as you say--dresses and social engagements and afternoon callers. I don't know. Something about not her character per se but her situation as a traditional true lady and how that played out for her day-to-day got me kind of depressed which dampened my enjoyment of the story. Not sure why this doesn't happen to me more often when reading historical romances . . . but there you go:)

Olivia wrote: "Just finished. It does pick up, Jan. There's much excitement yet to come--romantically and otherwise! "

GTK, Olivia. Thanks for the encouragement. I will keep reading.

Jan wrote: "Olivia wrote: "Just finished. It does pick up, Jan. There's much excitement yet to come--romantically and otherwise! "

GTK, Olivia. Thanks for the encouragement. I will keep reading."

Yes, indeed good to know. At 25%, I'm pretty bored.

Irina wrote: "Yes, indeed good to know. At 25%, I'm pretty bored."

I think part of the boredom stems from the fact that it is almost always Francesca's POV.

Yes, but also her repetetive inner musings and endless descriptions of clothes, people and etiquette. And I feel like I've already been told five times what happened in the past between her and Rochester, and in every detail!

Irina wrote: "Yes, but also her repetetive inner musings and endless descriptions of clothes, people and etiquette. And I feel like I've already been told five times what happened in the past between her and Roc..."

It's possible her inner musings were part of what was depressing me:) But imagine half of these musings being cut out and replaced with Rochford's perspective--I think it might be better that way. I didn't dislike Francesca. I just got a bit tired of being inside her head all the time.

Yes, it might be possible. And after that, you just have to delete at least half of the excessive descriptions of dresses, suits, accessories, jewelry, hairstyles and other Regency knowledge, and it could be a passable book ;)

Irina wrote: "Yes, it might be possible. And after that, you just have to delete at least half of the excessive descriptions of dresses, suits, accessories, jewelry, hairstyles and other Regency knowledge, and i..."

Okay, this made me laugh:) But it could just be us, Irina.

Jan, what did you/do you think of the continuous Francesca POV?

Thank you, Jan, feeling much better. OK I am on p 56 of this book and have picked it up and put it down multiple time. I have read an entire mystery novel also since starting the book. I agree that the inner musings are circular and don't advance the story. I didn't get the impression that the marriage was anything other than unhappy and the husband was uncaring and selfish. I read the first book and gave it 5*.

Welp I finished the book and ended up giving 3 stars, maybe 3.5. Sadly, I got a little bored with it too, like some of the previous comments here. Perhaps it was because we saw mainly Francesca's POV? Not sure. There were hints about Rochford's feelings, but I wanted a bit more overt romance sooner, I guess. Yes it did pick up later in the book, and there was a cute (if predictable) epilogue. But overall, it was too slow burn for me. I ended up reading some other books before finishing this one too.

I quite liked that the protags were more mature, and I didn't mind the second chance trope. The matchmaker trope was fine too. I'm not usually keen on it, but it worked quite well for these characters and plot. I did find that the 15 year gap since the original romance felt a little too long, and I wished it had been something like five, or even ten years.

Overall the book just felt a little too wishy-washy to me. Although I liked some sections and aspects of the book, I just wasn't feelin' the romance enough, I guess. So, not a total bust, but not a fav.

I just finished it and gave it two stars. It actually picked up speed, but it still didn't get much better imho.

I think we're all in basic agreement here. I also liked the more mature protagonists, Jan, but obviously it wasn't enough:)

My biggest problem this week is that I blew through The Beast Takes a Bride in less than a day over the weekend, and now it seems that if your name isn't Magnus Brightwall, I'm not interested, ha, ha!;)

I totally get your crush on Brightwall, Olivia! 😍

OK I have made it to page 96 (and read every post on goodreads instead of reading this book). I am close to halfway through the book. For pity's sake (view spoiler)[ the best we can come up with is a disgraced creep who killed someone in a duel comes back with an IOU from the dead husband from SEVEN years ago..... I am ready to shoot him just for some action (hide spoiler)]

Jan I agree that I like that the pair are older but agree that waiting 15 years is too long.
Olivia, I completely understand.
Irina I think your review is spot on

I thought about dnf but went ahead and finished the book. It never clicked with me.

Thank you, Merry. ☺️ Hats off to you for hanging in there!

Thank you, Irina, I know some really enjoyed this book. So I always view these books as something for everyone.

Merry wrote: "I know some really enjoyed this book. So I always view these books as something for everyone."

Yes, exactly, Merry. The nice thing about a book club is that you're more likely to try something new you might not have otherwise tried on your own.

Glad you're feeling well enough to actually finish the book!

Olivia, so agree. I have read books that I have enjoyed but would never have tried it without the book club. Plus thank you! Feeling human again.

I'm enjoying reading this discussion. Yes, it's good to have different BOTMs for different tastes. Hopefully some are enjoying this month's a bit more than I did.

And yes, I have certainly tried new many new authors and books since joining this group. Although some haven't been new favs, others have been total winners.