Delightful Venetia Lanyon is nearly resigned to spinsterhood despite her beauty, thanks to enormous responisibility and two lackluster suitors, but her rake of a neighbor, Lord Damerel, gives her a kiss that awakens her passion, and undoes a bachelor.

An OK book by Heyer, not her best. The ending seemed not as tight as in other works. ( )

Friends who knew I liked the Regency era turned me on to Georgette Heyer years ago. They started me with Frederica knowing that the man's perspective would appeal more. So now I have read more than 20 of her Regencies and have some perspective.

Finding others who like Heyer, I had been urged to reread Venetia, since Frederica actually does remain my favorite. I can see how this appeals to womem fans of the regency. Yet there is so little regency here.

So much is spent in the heads of our romantic couple about why they shouldn't be attracted to each other, that what is brilliant to me about regencies is missing. That which tells us of the world of the period. What we have in Venetia is a look at country life, not as encompassing as Austen, and a reflection on societal mores, again not as well done as Austen who lived during the period,

Heyer never desired to be Jane Austen and her development of a vocabulary clearly illustrated that. With Heyer you get a consistent universe and that is very enriching. In Venetia you get a glimpse of that world of Heyers, a smaller subset, but when you are sure that the story has run its course, a plot twist arrives to lengthen it, then a second. Finally in the last twist, we are returned full circle to home.

When looking back at this book, then that first half, the pacing of a plot twist earlier may have made the end more enjoyable. As it is, it comes to late and makes the last half of the book, which has the best of the action, irrelevant. A story that could have been better with technical detail. ( )

I love just about everything Georgette Heyer's written in the Regency genre, but this book is one of the best of an excellent crop. Venetia is a delightful heroine, mature and intelligent while at the same time extremely naive about men and the ways of the world - so much so that she has absolutely no notion just how much danger her new next-door neighbor, the wicked Lord Dameral, could be to her. And yet it is her innocence which is her greatest protection where he is concerned.
Dameral is a real treasure. From his bold advances to his sardonic smile to his wit to his complete social disregard...he alone is worth the book. Did I mention his habit of strewing rose leaves...well you will just have to read it to find out about that. As fortune would have it though, there are a host of other characters that add so much delight. The worthy suitor, the lively spinster, the firey younger brother, the brooding halfling, the nurse! You can't go wrong with this one. ( )

This is truly a charming book. Venetia is a warm, charming character with wit and vivacity - but not to the point where she is annoying or anachronistic. Damerel is a perfect anti-hero, a horrible rake who is still completely loveable, and loses his heart over Venetia. Although sometimes Heyer sacrifices character development for plot (like in The Corinthian), all of the characters in this book are well formed and interesting - even the minor characters such as Aubrey, Oswald or Edward. Truly a charming book and one I enjoyed a great deal! ( )