Clare Darcy (1914–1978)

Hotheaded and temper Lewis meets Victorie under nefarious circumstances brought about by her uncle . The author gives the couple a quarrelsome relationship that works for them because it has more to do with both of them being hot tempered who don't resort to misunderstandings or sulks. A fun and a bit of a madcap romance .

I very much enjoyed this light Regency romance novel. Clare Darcy is the closest writer I've found to Georgette Heyer, and this book is very much in Heyer's style. The heroine reminded me very much of one of Heyer's feisty French heroines, but the story is quite different from that one.

The rather bored, reckless and promiscuous Marquis of Tarn (Lewis) has a sense of responsibility and kindness underneath his somewhat harsh exterior, and I liked his sense of humour. I very much liked the show more young but determined Victoire too. It's a good story, full of excitement, fast-paced and with an entirely satisfactory ending.

Recommended if you like Heyer's style of writing.

Longer review: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2025/02/victoire-by-clare-darcy.html show less

**3.5**

This was almost a four for me, except that the attitude of the hero, particularly near the end, put me off a little bit.

Overall the book was funny and charming, very reminiscent of [a:Georgette Heyer|18067|Georgette Heyer|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1336748892p2/18067.jpg]. The heroine was spunky and likable, she went off on rather unrealistic, harebrained schemes, like disguising herself as an abigail and installing herself in an aristocratic household. The secondary characters show more were good, but not great like Heyer's.

*Semi-spoiler alert*
I thought the romance between Lady Pamela and Lord Dalven developed well throughout the book, but near the end I was left a bit wanting. Lord Dalven is one of those characters in Regency romance who views the world around him with amusement. He takes silent delight in the ridiculous and appears to the world as aloof, but in reality is very smart. I usually love this character, but at the end of this book I found Lord Dalven's arrogance and high-handedness very unattractive. He basically kept telling Lady Pamela to sit down and shut up, which, given Lady Pamela's independence and spirit, I would expect her to reject him just out of pride/spite unless he made some final, grand romantic gesture. But in the end, he just told another of her suitor's that he was going to marry her and sent him off. Again high-handed. By the end I just wasn't liking him very much. The final declaration is always my favorite part and I just felt that it lacked much romance. Others may not have as much problem with this as I did though.

All in all, I thought the writing was good - lots of complex sentence structures, but done well - and I will definitely give Clare Darcy's other books a try. show less

A very enjoyable 'Regency romance' style historical novel by the only author who, in my mind, comes anywhere near to Georgette Heyer's brilliance. Allegra, the heroine, is feisty, outspoken and sometimes says things she later regrets. She's 25, and, with her younger sister Hilary, almost penniless after the death of their father, and the loss of their family home to their cousin Sir Derek.

The story takes them to Brussels and an educational establishment, where Allegra's duties as a teacher show more are often eclipsed by her need to chaperone her sister to balls. For even as Napoleon advances, and rumours are rife, the upper classes continue their socialising with lavish parties and other entertainments.

There's a lot of excitement in this well-paced story, and if some of the final chapter is inevitable from the start, there are other unexpected events along the way.

Recommended to anyone who likes this kind of historical romance novel.

Longer review: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2025/02/allegra-by-clare-darcy.html show less