Connie Brockway

This book had one of the more misleading covers I’ve seen in quite a while. It looks like a contemporary romance romp with a young beauty queen. It’s not. Both of the protagonists are around 40 years old and they spend most of the book trudging around snowy Minnesota in parkas. And it's not really a romance, either. The plot has lots more to do with blackmail, a sculpted head made out of butter a.k.a “the butter head,” incredibly incompetent thievery, and the heroine’s resentment show more of her home town than romance.

I’m actually not sure if the book is as entertaining as I recall or if I’m just biased because it kept going in the opposite direction of where I thought it was up to the very last page, and I really liked that. I am certain, though, that the constant use of the phrase “butter head” made me laugh. A lot. Also, having a somewhat goofy and relaxed male lead was really refreshing since the vast majority of romance males tend to be of the “suave dude” archetype. show less

It was my misfortune to read the Kindle version of this book. It contained so many egregious typographical howlers that I was tempted to ask for a refund -- until I consoled myself that the fault probably lay with the original publisher, not the retailer.

I feel sorry for Ms Brockway, that such a fine book should be such an eyesore. It would be untrue to say I enjoyed reading it. It was painful. My four-star rating reflects my reaction to the content.

The Victorian seance was a masterful show more opening attention-grabber. The shift of location from the salons of London to a village somewhere in the Scottish highlands was as refreshing as a mountain stream.

The romantic leads of [b:So Enchanting|5262503|So Enchanting|Connie Brockway|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1267371905s/5262503.jpg|5329816] are a bluntly boorish aristocrat lawyer who has devoted much of his adult life to exposing spiritualist frauds, and a victim of one of his exposures who has transformed herself into an equally blunt but sharply articulate companion to an under-aged lady. The dialogues between Lord Grey and Fanny sizzle and sparkle, reminiscent of the cut-and-thrust of two equally matched swordsmen. The vapid romance between Grey's nephew Hayden and Fanny's charge Amelie is a perfect foil to the overpowering adult attraction between Grey and Fanny.

As if this wasn't enough, Ms Brockway throws in several witches, real and imagined, a deranged stamp collector willing to murder to acquire the funds for a rare stamp, and a supporting cast of bats, birds, and animals.

The lack of a fifth star in my rating reflects the length of the book and a few patches in the narrative that might have done with some firm editing. show less

4.5 stars

Lucy's parents died when she was seven years old forcing her to be passed around to her father's relatives. Feeling as if each time was an audition of sorts Lucy becomes whatever she feels her new guardian wants her to be. After a term of this she is pawned off to her mother's side. Her two spinster great aunts Lavinia and Bernice take her in despite having no clue about children and having strained pockets. They might not understand their vivacious niece but they love her. When show more Lucy becomes old enough to move out and find work she takes the skills from her childhood and becomes a singer in an operetta. This just manages to pay the bills and become a place of fulfillment for Lucy. When Lavinia has a health scare, Lucy rushes home to play nurse. Purse strings get pulled even tighter but with a fifty year old treasure about to be paid out, things could be looking up. It seems Lavinia in her youth had a dangerously romantic moment worthy of a penny dreadful. The ending result of this was a lost love and a pouch of rubies to be divided up after fifty years. Gathering their resolve and meager funds Lucy, Lavinia, and Bernice plan to set off to travel to France to claim the inheritance.

Ptolemy Archibald Grant is a young cultural anthropology professor on the rise. He is set to propose and gain a promotion at a prestigious college. After an expensive pen of his is "borrowed" he has a run in with our Lucy. His normally uptight straight edge self can't seem to get the hazel eyed loony imp out of his mind. Summoned to his grandfather's side he learns that due to a dangerously romantic moment from the grandfather's past, he is about to inherit a portion of rubies. By request of his grandfather, he sets off to deliver a letter to a woman named Lavinia where Ptolemy's grandfather states he is giving Lavinia his portion and Ptolemy will accompany her to France as guide. As Ptolemy has always secretly loved being in the field and new caves with pictographs has been discovered in the area they will be in, he is looking forward to the short trip and freedom before he is confined to an office. However, he doesn't count on Lucy answering the door. Thus, Lucy and "Archie" are born and our road romance begins.

Lucy is a character that in real life you either are going to love her or hate her; she dances to the beat of her own drum. It may seem at times that she has her head in the clouds, flittering by in life, and putting on a show. Her light attitude and outlook on life comes from childhood insecurities that slowly become apparent as she spends more time with Archie and begins to open up. Her character becomes more real and deep when she explains that the applause at the end of the show is her favorite moment because it is all for her and not the character she was playing. As she gets closer with Archie and sees he likes her and more importantly understands her for her true self she begins to fall in love with him. Archie's childhood consisted of adults trying to stifle his natural exuberance. As a consequence he is now very restrained and easily allows his almost fiancée to steer him away from his inner desire to do more field work and join the ranks of higher up confined office goers. Lucy and Archie share the combined desire to be understood and be able to be true to themselves.

Their banter back and forth and situations they find themselves in are witty, funny, and delightful. If you're a fan of the screwball comedies of the 1930's (a'la His Girl Friday) then this is a must read for you. Archie and Lucy traveling to get to their destination help the story keep moving and pages turning at a quick pace. Secondary characters stay pretty much in the background with a few exception pages throughout that devote a few insights to their various backgrounds and motivations until closer to the end when the past relationship of Lavinia and Archie's grandfather, that present day Lucy and Archie are somewhat mirroring, culminates. Any complaints I have involve Brockway’s tendency to incorporate many storylines and threads for minor characters that distract from the main characters and make me wish for more. Should this even be a complaint as it leaves me wanting more? I’m not sure but it does split my interest.

The ending had me wanting to hug my kindle, my dog, and the whole world. Brockway has a way of writing light enjoyable stories that covertly interweave deep emotional themes that erupt at the end and leave your eyes surprisingly glistening. This story is different from a lot that is out there right now and so much better for it. The Songbird's Seduction is a screwball comedy that is quirky, upbeat, and lovely. Lucy and Archie were a delight to get to know and I'm once again reaffirmed in my belief that Connie Brockway should write all the books. show less

Good book, a bit different than the usual England based historical. It begins with the explosive first encounter of Mercy and Hart back in Texas, then jumps six years and over the ocean to England. Mercy has come to England to find her brother who has disappeared, except for a few letters asking for money. She's had no success, so she comes to Hart, who has gone back to his real life as the Earl of Perth, hoping to convince him to help. It's not a pleasant meeting. Hart has worked very hard show more to keep his past a secret, not wanting anything to affect his sisters' standing in society and having Mercy around threatens to ruin it all.

Mercy is desperate to find her brother. She feels responsible for the rift between him and their father and wants to get them back together, but she can't find him. Her trip to England from Texas is supposedly to find a husband, but she could care less about that. She has found Lord Perth and is determined to get his help. She runs into some trouble because he isn't the least bit interested in helping her. Meanwhile she's having an interesting time of her own as part of the same house party. Her Texan attitudes just don't mix well with the Victorian way of doing things. I loved the whole shooting competition and how Mercy teased Hart into participating. That was the first real sign of the sparks the were flying between them. Mercy refused to give up her search and ended up blackmailing Hart into helping her. She was also determined to help in the search. She had a couple of times when she was a real idiot and could have made things much worse, but got lucky. Spending as much time as she did with Hart, she soon realized that the cold, hard man that everyone sees is hiding a man who is hiding a lot of pain. One of the things I liked best about her was how she got him to open up to her and how she tried to relieve some of his pain. She also fell hard for him, even though she was sure nothing would come of it because of the huge differences between them.

Hart is a man who keeps iron control over himself and his emotions at all times. Years ago he had become a soldier to help support his family, later going to America to earn more for the same reason. He has done things that haunt his memories and give him nightmares, and make him avoid being around people too much. He guards his secrets, fearing what kind of damage they could do to his sisters if they were revealed. Having Mercy show up threatens what little peace he has. He denies her request for his help not wanting anything to do with that life again. But he also can't deny how much she intrigues him and attracts him. It was fun watching him try to fight it, especially during the shooting scene. Thanks to her blackmail he has to help her and at first it really angers him, especially when she forces him to take her along. It isn't long before he wants to help her on his own. The scene where she finds him battling his nightmares is heartbreaking as we see everything that is haunting him. I loved how he was able to tell her everything. The events of the next morning were funny in a way as Hart gets what he wants but is afraid to take. I really enjoyed the ending.

The mystery of her brother Will's whereabouts was well done. It gave a look at some of the less pleasant parts of Victorian London. There was more to his disappearance than was first suspected and it was interesting to see how it played out. The revelation of the person behind his disappearance was a bit of a surprise.

I also found the other characters to be well done. Lady Acton was a typical society matriarch with the attitudes and prejudices of her time. She also seemed to have a tight control over her son, who was supposedly courting Hart's sister Annabelle. Of Hart's three sisters I liked Beryl the best. She seemed to have an excellent head on her shoulders as was shown later in the book. I liked the way she treated Mercy and her reaction to Hart's revelations was excellent. I found Fanny to be the most forgettable of the sisters with her constant weeping. Annabelle turned out to be a total bitch and completely deserves the mother-in-law that she gets. I would have liked to see more of an epilogue and some hint of what happens with Will. show less