Suitors and Sabotage

Lady Imogene Chively is kind of dreading the upcoming house party, to be honest: her lone suitor from her recent London season is coming, and though he is a pleasant young man and a good match, her shy personality means entertaining any company can be a bit of a chore. Fortunately, her bubbly friend Emily will also be on hand. Ernest Steeple, the aforementioned suitor, does arrive, as does his brother Ben. Over the course of that house party and the ones that follow, Imogene slowly realizes that she is not in love with Ernest — but she may be falling in love with Ben! Worse, a chain of seemingly accidental misfortunes have befallen Ben. Is someone trying to get him out of the way?

I found this Regency romance thoroughly enjoyable. The show more pacing was a bit leisurely, but the characters were so nicely drawn and the plot so interesting that I didn’t mind taking my time with it. I listened to the audiobook, which only added to my enjoyment. Recommended to Regency fans, and I’ll be seeking out more books by this author. show less

Oh delightful! A regency romance with realistic adherence to social mores, and a sensible heroine who makes her decisions accordingly. I really enjoyed it, not least that it has a strong mystery thread running through it. Also, love triangles suck no matter what, but at least this book presents that well.

Imogene Chively is slightly nervous at the prospect of Ernest Steeple and his brother, Ben, coming to visit her family's estate. Having met Ernest during the London season and made an impression, the visit serves as an opportunity to get to know each other with the likely view of getting married. Imogene likes Ernest but getting to know Ben, she finds herself falling for the wrong brother. At the same time a series of small but cruel accidents befall Ben, making it seem likely that someone has it in for the young man.

An exceedingly gentle Regency romance that's marketed for teens but would likely be suitable for older middle-grade readers. There's a lot of angst over perceived barriers to Imogene and Ben's falling in love, which is show more balanced by a lot of sweet and cozy moments between all of the main characters. The mystery involving Ben feels pretty low stakes for most of the novel and the resolution of that plot line felt kind of odd. Also as a long-time reader of Regency novels, the author's cheat of the young people agreeing to all call each other by first names feels wrong although I appreciate why the author made the choice given her target audience. Ultimately, a great read to give a tween or young teen to introduce them to the delights of Regency romances but as an adult reader who is very familiar with the genre the content failed to live up to the excellent cover. show less

**I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. This is a voluntary review; all opinions are my own and not influenced by my source.**

This book was a lot of fun–and that’s not something that you would immediately think when you read the plot synopsis. I mean, someone is possibly trying to kill Ben and Ben is in love with the girl his brother is pursuing. Things could definitely take a turn for the dark but they never do and I think that’s where Anstey’s talent for writing shines the best. She has this ability to keep things light and captivating all the same.

I did find that this book did suffer from a little too much filler at times. Not that I minded too much since I adored the characters (truly, they make show more this novel!) and any scene they were in but I did find it dulled the suspense of the sabotage. The sabotage is more subtle than I anticipated it would be though it did bring excitement to the plot.

Despite there being a bit of a love triangle/square situation happening, I couldn’t get enough of the romance! Again, this has to do with the great cast because I seriously loved everyone and hated to see anyone hurt. But you can’t deny the chemistry that lies between certain characters more than others. I love longing glances between characters and when the inner monologue drifts off as the character becomes absolutely smitten with the other. The romance here was simply perfect.

Honestly, Cindy Anstey is the bar when it comes to writing fantastic, entertaining YA historical fiction. She always has a fabulous blend of romance, danger and wit that I’ve yet to come across in another book. This one is definitely another win!

Check out more spoiler-free book and series reviews on my blog SERIESousBookReviews.com as well as read book series recaps!

Full Review: https://wp.me/p7hLUw-2Ag
Actual Rating: 4.5/5 show less

I really like Anstey & was looking forward to her latest. While there were many things to love about this new book (the protags were SOOOO CUTE), I don't think it was her best. In the end, the sabotage plot, while convenient to bring our protagonists together, had a very unsatisfying resolution that was quite a bit darker than the rest of the book supported. Her other villains have been larger than life scenery-chewers & I've dinged off points for it, but I honestly would have preferred that here.

This was a cute romantic comedy set in...Regency times, I think?
Imogene and her family are set to entertain a young man who is visiting as an avowed suitor for her hand. However, his younger brother Ben is the one who really catches Imogene's interest. Both of them spend the length of the novel trying to do the "right" thing in denying their feelings for each other, but, of course, things are going to get satisfactorily resolved. I liked that Imogene and Ben bond over art and architecture.

There is a "mystery" thrown in that is not really all that intriguing due to a lack of suspects. It is fairly simple to figure out who is at the bottom of the sabotage.

Aside from a few quibbles over manners and vocabulary (just because I'm me, and show more I'm picky over historical fiction), this was an enjoyable, light read. show less

Not bad, but not that great either tbh. Needed more sabotage and less suitors.

Also, extremely nitpicky complaint, but the summer weather in 1817 probably would not have been that nice and if it had been the characters ought to have appreciated it more. The previous year was known as "the year without a summer" and the effects of 1816 were probably still being felt in 1817.