Basically this book is Barbieheimer, if the Barbie part were a historical Regency romance novel and the Oppenheimer part were a dry, grim Napoleonic war novel. In fact, the heroine's name is actually Barbara so that works perfectly! She's a young widow who is so beautiful and bewitching that she's constantly surrounded by enthralled lovesick men. She's scandalous because she flirts with all of them and paints her toenails gold like a Parisian prostitute!! Quel horreur!!! Alexa, play "Maneater" (either version works fine). The hero is Colonel Audrey, a dashing handsome man who is sensible and respectable; this is contradicted in the text by him falling in love with Barbara at first sight and proposing like the second time they meet, as well as him being stupid enough to think Barbara will stop being such a scandalous flirt after they're engaged, despite her telling him straight to his face that she won't stop and will keep doing whatever she wants. He's like "no you won't" and then gets all surprised Pikachu face when she does. Who could have foreseen this??? I don't get why he had to be so much older than her (about ten years). GH really had a thing for older male love interests.

The war half of this book is about the Duke of Wellington planning/preparing for war, which mostly seems to consist of him writing letters during the day and then going to balls and dances at night. He's basically the third main character of this book. Audrey is one of his aides, and other aids and their love interests are side characters. This part of the book is very dry and boring; when we get to the Battle of Waterloo it's very violent and sad with all the deaths and injuries. The two halves of the book are very inharmonious and the nonexistent transitions between the two are jarring. It'll be like: "Her eyes flashing, Barbara bounded away. [paragraph break] The Duke of Wellington sat down to write a letter..." Heyer really did her research (she has a bibliography in the back of the book) and did her best to write about the Duke of Wellington and the Battle of Waterloo in an accurate way, but it would have been better if she'd split the two books up. Pick a lane, Heyer. Barbarloo was not fun; at least Barbieheimer was two different films so you could choose to skip one.

Check out my review, plus trigger warnings, at https://fileundermichellaneous.blogspot.com/2024/05/book-review-infamous-army-by... ( )

In 1815, beneath the aegis of the Army of Occupation, Brussels is the gayest town in Europe. And the widow Lady Barbara Childe, renowned for being as outrageous as she is beautiful, is at the centre of all that is fashionable and light-hearted. When she meets Charles Audley, dashing aide-de-camp to the great Duke of Wellington himself, her joie de vivre knows no bounds – until the eve of the fateful Battle of Waterloo ...

In the summer of 1815, with Napolean Bonaparte marching down from the north, Brussels is a whirlwind of parties, balls and soirees. In the swirling social scene surrounding the Duke of Wellington and his noble aides de camp, no one attracts more attention than the beautiful, outrageous young widow Lady Barbara Childe. On their first meeting, dashing Colonel Charles Audley proposes to her, but even their betrothal doesn't calm her wild behavior. Finally, with the Battle of Waterloo raging just miles away, civilians fleeing and the wounded pouring back into the town, Lady Barbara discovers where her heart really lies, and like a true noblewoman, she rises to the occasion, and to the demands of love, life, and war.... ( )

I loved this book. Of course, keep in mind that I am a serious fan/student of the Napoleonic era. This is an in depth look at the Battle of Waterloo. I recommend this book at work to men who read the Richard Sharpe novels of Bernard Cornwell and the Jack Aubrey novels of Patrick O'Brian. The romance is not the central element of the story, and what there is, is relatively low key. In other words, not enough to make a guy think he's reading a romance. There is a lot of battle tactics here. It is a good read for regency romance readers who would like a little more info on the battle that figures greatly in those novels. ( )

Enjoyed this as I have so many of Heyer's tales. There is much more military content in this one than most of the others, and it seems to be handled quite expertly, as expected. I wish she'd been able to develop Audley a bit more, but ah well. ( )

Colonel Charles Audley is immediately charmed by the merry widow Lady Barbara Childe when he meets her in Brussels at a ball. They quickly become engaged despite Barbara's wild and scandalous nature. However, the Battle of Waterloo is looming and it threatens to destroy the world as everyone knows it.

Georgette Heyer brings her pen to bear on the Battle of Waterloo with a nod to Thackeray's [Vanity Fair]. The novel is well written but the highly detailed chapters devoted to the battle were not for this reader. I pick up Heyer for the charm and the romance and this novel strays decidedly into military historical fiction territory. I stuck it out to see what happened for Bab and Charles but wouldn't recommend this novel unless you're really into endless lists of regiments and battalions. ( )