The Marriage Season

The Marriage Season by Jane Dunn takes you back to Bridgerton Era with its story. There is everything in the plot, Love, Rivalry and Emotions. For me the book was a very different experience as I normally don't read romance. Especially, I loved the characters. The female characters are strong and they know their life is not easy. Also, they are not taking things for granted. I really enjoyed the book.

Definitely 4 stars for the book. Thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for providing me an opportunity to read and review the book.

Really enjoyable -- definitely closer to a Jane Austen or Georgette Heyer read than a paperback Regency romance. Not as funny as either of those authors, but I found the characters enjoyable and they felt like real people who I wanted to spend time with. The audio book narrator was excellent! I found Lucie to be a bit shallow and one-dimensional, but I really appreciated the queer subplot.

advanced listening copy provided by Libro.fm

Sybella misses her husband, killed in the Penisular War, but has her young son for company, her ancestral home and estate and the prospect of getting her younger sister married in London during the Season. She does not realise what upheaval there will be. Her sister will be torn between two eligible young men and act on instinct to support friendship, whilst Sybella herself will realise that she can have feelings for another man.
This is an assured novel which picks up the trend for Regency romance, recently rekindled by 'Bridgerton'. The plot tries to be hard-hitting in a sub-Austen way and if taken seriously would actually disappoint but there is a real joie-de-vivre about the writing. i read this as a little diverting fun and enjoyed show more it as such. show less

The Marriage Season by Jane Dunn

Two sisters setting out from the country in hopes of finding the stability marriage will provide for the younger one. The elder had her chance, married, and lost her captain to the war only having a young son, some letters, and memories to remind her of all she lost.

I loved the cover and the blurb with comparison to Georgette Heyer had me hoping for a rollicking good romp of a read but for some reason I found the story slow, predictable, and somewhat stilted in the telling. I had trouble warming to the romance between the characters and seeing how they ended up together. I did remind me of the prosy descriptive staid writing of a century ago without the lighter brighter more engaging feel more modern show more books provide.

This is a story that held promise and one that I am sure will appeal to those who prefer sedate stolid stories, but it was not engage me or make me care about the outcome. And James, the precocious toddler taken with horses seemed out of place and in the way rather than the typical adorable child of the era that was seen but not heard. Of all the characters in the book, I think the one that I cared most about might have been Valentine.

Did I enjoy this book? Not as much as I had hoped to
Would I read more by this author? Probably not

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

2-3 Stars show less

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

This was a pleasant read, and the two heroines, Lucie and Sybella were likeable. Sybella had the world's most articulate three year old, James, who shared the obsession most of the characters had with horses. If they weren't riding them driving them, racing them, or grooming them, then they were being knocked down by them. Not much really happened, apart from a few parties, the aforementioned interactions with horses and the rather startling episode which led to Lucie claiming to be engaged to one of her friends to help him out of a criminal charge. I found Mr B's continuing to socialize with his mistresses during the novel a bit off-putting personally, but he did have a show more pair of very nice grey horses... show less

I will not give the plot away so as not to destroy a potential readers pleasure.

A good first effort in the genre for an established writer. Not as light and assured as Heyer but still worthy of 3 to 4 star rating. I thought I saw a reference to a 50 acre field which struck a slightly jarring note suggesting the author has little knowledge of farming in Regency times. Approximately 40% of current UK farms are smaller than 50 acres according to Govt. statistics.

Anna Dean is a more accomplished writer though closer to Jane Austen in style and humoue