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Fiction. Romance. Historical Fiction. Caroline Hanscome, who dreams of music more than men, is offered marriage by a jaded lord, Jason Kincaid. Jason had drawn her name from among those his friend had offered. Though Caroline's parents are thrilled, she herself finds her fiancé alarming. And when Jason meets up with his first love, he questions whether he should have been more sober before choosing a bride. Regency Romance by Mary Jo Putney; originally published by Signet.Tags
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So much for "great expectations" huh? I quite liked the sequel, The Rake, so I had resolved to give the prequel a real chance. The only thing I knew, was that this story dealt with Richard, and he was a rather likable character in the sequel.
It started out well too, despite the fact that throughout the entire first chapter I had the feeling I had already read this. I even went so far as to double check that I hadn't mistakenly changed the book's title. In the end, I decided to enjoy it, especially with promisingly humorous quips like:
Annoying old matronly relative? Check! Arrogrant and rich hero in need of a wife? Check! Frivolous and possibly funny sidekick for our hero? Once again, check!
And that's just the first chapter. Self-deprecating humor, rich men, possibility of wallflower-like heroine reforming a notorious rake? I. AM. IN!
But then we meet our tortured heroine, which apparently meant going crazy with the similes. Self-sacrificing wallflowers I can accept, but not self-sacrificing wallflowers who are secretly angelic beauties out of our realm:
We have to do away with unrestricted access to figures of speech... actually make that adjectives in general.
As for character development... Why is everyone so "flat" in here? Caroline is a shy musical prodigy, Jessica is so gorgeous that people get Pavlovian hard-ons reactions upon her mere appearance, Richard is God's gift to mankind (with a limp, since he WAS in a war) and Jason is... tortured and diabolical?
Speaking of Jason's satanic attributes, why does Caroline need to be so dramatic?
So he had the audacity to ask her to dance while she was doing her best 'boring wallflower' impression. Next, he charms his way into her family's heart wallet, invites her for a ride in his extravagant black and golden carriage AND tries to have a meaningful conversation during the ride.
You'd think that'd qualify him as annoying at most. Not to Caroline though, as far as our heroine is concerned the baron's earned himself an express ticket to Hell...
The most ridiculous part of it of all was Richard's past conveniently catching up to him through his grandmother.
She just so HAPPENS to have been married to the local priest, and Richard also just HAPPENS to stumble on her yearly sobbing fest and she just so HAPPENS to unburden herself to a virtual stranger because... well just because. And don't get me started on Richard's mother's back story. A more boring retelling of a rape followed by murder has rarely been witnessed outside of fanfiction .
I'm assuming this scene was supposed to be all exciting and have us on the edge of our seats, but all I could think about was the metaphorical bump on the back of my head caused by the "anvil-sized plot filler", compliments of the author.
At least we get one good parting quote:
I tried, I truly and honestly did. I actually WANTED to give this book a 4 star rating, genuinely looking forward to reading it. And what do I get? A cheesy fanfiction-like drivel, without even having the decency to throw some steamy scenes our way as compensation.
What's even worse: this book actually had quite a bit of potential, if only the editor had gotten rid of the overly dramatic parts!
============================================
review of the 2nd book: The Rake show less
It started out well too, despite the fact that throughout the entire first chapter I had the feeling I had already read this. I even went so far as to double check that I hadn't mistakenly changed the book's title. In the end, I decided to enjoy it, especially with promisingly humorous quips like:
show more
“I can’t quarrel with how much you’ve increased the property yields,” the dowager said grudgingly.
If so, it was the first time he’d heard of something she couldn’t quarrel with.
“Do you just
mean to choose one [wife], like a horse at Tattersall’s?”
“George, you do me an injustice! I spend considerably more thought on selecting my horses.”
The Honorable George was something of an authority on the subject [love] since he succumbed to the emotion at least half a dozen times a year.
Annoying old matronly relative? Check! Arrogrant and rich hero in need of a wife? Check! Frivolous and possibly funny sidekick for our hero? Once again, check!
And that's just the first chapter. Self-deprecating humor, rich men, possibility of wallflower-like heroine reforming a notorious rake? I. AM. IN!
But then we meet our tortured heroine, which apparently meant going crazy with the similes. Self-sacrificing wallflowers I can accept, but not self-sacrificing wallflowers who are secretly angelic beauties out of our realm:
She forgot her shyness only with close friends or when she was absorbed in music; then her delicate face relaxed to a dreamy, ethereal loveliness.
I know perfectly well you have been dressing as unbecomingly as possible to repel potential suitors.
Caroline Hanscombe carefully checked her appearance in the mirror. Success! She definitely looked a dowd.
After plucking several Elizabethan tunes, Caroline rippled out an Italian lullaby, singing softly in her sweet true voice.
We have to do away with unrestricted access to figures of speech... actually make that adjectives in general.
As for character development... Why is everyone so "flat" in here? Caroline is a shy musical prodigy, Jessica is so gorgeous that people get Pavlovian hard-ons reactions upon her mere appearance, Richard is God's gift to mankind (with a limp, since he WAS in a war) and Jason is... tortured and diabolical?
Speaking of Jason's satanic attributes, why does Caroline need to be so dramatic?
So he had the audacity to ask her to dance while she was doing her best 'boring wallflower' impression. Next, he charms his way into her family's heart wallet, invites her for a ride in his extravagant black and golden carriage AND tries to have a meaningful conversation during the ride.
You'd think that'd qualify him as annoying at most. Not to Caroline though, as far as our heroine is concerned the baron's earned himself an express ticket to Hell...
The most ridiculous part of it of all was
She just so HAPPENS to have been married to the local priest, and Richard also just HAPPENS to stumble on her yearly sobbing fest and she just so HAPPENS to unburden herself to a virtual stranger because... well just because. And don't get me started on Richard's mother's back story. A more boring retelling of a rape followed by murder has rarely been witnessed outside of fanfiction
I'm assuming this scene was supposed to be all exciting and have us on the edge of our seats, but all I could think about was the metaphorical bump on the back of my head caused by the "anvil-sized plot filler", compliments of the author.
At least we get one good parting quote:
“I once told Jessica I thought you must have drawn my name out of a hat, but I never dreamed I was so close to the truth!”
“Actually, it was a nut bowl.”
I tried, I truly and honestly did. I actually WANTED to give this book a 4 star rating, genuinely looking forward to reading it. And what do I get? A cheesy fanfiction-like drivel, without even having the decency to throw some steamy scenes our way as compensation.
What's even worse: this book actually had quite a bit of potential, if only the editor had gotten rid of the overly dramatic parts!
============================================
review of the 2nd book: The Rake show less
Jason, the baron of the title draws Caroline Hanscome's name out of a hat as a wife. It turns out that her aunt's first love was Jason, although Caroline is comfortable with the marriage it isn't ideal and there's another suitor who suits her better.
A fun read that's pretty undemanding and a lot of what goes on is pretty well flagged. Still it's a first novel so that's to be expected.
A fun read that's pretty undemanding and a lot of what goes on is pretty well flagged. Still it's a first novel so that's to be expected.
It was very, very difficult for me to get to the 50% point in this book, but then everything with this crazy love quadrangle clicked. That said, there are two love stories, and while I think MJP did a decent job integrating them, it often left me wanting more of one or the other couples. And the end was very enjoyable, it still wasn't enough to save this one for me overall.
This has a convoluted plot that takes a long time to get to the obvious solution. Jason Kincaid picks Caroline Hanscombe's name out of a hat for his wife, but the lady only accepts his proposal due to family circumstances. When he invites her to a house party at his estate, he finds that her aunt/chaperone is his long-lost love, Jessica. Meanwhile, Caroline, who loves music, meets the neighbor whose piano she plays on as often as she can and falls in love with him. Since everyone is obligated to someone different, the situation is awkward and it takes a while for resolution - too long in my opinion. Everyone is longing for someone they can't have when all they need to start the ball rolling is for one person to confess his/her true show more feelings. show less
Jason Kincaid, Baron Radford, decided on his future wife by drawing her name from a bowl. Caroline Hanscombe was not interested but her father's low fortune forced her to accept. She wanted someone who understood her interest in music. She found that in a seemingly low-incomed Captain Richard Davenport just home from the wars. While Caroline's Aunt Jessica now widowed finds herself drawn to old flame, Jason. So we have a batch of mismatched lovers all too honorable to straighten things out. Of course it does and was a good read.
The Diabolical Baron was Mary Jo Putney’s debut novel, and it shows. It is slow going in the first part of the story, but once she hit her stride, the characters began to shine. In the end, it is an amusing comedy of errors as two couples find love.
Full review: https://rebeccasreadingcorner.blog/review-mary-jo-putney-the-diabolical-baron/
Full review: https://rebeccasreadingcorner.blog/review-mary-jo-putney-the-diabolical-baron/
Charming story. Re-read and still enjoyed it on maybe the second or third read, Rake and the Reformer are the sequel to this.
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Romance writer Mary Jo Putney was born in New York and graduated from Syracuse University with degrees in English literature and Industrial design. She served as the art editor of The New Internationalist magazine in London and worked as a designer in California before settling in Baltimore, Maryland in 1980 to run her own freelance graphic design show more business Her first novel was a traditional Regency romance, which sold in one week. Signet liked the novel so much that it offered Putney a three-book contract. In 1987 that first novel, The Diabolical Baron, was published. Since then, she has published more than twenty-nine books. Her books have been ranked on the national bestseller lists of the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly. Most of her books have been historical romance. She has also begun writing fantasy romance and romantic fantasy. Putney has won the Romance Writers of America RITA Award twice, for Dancing on the Wind and The Rake and the Reformer and has been a RITA finalist nine times. She is on the Romance Writers of America Honor Roll for bestselling authors, and has been awarded two Romantic Times Career Achievement Awards and four Golden Leaf Awards. Her titles include: Dark Mirror, Dark Passage, No Longer a Gentleman, Never Less than a Lady, and Nowhere Near Respectable. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Canonical title
- The Diabolical Baron
- Original publication date
- 1987
- Important places
- England, UK
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- 249
- Popularity
- 129,871
- Reviews
- 8
- Rating
- (3.42)
- Languages
- English, Russian, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 9
- ASINs
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