Indiscretion

Pros: Deserves the comparisons w Georgette Heyer. Yet I would say falls somewhere between Heyer and Austen on writing quality. The dialogue between Mr. Milner and Miss Fortune was very sarcastic and funny. Another reviewer aptly called it 'sharp wordplay'. I liked the fact that the author captured the settings without being overly descriptive. He also gave you the essence of secondary characters through their own words and only secondly by light-handed description.
Strong female protagonist: Caroline Fortune
You'll love to hate: Mrs. Catling and Mr. Leabrook
You will not trust: Mr. and Miss Downey, Mr. Charles Carraway
Will amuse and exasperate you: Captain Fortune (father), Uncle John Langland and Fanny Milner.
Lovable: Aunt Selina show more Langland (I loved Uncle John too)
Very good substance to this writing; not fluff. Highly inspired by characters from Jane Austen's writing, you will recognize the archetypes from her work: the rake, the innocent, the rebel, the villain, the trickster, the hero (albeit very flawed).
Cons: Some noticeable contemporary language creeped in at a few occasions.
Frustrating at the end, how plots are wrapped up quite quickly after such a building up of anticipation. These regency HF authors need to do better, it's not just this author who has not spent enough time on a well constructed ending.
!However! I still gave this book 5 stars for standing above the pack in quality of writing throughout, and I am extremely eager to read more of his works. show less

Now this is a Regency-set historical novel I really enjoyed. Caroline Fortune's life is taking a turn for the worse. Her father, a melodramatic retired captain who genuinely doesn't understand why he can't seem to hang onto his money, has just hit rock bottom. Faced with angry creditors and yet another eviction, Caro decides to become a paid companion to the rich but ferocious Mrs. Catling. Accompanying this woman to Brighton, Caro enjoys her first taste of society, meeting Mrs. Catling's niece and nephew and their charming acquaintance. When things go wrong, Caro finds refuge at her uncle's country vicarage. While there, she tries to behave like a proper young lady, which is difficult given her unorthodox upbringing. She soon becomes show more frustrated by all the secrets and machinations developing around her, but she soon becomes entangled in some pretty big messes. Will she be able to help her friends find the path to love and happiness? Will she be able to find it for herself? This book was very well-written and the characters were wonderful - I loved Caro's Uncle John, her father Captain Fortune, and Stephen Milner. It's not Austen - I don't care what the back cover says - but it's good anyway. show less

Caroline Fortune is a woman of good sense and good humor, both of which she's needed in order to survive. Her father lost what little wealth he had years ago, and now the debt collectors have grown quite severe. Although Caro has better experience with gambling hells than genteel parlors, her father nevertheless manages to secure her a place with a cantankerous old lady. Despite years of experience fending for herself, Caro is still young, and she finds that shifting into the quieter mode of Society rather difficult. Moreover, people keep taking her into their confidence, quite against her protests. When scandals start popping up, how will she protect her reputation?

I really enjoyed this novel. First and foremost, Caroline and the love show more interest (who I won't name, for fear of spoiling the pleasure of discovering who he is) are unique, well-thought-out characters. Their virtues and their foibles both make complete sense, and their conversations are very entertaining. The secondary characters have distinct voices and personalities, and neither they nor the plot is cribbed from Austen (unlike the majority of Regencies written today).

But like Austen, this is a book that uses a great deal of satire. It's a true pleasure to read an author with both wit and something to say with it. I'm really looking forward to reading more books by Morgan. show less

Oh my! Who'd have thought that the first really successful modern-day attempt at a regency novel would be written by a guy? Austen and Heyer would applaud.

The plot is not that surprising though is fun to follow along. The characters are well-drawn: There's the proper balance of fluttering, eccentricity, and drollness. But the dialogue, oh the dialogue -- utterly delicious. I wish my mother was still around so that I could share this with her. She'd have loved it.

One funny aside -- I was given this book by my sister-in-law, who brought it with her from India. My husband, on seeing the book lying on the bed waiting to be started, muttered that it violated one of his cardinal rules of books, so he could never read it. "It's not chick show more lit," I told him, "more regency." "But I have a rule to never read anything by an author with the first name of Jude", he replied. Hmm...I think maybe he's seen me hurl one too many books by Jude Deveraux across the room. She wrote one book I liked, and all the rest have been a frustration, but I keep hoping, because of the one I liked. This Jude won't get thrown at a wall in my home. show less

Quite an enjoyable regency romance, with some quirks tied up with being published as (I gather) a literary historical novel and not with a romance press (we don't meet one of the partners until way into the novel, for instance). Fun, engaging, intelligent about gender norms and friendship and lots of other things. An annoying detail: the apparently random nature of a handful of present-tense passages, which read almost as copyediting errors rather than as a meaningful stylistic choice, really bothered me.

What an enchanting reading!
This is a good choice for those who love Victorian novels, and even more because of its easy prose and its witty dialogues which keep you turning pare after page and with a smile playing on your lips at the end of each chapter.
The heroine, Miss Fortune (yes, that subtle irony...), coming from a doubtful background, is a smart and strong-minded but flirtatious girl who has to make her own way in Society leaving some of her acquaintances with their mouths open with her sincere ways.
Stephen, not the shinning knight we are used to in Austen's novels, is an intelligent but not obliging character who exasperates Miss Fortune with his jesting, who, at the same time, captivates the reader at once. The dialogues show more between those two are utterly brilliant.
The other characters help to create a complete and believable picture of the Victorian era, providing the reader with high entertainment of such quality only comparable to that of Austen's, Du Maurier's or the Brontës'.
I can't praise this book enough, specially the second half, which had me completely hooked, and remember the declaration of the last pages which left such a sweet taste on my mouth that I'm sure it'll be some time until I have so much genially fun.
I'll be definitely reading more by this author! show less

A perfectly delightful regency romp in the styles of Austen and Heyer. With characters that jumped right off the page and some of the wittiness dialogue I've read in a long time.

I was very surprised to find out this was written by a man, but that was soon forgotten because you'd never be able to tell as soon as you got into the story that this wasn't written by a woman.

The characters were completely three dimensional. You can make out even the smallest of characters. The character of Stephen Milner has probably become one of my favorite characters in historical fiction. He was a bit eccentric and very droll and completely hilarious. Our heroine, Miss Fortune (that's right, you read that correctly) was a perfectly splendid character with show more a bit of the devil in her, but with also touches of affection and quick wit.

Fans of regency romances will be sure to love Indiscretion. show less