3 Trad. Regencies

Two by Debbie Raliegh- The Wedding Clause & A Scandalous Marriage. One by Judith Lansdowne, Lord Nightengale's Triumph.

The Wedding Clause

Is Molly Conwell a money grubbing mushroom with no morals? Or is she a lovely young woman who eased Anthony Elkington's, Viscount Woodhart, aunt's last months? Why did the lady write her will in this way? Could they get around it somehow? Is Hart really as cold & unfeeling as his reputation? Can they find common ground?

This one is the weakest of the three, IMO. Woodhart spends much of the book castigating Molly only slowly reforming his opinion of her. Over the course of several weeks he switches from being infuriated by her to being infatuated with her. This after Molly spends nearly a year in his aunt's employ & his opinion is supposedly firm. This is not to say that Molly is innocent & naive. She does have ulterior motives & blithely ignores the fact that Woodhart could be justified in his opinions of her character.

In the end, each manages to change enough & confess enough of their wrongdoings that the other can fall in love.

A Scandalous Marriage

The last in the Vicar Humbley trio. The Vicar must help Victoria & Claredon overcome the difficult circumstances surrounding their marriage. Claredon picks the lock on the door of Victoria's room at an inn & joins her in bed. Why? Victoria has registered under a fake name- that of a woman who has relentlessly pursued him for the last year. Victoria is ruined & they must marry. She resents him for forcing her hand, but refuses to see her culpability in the situation.

Vicar Humbly manages to bring them both around in the end. Lovely finish to a good series.

Lord Nightengale's Triumph

The third installment in a four book series starring a talking, singing macaw who also happens to be a matchmaker. Very cute. A rector's daughter, Mary Butterberry, is determined to marry a man, Peter Winthrop, her family disapproves of, who is convinced he killed someone in a fit of grief.
Romance Review, Books