What can I say? It was available on Kindle Unlimited, I hadn't read it, and after such a rather rocky start...
My reviewer criteria. I like light, entertaining novels. I like smaller scale stories rather than epics. I like character focused novels featuring pleasant characters, with a minimum number of unpleasant ones. I greatly value clever and witty writing. I like first person, or close third person narratives. I dislike a lot of "head jumping" between POVs and flashbacks. I want a story, not a puzzle. While I am not opposed to violence, I dislike gore for the sake of gore. I find long and elaborate fight, action, and battle sequences tedious. Plot holes and things that happen for the convenience of the author annoy me. And I fear I'm a born critic in that I don't mind pointing out what I don't like in a story. However, I lay no claim to be the final arbitrator of style and taste, you need to decide for yourself what you like or dislike in a book.
Your opinions are always welcome. Comment below
The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer B
The premise of this story, set immediately after the defeat of Bonnie Prince Charlie, the Stuart pretender to the English throne in 1746, is that because a lifelong con man, and his two children chose the wrong side in that civil war, they are now in danger of having their heads on spikes on London Bridge. Their resourceful father, whose moto is "I contrive" pretty much sums up his approach to life. He contrives. And his two children are often involved in many a wild scheme of his invention, the result of which, they are both very adept at intrigue and playing roles. In this case, they cross dress. Robin, the boy plays Prudence and Prudence plays "Peter" her brother.
The story opens, confusingly, (which seems to be a characteristic of a Heyer story) with the brother/sister pair saving a young heiress from a ruthless toff in need of a fortune as she is being dragged off to Gretna Green to be married against her will, after changing her mind. This, in turn, drags them into London Society, with Prudence play a young man and having to do all the things a young man about London did at the time, gambling in clubs, fighting duels, etc. Luckily her father once ran a gambling house, so she hold her own an any game. In saving the heiress, they meet a noble man, who befriends the pair, and takes the fresh "young man" into his care... and, who begins to suspect...
This is another of her light hearted stories, not strictly a comedy, but not one to take too seriously either. It was written in 1928. Stories written prior to 1940 were often set before the French Revolution, as this one is. After 1940, she began writing Regency Romances exclusively, and I think for the most part, those later stories were her best stories. While this is a good story, it's not peak Heyer for my taste, i.e. comedy.
Well, it's back to exploring KU once again with a contemporary story next week. Stay tuned.
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