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 Quiet Gentleman by Georgette Heyer B+
The premise of this story is that the young seventh Earl, Gervase St Erth, the heir to the estate returns home, alive, after serving in the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars. His half brother, Martin, and step-mother feel that this is unfortunate, and indeed, resent his return, since his half-brother has long considers himself the rightful heir, seeing that was much favored over his older half-brother, who was held in some disfavor by his father, since he reminded him of his wife who had run off with another man. There is also his cousin Theo, who has been running the estate for the Earl, and one Miss Drusilla Morville, a neighbor who has been staying at the estate while her parents are away visiting. Though no great beauty, she has great kindness and level-headed common sense. We also have a young, beauty, who looks to inherit a great deal of money someday, that Martin is in love with. And a dashing, titled and wealthy, army friend of the Earl who comes to visit him. Mix all together, with someone seemingly trying to kill Gervase St Erth and you have another Georgette Heyer Regency romance/mystery story.
As I have often said, I love clever, witting writing over plot. I like interesting, and peasant characters. I love cleaver and witty dialog. I like a bit of romance. And I want to be taken to another world or another time when I read. So far all of the Georgette Heyer books I've read provide all of my requirements for a great read. Luckily she wrote a lot of them, and most are available as ebooks from the library. In addition, she wrote mysteries as well, which I might also give a try when I have exhausted her Regency era book. And I gather she also wrote several other non-Regency history novels as well. I'm set for a while, it seems.
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