Defiant Miss Foster; Highly Respectable Widow [Paperback]

In "The Defiant Miss Foster", Valentine Debenham (Baron of Newkirk) just received the surprise of his life. His father was the guardian of several children... and now Val himself is their guardian! He travels to the rundown Foster estate to find 3 unruly boys, one eager young man, and the boyish Kat Foster (who he originally mistakes for a boy). Val, a former officer in the British army, thinks he always knows what is best. He decides to send the boys off to school, purchase a commission for the eldest, and find a husband for Kat.

But Kat Foster has other things in mind. She enjoys her country life--riding horses, wearing breeches and shooting pistols. She is determined to reunite her family, and will go to great lengths to do so.

"The Defiant Miss Foster" DID have its moments. It starts off with a bang (quite literally), and there were a few delightful moments throughout. However, I thought Kat's behavior often borderlined on ridiculous. And I'm not quite sure how (or when) the characters fell in love. In fact, I'm not thoroughly convinced that Kat was in love with Val at all. The romantic chemistry between the hero and heroine was nearly nonexistent, but the author's humor makes up for the lack. Overall, 3 1/2 stars.

NOTE: "The Defiant Miss Foster" is a new story by Melinda McRae. The second story, "The Highly Respectable Widow", is a reissue.

From the back cover:

THE DEFIANT MISS FOSTER
Valentine Debenham knew his late father was forgetful, but is shocked to discover that upon his father's death seven years ago he became the unwitting guardian to a family of orphans the old gentleman never told him about. Now it's up to Val to care for the family, including a spirited girl on the brink of womanhood. Finding a husband for Kat Foster is a responsibility he doesn't take lightly, but he never considers that he is the only man perfect enough to marry the young miss.

A HIGHLY RESPECTABLE WIDOW
The Earl of Knowlton believes no woman could resist him--or satisfy him. Then he meets Katherine Mayfield, a widowed beauty with an air of unassailable virtue who is determined to keep the infamous earl at bay--and her own heart in check.

And my review:

THE DEFIANT MISS FOSTER is a new story at the time of this book's printing (2003). A HIGHLY RESPECTABLE WIDOW is a reissue from 1992.

For the most part, I enjoyed THE DEFIANT MISS FOSTER. The author did a good job of making the heroine spirited without being shrewish. I really liked her. And how could the book not capture your attention when the first meeting between the hero and heroine ends with them fighting a duel, and the heroine shooting him in the backside? I also loved watching the hero's sister teach the hero how to "manage" men by making them think they are getting what they want.

My only problem was that while I could see why the hero would fall in love with the heroine, I could never really see why she was attracted to him. Not that he was a bad guy, but he just never really came alive for me as a character. Because he felt flat to me, I kind of felt as if the heroine was with him more out of convenience, and so she could make a home for her younger brothers. Four stars. I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't bother reading it again.


I started out enjoying A HIGHLY RESPECTABLE WIDOW. The premise is a tried and true one--the rake falls for a virtuous woman and is reformed by her. The author did a good job of making the characters well rounded, even the heroine's son. She also did a good job of showing the heart of gold beneath the hero's devil-may-care exterior.

However, the fact that the hero kept sleeping with prostitutes after he met the heroine really bothered me. Even near the end of the book, almost every time after the heroine rejected his offer to make her his mistress, the hero would then go and find another woman to slake his lust. Ugh! I know that the hero and heroine weren't in a relationship, so it's technically not cheating, but it really turned me off. This probably won't bother everyone, but it bothered me enough to ruin my enjoyment of the story.

Another thing was how the hero acted as if he were doing something laudable when he slept with other men's wives--he said that he shouldn't deny those women the joy of being with him. Double ugh! Just because those marriages were not based on love does not make adultery acceptable, at least not to me.

In the end, I found the hero's lack of morals (and his incredibly over-inflated ego) to be too much of a stumbling block. I ended up wanting the heroine to find someone better.

› Go to Amazon U.S. to see both reviews  3.0 out of 5 stars