Customer Reviews

Best Laid Schemes

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Tarquin Rome is a stiff, somewhat pompous and boring Earl who has finally decided to take a wife. In typical fashion, he approaches the matter scientifically and methodically eliminating all possibilities until his choice is finally reduced to 'three graces'. Life is good, but suddenly, he discovers that his mother has decided to invite Sibyl Cameron to his bride-choosing house party. Tarquin has always had a problem with Sibyl. Basically, everything she does or says ends up embarrassing him.

But Sibyl is no longer a mischievous child in pigtails wreaking havoc in his life, she has grown into a beautiful woman whom he finds himself strangely attracted to. The story is wonderfully funny, the monkey alone will have you up in whoops, so make sure you read this book privately if you don't want people to eye you oddly!

Emma Jensen is a wonderful writer and she draws her characters with wonderful accuracy and detail. This is one book you'll want to keep since you'll probably enjoy reading it again and again.

If you love seeing stuffed shirt heroes get their comeuppance, this is the book for you. Tarquin thinks he can pick his bride just as carefully as he might select the menu for an event. Naturally, nothing goes as he plans.

Sibly is the unexpected guest -- the guest he really doesn't want -- and of course, the woman he really needs in his life. It doesn't take Tarquin long to figure out he would be crazy to marry any of his "perfect" brides, no matter how much planning went into their selection. It takes him a little longer to admit that the best choice has been in front of him all along.

The would-be brides add much of the humor -- but the funniest moments come from Tarquin's reactions to the chaos.

Though this is a farce, don't let that keep you away. There are also lots of passages of subtle humor. Now that I think about it, I might reread this shortly...

Anne M. Marble Reviewer, All About Romance

I absolutely love this book! I have already reread it once or twice since I purchased it. I don't usually laugh out loud, but did when reading some of Sybil's history with Tarquin. I found the heroine wonderfully engaging--intelligent,witty, warm and normal looking! And Tarquin--tall, dark, handsome and just enough aloof to be totally attractive to me. I loved the development of these two characters. Unlike the second Hong Kong reviewer, if you read carefully (and please don't skim this book!), you will find hints of Tarquin's enlightenment and recognition of his true feelings for Sybil sprinkled throughout the story. I would recommend this book highly--it is definitely a keeper.

I was delighted when I started to read this book and realised that it featured a minor character from 'His Grace Endures,' another Jensen book I enjoyed. Some other characters from that earlier book also appear here (eg Lady Leverham), and others are referred to.

This is a very funny book, somewhat in contrast to 'His Grace Endures' which, while it had its amusing moments, was more heartwrenching. Jensen in this book reveals a light touch and a gift for putting her characters in ridiculous situations; her narrative also has some very amusing touches to it, particularly some of Tarquin's introspection.

I think the second reviewer from Hong Kong missed the point of this book: it is *supposed* to be funny. Additionally, I'm puzzled as to how s/he can say that Tarquin wasn't attracted to Sibyl. It was obvious all along that he was more interested in her than he wanted to be, and there were plenty of subtle hints: the way he sought out her company in preference to the company of others at times; the way he started to notice the colour of her eyes; how well she looked in her blue dress; the scene when he sought refuge in her bedroom - there, his attraction to her was blindingly obvious, and I'm not sure how this reviewer missed it. And, of course, when she escorted him to his room when he was drunk - he may have been drunk, but he wasn't incapable! Not to mention the conversation through the locked door. After all that, I have no idea how anyone could say there was no attraction or chemistry.

This book is quite a contrast to my other favourites, books by Oliver, Balogh and Kelly for example, but as a comedy-romance it is excellent.

Well develope charecters. Tarquin and Sybil were impefect and funny rendering them a bit more believable and touching. Witty writing. I love it when the greater body of a book is devoted to developing the relationship..makes it more satisfying when things fall into place at the end.

Well-written, well-characterized, and very funny (it had me chuckling aloud several times). Emma Jensen never forgets that she's writing a regency romance, which is what too many regency writers forget somewhere in the middle of the book. She never disregards social mores and restrictions of the time. This is an intelligently written regency, not in the style of Heyer, exactly, but in a unique style that works very well within the genre.

After reading many regency novels - this one has it all; its entertaining and witty - no skimming please; if you do you may miss the wit in the language and the subtle nuances in the plot; our heroine is not stupid miss but one who is calm and able to repond to all manners of challenges; for once, the male is the one who is put in a difficult light - but made more human and lovable; a must read for jaded readers who are tired of simple plots and boring language

As complex and intriguing as a romance novel can be, Best Laid Schemes is my favorite regency to date. Not only are the episodes hilarious and the story touching, Emma Jensen has seemed to convey a sense of lighthearted suspense as we race to the end to see who's causing everything to go so wrong for Tarquin's party. She has also created a heartfelt believability through the development of the characters. We feel drawn to the intelligent, loving, self-sacrificing Sybil, the incurably romantic and hair-brained Lady Leverham, the fun loving Julian, and even the practical, responsible Tarquin. We are annoyed by the "Three Graces" and their parents. Overall, though, it was the side-splitting comedy that had me laughing hysterically the first time i read it that made me really love and enjoy it as well as giving Best Laid Schemes the title of my favorite Regency Novel of all time.

This is my first Emma Jensen book and I felt let down after reading it. The plot shows great promise but the contents lack substance and credibility. The hero, Tarquin Rome invited three beautiful ladies and their parents, to be his house guests at his Kent country estate. He had been pressured by his mother to marry and fill his nursery and he intended to choose a bride from among the three Incomparables. He was not in love with any of them and "took pride in the fact that he had never succumbed to the awkward and messy business of falling in love".He was dismayed to learn that his mother had included in his house party Lady Leverham who was bringing her pet monkey and her niece Sibyl Cameron.As far as he could remember, Sibyl Cameron brought nothing but havoc in her wake and was responsible for the several injuries he suffered in the few times she stayed at Rome Castle. He did not care much for her or her aunt's company . The house party did not go as well as he had hoped and he committed some faux-pas such as scratching himself in front of the assembled guests because the monkey's fleas had got on him. There were other mishaps like his going swimming in the middle of the night and afterwards found his clothes missing and had to go home naked. The whole house was roused by a scream at the most inappropiate moment when he was getting up the stairs leading to his room ...etc. All these were too much like scenes from some slapstick comedy. What makes the story most unconvincing is that Tourquin had never felt attracted to Sibyl and there was no chemistry whatsoever between them .She had never inspired any romantic notion in him throughout the greater part of the story although she was in love with him. Therefore the sudden twist at the end is both contrived, hypociritical, incredible and unsatisfying.

Whoever thought that something so funny and amusing could also be so romantic? The book had me laughing out loud in several instances. The characters were loveable and real. I would highly recommend this to readers of regency romance who have a well developed sense of humor and enjoys a good laugh!