Customer Reviews

Ramshackle Suitor

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

 

 

Romance readers love certain things, and it seems the tall, dark, brooding hero is right at the top of this list.

Well, Nancy Butler presents those longing for something a little different with Roddy. Roddy is charming, feckless, and . . . well, maybe a little silly. Top that off with the little issue of him being somewhat drunk when we meet him, and maybe you'll understand why I love the fellow, and wish I could take him home.

He's well set-off by Lucy, who needs a little humor in her life, poor thing. They take on a quest she's sent herself on--and if you're put off by bits of psychic prodding, be warned! This book may not be for you. However, if you're up for a fabulous, off-beat romp, the characters make it more than worth your while. Let them take you ghost-hunting.

And naturally, there's this secondary character . . . but I won't tell you which one. That would be unfair.

Go ahead. Just read the book.

Well-written characters. The heroine is the usual waspish governess type--but with enough humor (and a wretched past as an excuse to get away with occasional over-waspishness). The hero manages to be thoroughly persistent and charming--and a nice change from the usual tall/dark/brooding formula. Amusing plot with enough mystery and angst to keep it from being the lightest fluff. I don't like the supernatural usually, but the lost kid wasn't offensive. Superior regency with shades of a good Metzger with even (gasp) Heyer's ability to make human characters we cheer for who can even change and grow.

This is one of the most delightful Regencies penned by Ms Butler. It features an older heroine, a delightfully boyish hero who is, however, reliable and resourceful when necessary, and his three amusing friends. The mildly supernatural element of the crying child which calls Lucy to the Isle of Man adds a poignant, slightly chilling touch which nevertheless works with the misty, isolated landscape. Although one other reviewer (below) questions the thinking of the heroine in not doubting Roddy's intentions, it must be said that THE READER is never allowed to doubt Roddy's intentions, and Lucy's removal from her usual habitat, her age, and her lonely prospects justify her early decision to take the relationship as it comes.

As a hero Roddy is superb and original. Younger than Lucy, less educated than her, he is nevertheless intelligent and absolutely charming, and the love scenes are breathtakingly tender.

Ms Butler's command of Regency-speak makes her one of the best in the genre today. This book - its characters, its landscape, its basic premise - lifts her even higher in the field.

This is an entertaining romp with occasional moments of heartbreak and angst, though not really enough for my taste; still, I enjoyed it very much. What stops it getting 5 stars is that there were some elements which I found a little beyond credulity, and since I'm no great fan of the supernatural, the crying child in Lucy's dreams - which is what brings her to the Isle of Man - didn't really appeal to me.

This story features, for the first time in my experience of Regency romances, an older woman as heroine: Lucy is 31 to Roddy's 25. This, of course, makes her even less inclined to see him as a potential suitor. I thought Butler didn't make enough of this and Lucy's own circumstances in this respect, though: she seemed very quick to discount the possibility that Roddy might just intend to make her his mistress. Despite his continual flirting with her - and he really did seem to be an inveterate flirt - from quite early on in the book she's convinced his intentions are honourable.

As other reviewers have noted, the supporting characters are an entertaining bunch, and Butler makes the most of them. I would have liked to learn more about Roddy's friends sooner; while Butler did tell us more about them, it wasn't until some way into the book. Intriguingly, one character mentions his 'Uncle Arkady;' I'm curious to know whether this is the Arkady from Lord Monteith's Gift, and if so, whether Butler has or intends to write Arkady's story.

An entertaining read, even if not up to the standards of Oliver or Putney.

When Miss Lucy Parnell finds Roderick Kempthorne is in a ditch recovering from a night's indulgence. Lucy is in a search for her sister's child. Her search is spurred on by dreams of a crying child. Thus begins a friendship between a rather devil-may-care ramshackle young man and a young governess on leave from her position searching for clues for her sister's missing child. Nancy Butler offers a study in contrasts, a wealthy younger man is attracted to a governess with an agenda. Charming and delightful, full of the life and vigor of the Regency era, such fun to read.

Miss Lucy Parnell, granted a week's holiday from her position as governess, is searching on the Isle of Man for her long-lost niece when she comes across a young man--a young man dressed in a Cavalier's finery, lying in a ditch. He is, of course, quite foxed, being on the island to help his friend celebrate his twenty-fifth birthday. Since he doesn't know how to get back to his friend's home, he relies on his charm and lopsided grin to get Miss Parnell to help him.

Roddy Kempthorne--Ramshackle Roddy to his friends--is always getting into one scrape or another, and now he's determined to join forces with Miss Parnell--who prefers to keep her life neat and tidy--to help find her missing relative. She wants nothing to do with the charming young fribble, but soon finds there's more to him than meets the eye.

Ms. Butler does a masterful job of intertwining deep emotion--both between Roddy and Lucy and with Lucy's search for her family--into a light-hearted romp full of antics and adventure. The setting and mood of the Isle of Man are as much a secondary characters and Roddy's friends and Lucy's relatives. I couldn't help but fall in love with THE RAMSHACKLE SUITOR, both the man and the book, and I think a lot of other readers will feel the same.

Lucy Parnell has come to the Isle of Man in search of her sister's child. Her unscrupulous stepbrother takes off with her belongings in an attempt to force her to come home with him and live under his thumb. Fortunately, by this time she has made the acquaintance of Roderick Kempthorne and his unforgettable friends--one of whom is the Earl of Steyne whose birthday is being elaborately celebrated on the island. Roderick--a charming, fun-loving chap--is immediately drawn to Lucy, although she is five years older than he. Lucy is likewise attracted to him, but knows better than to encourage his infatuation. After all, what good can come of it? However, he is determined to help her on her quest to find her niece, and with a nasty stepbrother hanging around, she needs all the help she can get.

This is a truly charming love story with a surprise at the end that I guarantee you won't forget soon. Even the secondary characters come alive in this story: the grieving countess, her somewhat dotty stepson the earl with his prominent nose, the bookish friend who falls in love with a ghost.

Nancy Butler has written a truly memorable Regency romance that belongs on every Regency lover's "keeper" shelf.

If you're a Regency fan, don't miss The Ramshackle Suitor by Nancy Butler. The plot is absorbing, but it is the characters that really carry the book and place it on a level above most Regency romances. From "I wish you'd let me play this Lochinvar fellow for you, ma'am, whoever he is" to "No more festering playwrights," you're going to fall in love Ramshackle Roddy, and you can't help envying Lucy a bit as the thirty-one year old spinster steals his heart. Along the way you'll meet Roddy's gang of friends, each in his own way intriguing and endearing. This is a book you won't want to end even though the tender and touching final scene between Roddy and Lucy is one you won't forget. Don't let this book disappear off the shelves before you get a copy.