Author: Barbara

Avid reader/reviewer of historical romance and historical mysteries.

Last Gentleman Standing by Jane Ashford

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Regency Era (1811-1820)Leave a comment

Last Gentleman StandingLast Gentleman Standing by Jane Ashford

Barbara’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Stand Alone
Publication Date: 9/5/17

This was such a fun, delightfully entertaining story filled with wonderful robust characters. One of my favorite characters is Aunt Lavinia – she is absolutely priceless. She acts like she’s not all there, but she really is – and she constantly uses malapropisms – for instance, she says “I was living as cheaply as possible at a reverential hotel on the seacoast.” It was such a fun read that I could hardly put it down.

This is a clean read, so if you are looking for steam, this book isn’t for you. Sadly, the hero and heroine don’t even utter an “I love you”. I did like that the story took place over a long period of time so that there was time to feel that the hero and heroine to come to love each other.

Miss Elisabeth Elham inherits the entire estate of her mean, hateful, miserly, curmudgeon of an uncle. She’s never spoken to or met her uncle but her father had assured her that he wasn’t anybody she’d want to know. So, she was shocked to learn of the inheritance, but pretty quickly came to grips with it. Her first order of business was to contact her cousins, Tony and Belinda and bring them to live with her so they can share the good fortune. Elisabeth is very smart, independent and outspoken. Usually, if she thinks it – she says it. Therefore she is totally unlike any of the other young ladies in London and many of the gentlemen admire her for that.

Derek, son and heir of a Viscount, has never had any desire to marry because the simpering misses in London just make him shudder. However, when he meets frank, unguarded and outspoken Elisabeth, he is immediately attracted. Derek is not only handsome, but he’s honorable and honest as well.

Lord James Darnell is the only loose end that left me sad. If it were a series of books, I’d think he’d get his own book and HEA, but since it is a standalone book, I feel sad and unfinished for him. Yes, he is a fortune hunter, but it isn’t his fault and he fell in love with Elisabeth – and well – I didn’t want him to just go away. I wanted him to find happiness – somewhere away from his mother.

The villain is still a mystery to me. We never really learned his background other than he lost his money on a plantation. Then, there was stuff about his first wife – did he murder her or not. Her family says yes and he says no. I just never felt I understood enough about him. However – he was the villain.

“I requested and received this book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”

Death of a Busybody by George Bellairs

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Historical Mystery, World War II Era (1939-1945)Leave a comment

Death of a BusybodyDeath of a Busybody by George Bellairs

Barbara’s Rating: 3 of 5 stars

Series: Chief Inspector Littlejohn #3
Publication Date: 9/5/17 (Re-release)

I’d actually give it 3.5 stars if I were able, the mystery is good and you aren’t sure who the villain is until almost the end of the book.

This book is the third one in a long series of books by author George Bellairs and was originally published in 1942 and the original hardcovers with dust jackets are quite collectible. The mystery is quite good, the townspeople hospitable, the police force all cooperate with each other and a villain you aren’t sure of until almost the very end.

If you enjoy mysteries, you’ll probably enjoy this one. I found some of the character names humorous. For instance, Miss Tither (as in church tithe) was the victim and was found in the church cesspit.

You also need to understand that there are some references to what would have been a current event or person at the time and you may not be familiar with them. They didn’t bother me enough to make me stop and look them up. The thing that kept sort of jarring me out of the story was that the words were written as the person speaking would have pronounced them. So, I often found myself stopping and going back over some of the words to parse them out before I could be sure what was being said. Another thing you might want to know that it contains a lot of words that are no longer used in general discussion or writing.

All of that said, I did enjoy the mystery and getting to know the inhabitants of Hilary Magna. It was thoroughly enjoyable to read a story where there were no rivalries in the police offices and the local people were a good and cooperative group.

“I requested and received this book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”