Title: Penelope
Author: Anya Wylde
Paperback: 302 pages
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services, Inc. (January 13th 2013)
Genre: Regency Romance
Read: e-book
Stars: ****/5
Buy On: Amazon
Summary: (Goodreads)
Leaving behind the rural charms of Finnshire, Miss Penelope Fairweather arrives in London with hope in her heart and a dream in her eye. The dowager, no less, has invited her for a season in London, where she will attempt to catch a husband.
Thus begins our heroine's tale as she attempts to tackle the London season with all her rustic finesse. Unfortunately, her rustic finesse turns out to be as delicate as a fat bear trying to rip apart a honeycomb infested with buzzing bees.
What follows is a series of misadventures, love affairs, moonlit balls, fancy clothes, fake moustaches, highwaymen, sneering beauties, pickpockets, and the wrath of a devilishly handsome duke.
My Review:
Thanks Anya for offering me your book to read and review :)
Cover: Makes you want to pick it up!
Paper and font: The font and layout is good.
Readability, language: : Easy Read!
Why did I choose this book: Look at the cover, how could I not :D
Penelope who has a knack for saying and doing the most idiotic things at the most inappropriate of times is invited by the dowager at Blackthorne to London for a season, where she hopes to catch a husband. The idiosyncrasies start right from her arrival when she arrives dripping wet with her pet goat Lady Bathsheba in tow to the surprise of the Blackthorne Household.
The rest of the story is a hilarious tale of Penelope's season as she learns London society-etiquette and goes about finding a husband.
When Anya got in touch with me for a review of 'Penelope' it was the cover that first caught my eye. With a pink background, a dainty girl and a 4 line introduction to Penelope, it was just so Julia Quinn and P G Wodehouse that I had read it.
And the cover was balanced well with a blurb that completed and sealed my interest in the book.
The plot of 'Penelope' is the age old one of a simple naive girl finding her prince charming. However Anya tells it in a refreshing way and I laughed my way through the book as Penelope puts her foot in her mouth and puts herself in a spot repeatedly while prince charming is right there under her nose.
Set in Regency London Penelope's rustic charms of rural Finnshire stand out and make for a good comparison with the big city, it's society and it's people. London with all its rules and stipulations still has its quirks and moments.
Anya has created a set of memorable characters with endearing quirks that I'm going to remember for a while. There's Sir Henry Woodville with his fixation for moustaches that goes so far as to require a supply of fake moustaches. Lady Bathsheba the goat who adds to every situation with full gusto. Jimmy the Falcon who is a poet, a highwayman, a deer stealer and a burglar of some note. And not to leave out Miss Penelope Winifred Rose Spebbington Fairweather who is at the root of it all!
Along with Penelope we get introduced to a lot of new characters and plots as she makes her way through London Society looking for a husband. However Anya neatly ties up all the loose ends and wraps the story up well with the couple living happily ever after and making lots of babies :)
'Penelope' reminded me and left me longing to revisit Wodehouse. There's clear influence of P G Wodehouse in Anya's writing and though no one can touch the master, Anya has done a good job and written an enjoyable regency romance with a good sense of humour and comic timing.
If you're someone who enjoys Humourous Regency Romance, this is a book for you. A great read to curl up with on a rainy afternoon. And don't forget the hot coco :)
About the Author:
Anya Wylde lives in Ireland along with her husband and a fat French poodle who's now on a diet she says. She can cook a mean curry, and her idea of exercise is occasionally stretching her toes. Anya Wylde can be reached through her Facebook Page.
Buy On: Amazon
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