Kitty’s Daring Scheme Turns into a Madcap Adventure
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Source: Giveaway Win!
Poor Kitty Charing is in a terrible fix! Her crotchety and miserly old guardian just informed her that she is to be the sole beneficiary of his fortune and estate, but only if she marries one his nephews. While some of Mr. Penicuik’s nephews are eager to inherit his fortune and marry his ward, others are not. And unfortunately for Kitty, the one nephew (Jack) she was hoping to bestow her hand upon in marriage, has the audacity to not even show his face! Kitty in desperate straits decides that there is no other recourse except for her to runaway. One of Mr. Penicuik’s nephews (Freddy) stops her from this absurd notion and instead agrees to enter into a sham engagement with her. Kitty hopes this fake betrothal will grant her the London adventure she’s always wanted, as well as teach her negligent suitor, Jack, a well-deserved lesson! What ensues is a whirlwind adventure complete with an abudnance of mishaps, marriages, and hilarity!
To put it simply, reading Georgette Heyer novels is a blast! I love the fantastic combination of comedy, drama, and history in her novels. One of my favorite aspects of her writing is Ms. Heyer’s exquisitely-crafted secondary characters. All these characters are skillfully drawn and possess distinctive and unique personalities. Her simple-minded Lord Dolphington kept me in stitches with his repetitive recitals: “I like Freddy. Always have. I like him better than Hugh. I like him better than…” I also took pleasure in Freddy’s father, Lord Legerwood with his arch comments, and his daughter Meg, with her appallingly bad taste in fashion. And we must not forget the cantankerous and gouty Mr. Penicuik, or Kit’s incurably sentimental governess, Miss “Fish” Fishguard, whose histrionics were quite hilarious.
Just like in Devil’s Cub, Ms. Heyer’s employment of Regency cant and colloquialisms in Cotillion is a source of great amusement and entertainment for me. My favorite phrases in this novel include: “make a cake of myself,” “all the crack,” and “havey-cavey!” There is quite a bit of dialogue in Ms. Heyer’s novels, and through her dialogue I was able to learn much about these colorful characters and experience the action of the plot firsthand.
The romance between this unlikely hero and heroine may be my favorite Heyer romance yet! Kitty Charing, although she starts out as a self-absorbed and impetuous schemer, beautifully grows into a big-hearted and admirable heroine with a penchant for helping others. And our hero – while he may not be the most handsome and charming of men, he does capture the reader’s heart by being reliable, honorable, and always coming to the rescue. I took great pleasure in witnessing how these characters, while becoming embroiled in the affairs of others, underwent character transformations of their own.
Cotillion by Georgette Heyer is incredibly entertaining and memorable. I highly recommend!
GIVEAWAY TIME!!!
Awhile back I had the good fortune of winning two copies of Cotillion in two separate giveaways. One during Austenprose’s month long celebration of Georgette Heyer The other in a set of Georgette Heyer novels from Sourcebooks, during Austen Authors month long debut.
When this happened, I decided to save the second book to giveaway to my lovely readers! So dear readers, if you want to enter this international giveaway please leave a comment stating which Georgette Heyer novel you recommend I read next. Besides Cotillion, I have read The Masqueraders and Devil’s Cub.
Or, if you haven’t read any Georgette Heyer novels, leave a comment about which one you want to read yourself.
I haven’t read any of her novels yet and would love to read any of them! Thanks for the chance!
I’ve only read Devil’s Cub myself, but I’ve heard that Venetia is really good – that’s one I want to read soon myself (actually, I want to get the audiobook and listen to Richard Armitage reading it to me!).
I would love to read this! It sounds funny, sad and romantic:) I haven’t read any books by Georgette Heyer unforunately. They all look so good though, such as The Black Sheep.
I have read Venetia twice. Need I say more? I haven’t read Cotillion however. Sounds great!
I would recommend The Black Moth. It has adventure and a fun romance. 🙂
I have not read any of Georgette’s books. *shock* I know, it’s sad, isn’t it? I want to definitely read Cotillion as well as Venetia. Thanks for the chance to win!
I already own this book so please don’t enter me. I would like to recommend Friday’s Child which I enjoyed reading it 2 years ago. It’s got a naive and charming heroine and a reformed hero.
I have read The Black Moth and A Convenient Marriage. I enjoyed both of them very much. I would love the chance to win this book. Heyer was excellent at her craft.
I haven’t read any Georgette Hayer novels, but Cotillion sounds very interesting and I’d love to read it. Thanks so much for this international giveaway!
I haven’t read any of Heyer’s novels yet, but a friend told me that she really enjoyed “Friday’s Child”. Anyway, I wouldn’t know which book to read first, they all seems interesting. Thanks for the chance to win. Hugs,
Patrizia
pat.giorgi@alice.it
I haven’t read this one yet and I love Heyer’s works. I’d love to be entered for the giveaway please. schafsue at gmail dot com
I haven’t read any of Heyer’s books. She does sound like a great author and I do want to read her books especially Cotillion. You rated it 5 out of 5 stars!
thebookish96(at)gmail(dot)com
It was lovely to discover your blog, Meredith! Could not believe this is an INTERNATIONAL giveaway! I’m all for it, since I’m here in Brazil! Based on your reviews I would love to read Cotillion. Already have it on my to-read shelf on goodreads. Thaks for the opportunity!
I haven’t read Cotillion yet, but I have read a half dozen other Georgette Heyers. If you liked The Devil’s Cub, you might want to try its prequel: These Old Shades.
I’ve read all Heyer’s romance novels, and Cotillion is a great one! Since you have read Devil’s Cub, you really should go back and read These Old Shades, the love story of Dominic’s parents, the Duke of Avon and Leonie de St. Vire. If anything, it’s a little better than Devil’s Cub.
Cotillion is one of my favorite Heyer novels! I adore both Freddy and Dolph (who cracks me up). Good luck to all the entrants!
I’m embarrassed to admit I haven’t read any yet!! First on my list is Grand Sophy, just because it’s been recommended so many times by fellow Austen-lovers. But first, I must finish my yearly reading of all 6 major Austen books. So many books, so little time!
I really enjoyed Arabella, Sprig Muslin, The Convenient Marriage. I have The Spanish Bride (?) but haven’t read it yet.
I just finished Regency Buck and loved it!! I would highly recommend this book! I just got False Colours and will be starting that soon.
I haven’t read any Georgette Hayer books, but your review of Cotillion sounds interesting. Thank you for this giveaway and for making it international 🙂
maniezkelly at gmail dot com
I would recomment The Grand Sophy as I think it is one of her best books.
Thanks for the giveaway.
Carol T
buddytho {at} gmail DOT com
I have yet to read Heyer but I have heard that Cotillion is a favorite among many of her admirers plus your glowing review seems to agree!
DaSwee94@yahoo.com
I like your summaries of Heyer novels, sometimes the blurbs on the back of the books is confusing but I am more intrigued by your review then anything I’ve read yet!
Thank you! I too find that the blurbs on the back of the book are a littl confusing. I try not to give away too much information in my summaries! Don’t want to spoil anything!
An enjoyable read Cotillion by Georgette Heyer. loved the way you wrote it. I find your review very genuine and original, this book is going in by “to read” list.