The Abduction of Julia (Avon Historical Romance) [Mass Market Paperback]

The plot of this wonderful first novel by Karen Hawkins centres on an abduction of the wrong woman by Alec Hunterston - instead of the lovely Therese he ends up with the frumpy, bespectacled Julia - also known as the "Frant Dragon" as it is her unenviable task to chaperone her cousin, Therese.

Julia has loved Alec for four years and marries Alec in Therese's place so that he can comply with the terms of his Grandfather's will. She protects her pride by driving a hard bargain - he inherits but she bargains for half the fortune to enable her to pursue her great passion in life - REFORM. She also thinks she may be able to reform Alec from his rakehell ways - although in the end both she and Alec are changed.

Some plot elements are very reminiscent of Georgette Heyer (The Devil's Cub, which involves a similar elopement gone wrong; also Arabella, where the heroine collects strays and urchins). However this does not in any way detract from the freshness of the story and characters. To me it comes accross more as an affectionate nod to the roots of the genre.

The hero and heroine are neither of them perfect, but they develop through the book and because they seem real you care about them and their feelings for one another. I loved Julia's makeover - she did'nt suddenly become a raving beauty but as she said 'its amazing what clothes will do for a woman'. The change in Alec seemed realistic because he had got to the stage where he could see that maybe gambling, drinking and womanising were not the most totally fulfilling occupations in the world.

There is also a wonderful cast of secondary characters - the dark and romantic Lucien (I hope he gets his own story!), Mrs Winston the Housekeeper, Burroughs the Butler with a straight face (of course) and unexpected sense of humour, Maddie, who launches Julia and her son, Alec's friend, Edmund who has a heart of gold but, to put it kindly, not the largest brain in the world.

Even the villain, Nick, who is totally dastardly, is sexy and by the end, although he was totally awful...I could see him having his own story provided the heroine was EXTREMELY brave. The only one who was utterly irremedeemable throughout was horrid Therese - and I even felt sorry for her!

Whoops - I nearly left the most important bit out - this book is FUNNY - there are some wonderful laugh out loud moments - I really was chortling to myself and dying to grab someone and tell them the joke.

Apparently Karen Hawkins has written one other historical under the name of Kim Bennet, called One Lucky Lord, which I intend to order and she will be releasing "The Belated Bride" in January - I can't wait!

I used to shun Regency romance novels, preferring instead highland and medieval romances, but Karen Hawkin's The Abduction of Julia is a really good book that I think reading it might have led me to warm up to the sub-genre. It seems it only occured to me that the rigid etiquette of the ton and the double standards of their actions, not to mention the innumerable marriages of conveniences sets the scene for an endless array of hilarity and romance!

A marriage of convenience is exactly what ties Julia Frant and Viscount Alec Maclean to each other. Bound to a vow to his late grandfather, Alec finds himself eloping with and agreeing to marry Therese Frant, daughter of the Earl of Covington. To prevent his inheritance from going to the hands of his cousin Nick, he fulfills the demands in the will of his grandfather. Unfortunately, instead of Therese he finds his carriage carrying her cousin, the overprotective chaperone otherwise known as The Frant Dragon. Plain and spectacled, Julia does not catch his attention, until he finds that she was, once upon a time, the daughter of the other Earl of Covington. Hence begins the marriage and their attempts to engage with the ton and avoid scandals... not.

Not only have I warmed up to regency romances with this book, I appear to have also developed a penchant for regency romance revolving around marriage of conveniences! There is something absolutely delightful about regency wives and husbands fluttering about hiding their feelings for their loved ones, and I found that in The Abduction of Julia! I must say, the characters are every bit as loveable as the plot. Alec and Julia are both oblivious to each other's feelings, resulting in very comical but very romantic misunderstandings, which they make up for with some memorable scenes. I love Julia's transformation from plain to beautiful - it's highlighted, but not in a way which leads the readers to think that Alec's attraction it dependent on her beauty. It is clear from the start that it is her fiesty and compassionate attitude that pulled her to him. Alec can be insistent, insensitive and impulsive at times, but he carries the emotion in this book - quite a lovely character! The secondary characters deserve an applaud too, because they are a very entertaining bunch, from Edmund the excessive chatterbox to Burroughs, the old butler who never falters to bring Alex his warm glass of milk every night!

Despite the lovely characters and the fun plot, I found several loopholes in The Abduction of Julia. Firstly, there was a lack of detail surrounding the ton - I am fascinated by the ways of society and while I thought the book would focus a bit on it, it only passes over the detail very fleetingly. Secondly, the climax was not very thrilling, as it plays safe and stays on the romantic side. Finally, the ending is unsatisfactory and I did not feel that there was a resolution. Such a shame for a novel so fun!

Nevertheless, The Abduction of Julia is a wonderful indulgence in regency romance. Romance lovers would love this!

The abduction of Julia is a good fun read, I did enjoy it. The main characters are likeable and side characters like Maddie and Edmund (I did love his ramblings) were an added bonus.

So why 3 stars? - Julia is an untouched, unnoticed do gooder. She is chaperone to her beutiful cousin Therese, while Julia wears dowdy clothes and glasses, no man has even looked at her twice. She marries Alec and overnight has amazing clothes, is very beutiful and very sought after by more than her husband. Not something I find easy to believe in. Also as I said she is completely untouched but at her first kiss she absolutly launches herself at Alec with no hint of trepidation, and as for the first time they sleep together - she takes the lead and makes it into a frantic rushed episode with what felt to me, very little feeling. She falls asleep when it is over and the next day she is gone before he wakes up, and when he finds her she acts like it meant nothing. Alec is supposed to be a notorious rake who slept with many, many women and yet he seems to be the virgin in this instance.

There is only so long I can stand reading about two people who are so blatently in love but can't see it about the other, there are so many books that do this, but in this book there was a twist, having Alec believe Julia was in love with someone else was a good means of getting round that and making it a little more interesting.

All that aside I did like the story, (I just wish it was a little less fairy tale) I will not be reading it over and over again like I do with my favouite books.