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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Fair Delight, 11 Nov 2008
About 18 months ago BBC4 had a series of programmes under the title Reader I married Him and the point of this programme was to correct the slightly condescending view on Romantic Fiction which seems to be held by the literati. I felt at the time that they did not succeed as the general air of smug contempt permeated the entire programme and reinforced this view, rather than correct it. I noticed recently that they were repeating it so switched on to see if my perception of my earlier viewing still held. Well, it did and in spades and after fifteen minutes of the condescending approach turned the TV off.
I am nailing my colours to the mast here and saying out loud and proud that I Love Romantic Fiction and I have done all my life. When I worked in the library system as a teenager and then an adult I had access to a huge variety of books and devoured them all and, while there are some pretty dire romantic writers around (as there are dire crime, adventure et al writers), we must not forget that Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights and Tenant of Wildfell Hall and other 'classic' books all have love at their centre, with Pride and Prejudice in particular held up as the First Great Romantic Novel.
The reason for this preamble/waffle is to tell you all that I spent a delightful time in bed on Sunday morning reading Fair Deception, a Regency romance by Jan Jones.
Susanna Fair is an actress, hotly pursued by Lord Warwick, a nasty piece of work, who is not used to having his advances spurned and he attempts to abduct her when she is rescued by one Kit Kydd who had jut been watching her perform that evening, and to whom she was immediately attracted. It seems that Kit needs to appear settled in a good marriage to be made heir to his great aunt's fortune and as Susanna needs to disappear for a while to avoid Lord Warwick who is in the mood for revenge, she agrees to pretend to be his fiance for the duration of the visit to his aunt.
Of course, it does not take many little grey cells to work out what is going to happen, nor to discover the secret linked with the town of Newmarket where Kit's aunt lives and which Susannah wishes to hide, but it is all done with great style and verve and pace and it was sheer delight from start to finish. Who can resist this...
"Strong arms were instantly around her, taking the weight off her crippled foot with a gentleness that almost made her weep....she received a confused impression of dancing blue eyes and gleaming hair that feathered her face as her rescuer bent to hoist her up. 'Truly a maiden in distress' he said, a laugh in his voice to match the irrepressible devilry in his gaze"
I read Jan's previous book Stage by Stage a couple of years ago and liked her writing immediately. Glad to see her second book and I now look forward to the third.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The perfect antidote to the Credit Crunch and all the Doom and Gloom!, 21 Oct 2008
The perfect antidote to the Credit Crunch and all the Doom and Gloom...
Jan Jones has written what used to be called a Regency Romp or a Light Novel, descriptions that need no explanation. She has taken all the traditions of the genre - the poor but beautiful heroine, the handsome and resourceful hero, an attempted abduction, a pretended engagement and of course, a satisfyingly complex love story - they're all here, but the author has given them a sprinkling of fairy dust and the result is sheer, unadulterated fun.
When the FTSE is diving, prices are rocketing, bleak summer is followed by bleaker winter and you really don't want to listen to the news, what you desperately need is something to cheer you up. And in 'Fair Deception', that's precisely what you've got. So throw another dining chair on to your meagre fire, open the last bottle of decent wine and settle down to escape into Jan Jones's world where beauty, virtue, a working knowledge of porcelain and a good deal of theatrical talent are useful assets along with a grounding of commonsense, and where love is sure to conquer all!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A thoroughly enjoyable Regency romp!, 22 Sep 2009
I read Fair Deception on holiday in between a couple of 'darker' books and it was a real refresher. While not a fan of Heyer or Austen (blasphemy I know!) I do thoroughly enjoy novels set in the Regency period and I like Jan Jones' voice as a writer. Anyone looking for a light, pacy, well written Regency romance will enjoy this one. In some ways Jan's style reminds me of a lighter version of Jane Aiken Hodge. Highly recommended to put a spring in your step and leave you with a feeling of well-being.
Stage by Stage (a non Regency) is excellent too.
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