Libby's London Merchant & Miss Chartley's Guided Tour (Signet Regency Romance) [Mass Market Paperback]

In Libby's London Merchant, we begin with a stock enough situation -- a handsome young Duke agrees to disguise himself and investigate the unknown country miss that his friend is intended to marry. There's a definite attraction there, but...is he the right man for her after all?

In Miss Chartley's Guided Tour, we begin by seeing our hero at his lowest point, avoiding his own wedding and leaving Omega Chartley at the altar. Who was to know that fate would bring them together again many years down the road. Can these two older-but-wiser folk make better choices the second time around?

Kelly's romances are high on telling glances, low on sexual content -- safe for me to loan to my mother-in-law. They provide some interesting information on the way that the less-privileged classes lived during the Regency period. Give this duology a try, but prepare yourself for something out of the ordinary.

I'm not going to go into the plot of "Libby's London Merchant" too much, because much of the joy that is to be gleaned from this novel is the unexpected twist and turns that this romance takes. Briefly, the plot of this novel centers on the beautiful Miss Elizabeth Ames, who suffers from the twin evils of both possessing undesirable family connections (her maternal grandfather was a tobacconist) and of being quite penniless. Fortunately for Libby, her's is a rather sunny disposition and she is quite content living with her mother and brother on her kindly uncle's estate, helping her mother run her uncle's house, and being a friend and companion to her cousin, Lydia. Interestingly enough while Libby still has hopes that she will one day find a gentleman who would love her enough to overlook her unfortunate circumstances, she seems to be oblivious to the fact that the awkward but dedicated village doctor, Dr. Cook, is quite in love with her. And then one day, everything changes. A handsome stranger has a carriage accident, and is taken to her uncle's house to recuperate. The stranger proves to be a London chocolate merchant, and he is handsome and charming and in no time at all, Libby finds herself falling deep into the stranger's thrall. However this London merchant is no ordinary tradesman. He is actually Benedict Nesbitt, the Duke of Knaresborough, who has donned a disguise in order to take Lydia Ames's measure (subplot involving the Duke's down-on-his-luck cousin who has to marry Lydia because she is an heiress). What a bonus that Lydia's cousin would turn out to be so beautiful and charming! In no time at all, the Duke decides that he wants to marry Libby. But will he still want to do so when he discovers her family connections and her lack of a dowry? What will Libby do if the Duke turns his back on her after he learns everything? And what of Dr. Cook?

In the opening chapter of "Miss Chartley's Guided Tour," Omega Chartley discovers that she has been jilted at the church door by her fiance, Matthew Bering. Things go from bad to worse for our heroine, when on the heels of that humiliating disaster, Omega's father looses all his money. Deciding to make her own way in the world, Omega finds employment as an instructor at an academy for young girls. And now, for the first time in years, she is all set to have her first holiday. Her vacation however takes an unexpected turn when she helps a young 10 year boy evade a Bow Street Runner. James Clevenden, tired of the cruel manner in which his legal guardian deals with him, has runaway from his home, hoping to reach his other uncle's home, and so find sanctuary. Imagine Omega's surprise when upon arriving at the uncle's estate, he turns out to be her erstwhile fiance, Matthew Berring, and her deep disappointment when Matthew seems all set to return James to his cruel guardian! Can Omega forgive Matthew for jilting her in such a public and humiliating manner? And what is she to make of his determination not to interfere with the manner in which James is being ill treated? As for Matthew, he never thought he'd ever see Omega again. And he's not sure if he should tell her the truth as to why he abandoned her. For there is a very dark reason as to why Matthew jilted Omega, and he's very much afraid that the truth will make Omega despise him even more than she already does! Will Matthew relent and agree to protect James? And will he be able to persuade Omega to forgive him and agree to take a chance at loving him again?

Both these novels make for enjoyable reading. Carla Kelly displays her talent by taking two rather run-of-the-mill plots and tweaking them is such a manner as to make them fascinatingly different. I liked the fact that the heroes and heroines were not always overwhelmingly good looking, and that both Libby and Omega are the kinds of resilient and intelligent heroines that appeal and engage the reader to root for them to come out on top. Both these books make for excellent reading, and if you're looking for romances with nifty plotlines, appealing characters, and intelligent writing, look no further: this two-in-one deal is a must!

If this was the only book being rated, I would definitely give it 5 stars. As a 2 in 1 special edition, however, I had to bring the rating down a notch. "Miss Chartley's Guided Tour" was, at best, a bore and reads for a big portion of the book like a travel guide. The hero didn't make an appearance until 1/3 into the book, and when he finally did, we were deprived of watching the hero and heroine fall in love because that is already being taken as a given. Carla Kelly's strong suit has always been her characterization, but in this book, she chose to focus on plot instead and the result was less than satisfying. As a result, I could only give this combined volume 3 stars.