The The Reluctant Widow

Though I am a huge fan of historical fiction, I've never read anything by Georgette Heyer. I've heard a lot of good things about her so I was glad when I heard hear books were being re-released. When Danielle from Sourcebooks, Inc. (the publishing company that is re-releasing Heyer's works) contacted me and asked me if I'd like to review some novels, I jumped at the chance.

I honestly didn't know what to expect when I opened up The Reluctant Widow. I was apprehensive that the book would be difficult to read and wouldn't be able to hold my attention - imagine my surprise, then, when the first time I looked up from the novel, I was a quarter of the way through it! The Reluctant Widow is very captivating and funny; I was hooked from the very first page. The story took its time to unfold, but dropped enough tantalizing hints to keep me extremely interested in the plot.

The characters are also wonderfully written and charming. I absolutely loved Elinor - she was witty, funny, and smart, everything we've come to expect from an Austen heroine. Indeed, many aspects of the book reminded me of the Jane Austen novels I have come to know and love. Ned Carlyon was also a great personage; his affability and charm really were as apparent to me as if I had been standing with him in the pages of the book.

One word of caution to readers - this is not a historical romance. Though Heyer is known for her romances, she also wrote straight historical fiction; The Reluctant Widow is an example of this. The main storyline of the book is the intrigue that surrounds the house of Eustace Cheviot; there is little to no romance in the book.

One more thing - I know this seems inane, but I loved the feel of this book. The pages were thicker and heavier than usual, which gave the book some gravitas, some weight. It's obvious that Sourcebooks took great care with publishing these books.

I'd highly recommend The Reluctant Widow to any Austen fans, or anyone who enjoys historical fiction. If you are looking for romance, I'd definitely look at some of Heyer's other titles. To learn more about the Georgette Heyer books that Sourcebooks, Inc. has re-released, visit Austen Fans. I have to give a huge thank you to Danielle for sending me this book to review - I can't wait to read the next one!

Four and a half stars rounded up to five

I have read one book by Georgette Heyer before and found it a bit silly, but mildly entertaining. This one got good reviews for the most part, and the story line seemed interesting and intriguing, so I thought I'd give her books another try and purchased this one as well as 'Lady of Quality'.
However, I am not very far into it and already I am very tired of all the exclamation marks. Exclamation marks everywhere!!!!!!!!!!!! I am not sure if this was something the author insisted on doing, but I would have hoped that if that was her style, the editor would have trimmed back 95% of them. Paragraph after paragraph of dialog this goes on. The sentences are short and choppy, and more often than not end in an exclamation mark. A paragraph may contain 3 or 4 sentences of dialog, and all of them ending with the exclamation mark. I have been trying to ignore this, since as I read it seems like they are all shouting or talking loudly, and I am having trouble getting around it. It really takes away from the different inflections, mood, emotions, etc. that would actually be fitting for that particular sentence, paragraph, and subject. Instead it feels all the same, which of course is monotonous. I have had the fleeting thought of going through the book quickly and marking out most of the exclamation marks without reading the book. But I know that is not worth the effort, and the editor got paid for what she/he was supposed to do, not me.
So far, this plot seems silly as well, quite a bit unbelievable at this point, but I will carry on and see if the intrigue I have been promised helps to redeem it from this serious flaw.

This is a typical Heyer romance- not one of her very best, but still good fun. I put it in her second tier of books.

Although there is a bit of intrigue at the base of this book, it isn't one of Heyer's gothics. It also isn't a classic Heyer comedy of manners. Instead, it is a gentle Regency romance. While the underlying premise is weak, Heyer fans won't mind. Plenty of Regency details, a likeable heroine and hero, and a happy ending.

I've read several Heyers, many of which are some of my all-time favorite books, but even so I had some misguivings about reading "The Reluctant Widow" since reading the comments here and finding out that it was more focused on mystery than on romance. I decided to read it anyway, not wanting to pass on anything written by Heyer, and I am happy to say I was greatly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book!

I loved both the story and the characters, and found myself constantly chuckling over the bizarre situations poor Elinor finds herself every day. The suspense in this book never ceases to keep the reader interested, the humor is always present (keep an eye out for Nicky and his dog, it nearly always kept me in stitches), and the relationship between Carlyon and Elinor is always engaging to read, despite their many differences and her obvious (and understandable) initial dislike of him. The resolution to the mystery was also unexpected... the villian was somebody that certainly commanded my respect, evil and merciless at he was, he was a great character.

I also have to say that I disagree with the reviewer who said there was no romance here. It is subtle, but it is always there, I at least had no difficulty in deciphering the reasons behind Carlyon's interest in Elinor's welfare, however intent he was in hiding his sentiments from her. I think he might have fallen in love with her at first sight too, though perhaps he wasn't aware of that until much later... in any case, I greatly enjoyed his bantering with Elinor, perhaps the only female who didn't treat him with the respect and almost reverence he was accustomed to. His declaration of love certainly was no surprise to me, and it was very satisfying.

All in all, a definite keeper!

I really enjoyed this one and read it straight through, which I haven't done with a book since "Gone with the Wind." Am a little disappointed we didn't learn more about the Macclesfields LOL but otherwise this was a lark of a book. The hero and heroine, indeed the entire family exhibited the "unbearable lightness of being" the English are so famous for. Loved the humor and that Brit ability to carry on bravely, no matter what life hurls at you. Alas, the home remodeler in me would love to have a go at that house! But no matter read this book and curl up with some hot chocolate and bread and butter. (or burgundy!) A pity BBC doesn't make a mini series from this one.

By the way, in a nod to the other reviewers here: I think it is clearly a case of love at first sight for Ned and the widow-to-be!

This book has one of her better dog characters, as well as the terrific younger brother. The sister was also delightful and I have to say I even liked the villain. He had a certain style as well.