I've heard lots of good things about "Libby's London Merchant" before I even read the book, and I am glad to say that I wasn't disappointed. Carla Kelly is know for written Regency romances that stand apart from the masses, and this is one such book. In it Miss Kelly has given us an intelligent heroine, two extremely likable men in her life, and a cast of supporting characters that just came alive for me. The only problem is that I liked both Nez and Anthony Cook so much, that I couldn't help but be sad for the one who did not end up with her.

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.

In reading Carla Kelly, it is important to know that the world is not as black and white as it appears in other romances. Many of her heros and heroines do not come from the peerage, and many of them have real issues and little way of fighting them. Like the rest of us, these characters make the best choices they can at the time and miraculously find love along the way. That said, I love the rare Kelly books I've found, and these two stories are right up there with the best.

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 have been reading Regencies since I was a teen and a friend got this tomboy hooked on Georgette Heyer. Her books are still my standard for wit, fun and story, but I am adding Carla Kelly onto my list.

Regencies are formulaic, which is ok once you expect it. Handsome peer beats out commoner, usually. The one with the dark secret beats out the obvious good guy.

In Libby's London Merchant, though, she really kept me spinning - who does she marry? I take issue with the reviewer who was disappointed that her pick didn't marry her, so the book wasn't worth the time. IT WAS GREAT to be kept guessing! I expected her to do the same thing with the characters in Miss Chartley's Guided Tour, but she didn't. THANK YOU!

One problem I have been having with Regencies lately is the amount of sex taking over the books, especially when the leads aren't married. Thanks again for keeping it clean enough to lend to my pastor's wife.

Whatever happened to Carla Kelly in this book? Usually, while she builds up her stories and gives her characters suitable backgrounds, she makes them somewhat credible. Quite often, her heroines are placed in truly desperate situations (her heroes do like to make them suffer), but we can believe in the romance and how the couple met - be it a Marquess's brother and heir rescuing the illegitimate-born foster-daughter of a deceased country vicar, or a young woman with a past rivalling the best and worst of Dickensian bathos. In MRS MCVINNIE, while the characters were delightful and said funny things etc, I could not suspend my disbelief. How is Mrs McVinnie, a woman of no birth, no family and no connections, considered a suitable chaperone in *society* for the daughter of a late peer?

Funny - I must have been reading the wrong books all along, since it is apparent in this book that the relative of a servant in class-conscious Regency England will do just fine. [I thought that privilege limited to Beau Brummell and to persons of some wealth]. And all the Regency romances I have read to date insist that a young lady must be chaperoned by another lady if she is make her come-out.

It was not that I did not emphathize with Jeanie McVinnie's situation at the outset or her efforts to get the household in working order (having been "impressed" into duty) or her problems with one of her charges. But, for me, the first question - how do a couple get together credibly? - was not answered very well (and it did not show Mrs McVinnie in a very good light either). Why could she not tell her father-in-law the truth? Was she really that desperate that she had to commit a small spot of fraud to get away from her home situation? This did not indicate a smart heroine, or one thinking deeply.

And the corollary question - how does Mrs McVinnie fit into English high society? - was not answered either. Not to mention wondering whether the hero could indeed impress a woman on land for non-naval duties, as is done in this book.

Pleasant book, nice characters, but a plot premise that defies my suspension of disbelief.

Rated 2.7 (the lowest grade I have awarded to a Kelly book)

Mrs Jeannie McVinnie, widow, shares her name with her dead husband's late aunt, and as a result she opens a letter which commands her to come to London immediately to help out Captain Will Summers, who is in the unfortunate position of looking after his brother's family temporarily and bringing out his niece. Lost and without any real role in life, Jeannie goes to London and persuades Captain Summers to let her help, instead of the elderly lady (his former nurse) who he was expecting.

There follows an entertaining account of what could have been a disastrous Season, just saved from being so by the intervention of Beau Brummell, who takes to Jeannie and her young charge (just a bit cliched, that part). And, of course, Jeannie and Will grow close to each other, close enough to realise that each has a dark secret of which they are ashamed... and to confide in each other.

But Will loves the sea and will go back as soon as he can escape his escorting duties. So what future do they have?

This is a sweet romance, for the most part, though it is in some ways similar to Miss Whittier Makes A List: Will proposes to Jeannie and later withdraws his proposal, just as Daniel Sharp does to Hannah Whittier. I also have the same problem with this book as with the other: Will is a Naval captain and will go back to sea, and so we know that if he and Jeannie end up together they'll be apart for months, if not years, on end. I can't really see that as a happy ending.

However, this book is better than Miss Whittier, in particular in that I can actually see the characters falling in love. There are some delightful secondary characters, in addition - and the ending brought tears to my eyes.

While still better than your average Regency romance, after reading all the great reviews posted about this book beforehand, I found myself a bit disappointed in this Kelly title. It might've been just a case of unrealistically high expectations, but the fact of the matter is that I just didn't enjoy this book as much as the other Kelly novels I've read (and I am a HUGE Kelly fan). I can't say exactly what it was that didn't quite meet my expectations, the usual Kelly ingredients were present: witty dialogue, independent and intelligent yet vulnerable heroine, an open-minded and gentlemanly but not-without-his-flaws leading male with whom the audience can sympathize, and conflicts that are real (as opposed to the usual superficial ones you often find when dealing with novels about the ton), and not to mention a very adorable little girl. But even given all that, I was never really drawn into the story and found the book difficult to finish, which rarely happens when I'm reading a book by this author.

I'm not trying to deter anyone from reading this book--as said, it's still better than your run-of-the-mill regency and well worth the read, but be forewarned, it's not up to the usual Kelly standards (for that, check out With This Ring--it's GREAT!)

Jane Milton has been taking care of her young cousin Andrew Stover almost since he was born. The death of Andrew's mother, followed a few years later by that of his father Blair (Jane's cousin, for whom, we understand in the beginning of the book, she had developed feelings), put our heroine in charge of the boy. Jane is the only person at Stover Hall to care for Andrew and refuse to question his parentage, unlike the rest of the family.

The atmosphere of Stover Hall is rather heavy, between Lady Carruthers, who makes Jane's life a living hell and scolds her and Andrew every chance she gets, and the old Lord Denby, who has lost the will to live since his son Blair's post-war agony.

Carla Kelly is still one of the best to make the reader feel the same melancholy as her characters. It's perfectly clear from the beginning of the book that Jane's mind is haunted by the death of her cousin, and that she keeps dark secrets buried deep in her soul, even though horrifying nightmares accompany her every night.

But she finds a friend in her neighbour, Scipio Africanus Butterworth, who convinces her to spend Christmas with him and his family, far from Stover Hall and its gloomy feel. And for a few weeks, she puts the depressing atmosphere of home behind her to enjoy the happiness of a real family. This part of the book is the most interesting one, because it sets Jane in surroundings where she can befriend with Mr Butterworth and start to trust him with her deepest secrets. The scene in the church on Christmas night is particularly poignant, and definitely worth reading the book.

Unfortunately, after reading Mrs Drew Plays Her Hand and Reforming Lord Ragsdale, I put Carla Kelly's work very high, which might explain why I can't bring myself to give more than three stars to this book.

While I could believe that Mr Butterworth and Miss Milton had become friends who could comfort each other, I couldn't entirely buy any deeper feelings between them. They cared for each other, that much was obvious, but I'm not entirely sure that there was more than friendship between them, despite what Carla Kelly wants to achieve. Certainly there was no passion, and the outcome seemed too abrupt for me. I was disappointed not to get a conversation meaningful enough to convince me of their deep feelings for each other. Something was missing, and so the book left me thinking that it lacked the spark that characterised the two other Carla Kelly's that I've read.

On the nitpicking side, I also agree with bookjunkiereviews that the continual reference to Mr Butterworth as 'the mill owner' becomes annoying after a while; it jarred me out of the book more than once. It's harder to see him as a complete friend to Jane when she keeps referring to him as what he is and not who he is. I would have been more comfortable with a repetition on 'Mr Butterworth', which was indeed the way she thought about him.

The other downside is that Mr Butterworth's own secret seemed rather predictable to me, and the avalanche of revelations at the end of the book lessened the impact of each of them. I expected more from this story, and so I was a bit disappointed in the outcome. There was a sense of missed opportunities about it, particularly after the Christmas part.

To me, there was a discrepancy between what Carla Kelly seemed to want to achieve, and the way I received it as a reader. I got the feeling that the relationship was constantly on the verge of turning to passion, but I never saw it take the necessary step. In my opinion, it is not romance that links the main characters, but a deep friendship and maybe gentle love. It would have worked wonderfully if it were what the author set out to do, but it's not the impression I got, and so the end appeared out of line with the rest.

This book was supposed to be Carla Kelly's last Regency (for all kinds of reasons) but fortunately, she has changed her mind. This book - and a short story "The Three Kings" - remind me why I appreciate her work, although I admit to having read little of her backlist as yet.

Carla Kelly specializes in unusual stories, with the settings well-researched. This book is certainly unusual, in that the heroine is a poor relation who is taken for granted by her rich relations but the hero is not a young aristocrat but rather a mill-owner (i.e. an early industrialist). We also read a lot about the heroine's state of mind which others call a depression (and I have to agree).

What I admire about this book is plenty. First, the unusual choice of hero - a commoner and a middle-class person who is well over the typical age, being about 45. (The heroine is about 30). Second, the elements of mystery about both the heroine and hero's backgrounds, although the heroine's background is mostly revealed midway through the book. Carla Kelly keeps dropping these tantalizing hints that we follow eagerly. First we learn that Jane has been called home to help with the new baby Andrew, leaving us with the impression that this is the first time that she has seen her rich relations. We learn the truth, that she has been at Denby for about 20 years, but has been far from appreciated by her relations. We also learn about several terrible tragedies in her past. Through these flashbacks (as recalled by the heroine, and in conversation with the hero and with a rather unusual butler), we begin to understand why the heroine Jane can describe herself as someone who keeps secrets. There is certainly at least one potentially explosive family secret, namely the paternity of the young heir Andrew who has to be one of the most likeable children I have seen in any Regency romance. But, as we learn, there is yet another secret lurking in the wings...

The descriptions of the marvellous winter holiday that Jane (our heroine) and her charge Andrew enjoy with the hero and his family are alone worth reading this novel for. Where else but in a Carla Kelly would you find a house guest who takes over the planning of a magnificent dinner and gets introduced to two luminaries of the age? And young Andrew's preoccupation with the mills and the machinery is just so realistic... as is his delight in finding a friend of his age.

Some caveats. First, as one other reader has pointed out, the hero is referred to constantly as "the mill-owner". This does get irritating, unless we are meant to understand that this is the way that Jane thinks of him. Secondly, we get relatively little about the hero's own background, beginning with the reason for his rather startling name Scipio (the name of a famous Roman commander). It is appropriate given his interest in Latin and Roman civilization, but there is no hint of why his parents (his father being a pig-farmer in Yorkshire at some point) would come up with this somewhat unusual name either among the peasantry or among the mill-owning class of new industrialists they later join. There is also absolutely no reference to what Scipio was doing for the first 30 years of his life, other than spending time at school (the first 18 years). Does Carla Kelly hint at a misspent youth? I have no idea.

Thirdly, there are some editing errors. For example, the villain of the piece - Lady Carruthers, a relative of the heroine Jane - is at least once referred to as Lady Denby. There has been no Lady Denby.

Somewhat more seriously, Carla Kelly obviously has not researched peerage and inheritance laws as carefully as she has researched the new Utilitarian and Utopian philosophies. It is theoretically possible (but very unlikely) that a marquess's heir would be his sister's son, unless the title was created for that marquess with such a stipulation. Therefore, Cecil Carruthers may be able to inherit the estate but not the title. This point is never made clear. Secondly, for English and British titles, a marquess is a marquess (only Scottish marquesses are "marquises").

As for inheritance of titles, an illegitimate son of a peer cannot inherit, even if acknowledged by his father. A new creation of title would have to be made for the son (as done for the son of Lord Egremont in the mid-19th century). Finally, a child born to married parents is assumed to be the son of his mother's husband in this period (and even today). If the son is not biologically that of his father, he is still usually legitimate. This was especially true in the Regency period. If Andrew were not the biological son of his mother's husband, only the next heirs or the House of Lords itself could challenge his succession. And except in very rare cases (as when a peer's wife ran off with her lover, and had children who were acknowledged by this lover), such efforts were usually quite unsuccessful. Thus, even if Andrew was not his legal father's son, he was both legitimate (by birth) and entitled to succeed with virtually no qualms. These kinds of errors cast a small shadow on an otherwise brilliant story, and I mention them only because they are crucial to the secondary plot (that of Jane and her family) and somewhat important to the main story (the developing relationship between Jane and Scipio).

This book is a classic example of why I love Carla Kelly's work so much. With a very small number of exceptions, her books are touching, heartfelt romances which have me hooked from start to finish.

Although her books are set in the Regency period, don't look for balls and fancy dresses and simpering debutantes from Kelly. She writes about real people, and usually those whose lives have been touched by hardship in some way. In this book, Jane Milton is the archetypal poor relation, taken in by her relatives many years ago and whose only joy is in taking care of her nephew, the Marquess's heir and the son of the man we suspect that Jane may have loved. However, there is stigma attached to the boy, since he may not actually be his father's son.

Jane has a friend: Scipio, a mill-owner who owns the land bordering her grandfather's home. Because he's in trade, he's not acceptable; yet he's the only person who understands Jane's situation, and who is kind to Andrew. He offers to tutor Andrew when bullying at school makes the boy miserable, and this leads to a deepening of friendship between Jane and Scipio.

But Jane has some dark, painful secrets, which keep her awake at night. Scipio also seems to have a secret buried in his past, and although the two become closer over time, the weight of their respective shameful secrets seems to keep them apart...

This book made me cry in several places, notably Christmas Eve in the church, and the part about Jane's mother's headstone; those sections were so poignant, and so powerfully written, that I'd defy anyone to read them with a dry eye. They're typical of Kelly's skill.

There are also some lovely characters in the book: Kelly's wonderful at creating secondary characters. There's Andrew, for a start; then the butler - who, if it hadn't been for Scipio, I'd have been yelling at Jane to elope with! And there's Scipio's sister and brother-in-law; all very well drawn and sympathetic.

I agree with the reader from Bethesda that there were some sloppy editing errors and also an obvious error in relation to English inheritance law. That's a shame, and the latter point also somewhat spoils Kelly's outcome. Nevertheless, the power of the book itself, the way it's written, and the way in which I felt drawn in to the lives of Jane and Scipio and their families, meant that the errors didn't jolt me out of the story in the way a lesser writer's work might have done.

Thoroughly recommended, if you can get your hands on a copy!

Hannah Whittier, a young Quaker from Nantucket, is travelling by ship to Charleston when the ship is attacked by the French and she is shipwrecked. A day later, she is picked up by the British Naval ship commanded by Captain Sir Daniel Spark, who had so rudely boarded the US ship she'd been on only a couple of days before, impressing some of the crew. Then the villain of the piece, now he has saved her life.

But he's on the way to the Caribbean, so there's no possibility of being taken back to America... it will be at least six weeks before she can get on a ship bound for America again, and so she has to endure weeks upon weeks of being the only woman upon a British war-ship - and the company of Daniel Spark.

I found this book amazingly unconvincing in many respects. First, there's Daniel Spark. When we first meet him, he is shown as ruthless and uncaring: he has no qualms about impressing into his service anyone he wants, even a fifteen-year-old boy who isn't even British and despite the pleas of the boy's father. We see a sailor who has jumped ship from Spark's vessel and has found 'a better master and a better country'. Yet the Spark we see on board the Dissuade suddenly becomes a caring captain who is respected by his crew. What happened?!

Spark's relationship with Hannah on board astounded me. This is a man in his thirties, an experienced captain who has been at sea since he was ten. A young woman on board would be nothing but a nuisance - and yet he takes time away from his other duties to escort her to her cabin, check on her welfare and so on. This is a warship, not a cruise ship! Far more ludicrous was the notion that Spark would become so distressed about the deaths of his crew members that he'd need Hannah to hold his hand, metaphorically speaking: with his experience and the dangers at sea, shipboard funerals would be a routine event. And just how a naïve seventeen-year-old could be of any help to a hardened, cynical man in his thirties, Kelly never explains.

And this is why, ultimately, the romance is unconvincing. I found it hard to see how Spark could see Hannah as anything other than an irritating child and a damned nuisance. In contrast to her other books, there was little or no romance here. A few kisses - and with a man who'd been on a ship for months, if not years, on end, that's not too surprising - and suddenly they're in love!

Oh, just a warning: don't get too attached to any of the secondary characters. This book takes place during a war, and Kelly doesn't hold back on description and consequence.

Finally, I have a real problem with this and Kelly's other naval novel, Mrs McVinnie's London Season. The heroes are Naval captains, and they will not give up the sea. So their wives will see them, at best, for a month or so every two, three or even four years. This may well have been standard practice for Naval wives at the time, but where's the romance in that?

Actually, to tell the truth, I have mixed feelings about virtually all her books. I am a hopeless sucker for them, keep buying them, and yet - and yet - some of them leave me dissatisfied.

MISS WHITTIER MAKES A LIST is one of those books. I had mixed feelings about the naval part of it, although it was beautifully done, and it awoke in me the desire to read more nautical fiction (after which I know a lot more about what a typical British captain in this period would be like). The heroine was spunky, funny, and a Quaker. I love Quaker heroines, starting probably with Laura Kinsale's Maddie in FLOWERS FROM THE STORM. [Heck, I like heroines whose religious and social background differ considerably from the heroine. Making the heroine the daughter of an (Anglican) vicar is easy. Making her a Methodist or a Quaker is a lot harder].

Hannah Whittier is the daughter of a merchant family, a family of American Quakers who make their fortune from shipping and overseas trade. She is American, a Quaker, very young, and somewhat naive. Captain Sir Daniel Sparks is English, presumably an Anglican, the younger son of a peer, somewhat older, and far from naive. (Or so I would assume). What could bring these two people together? How about a little spot of impressment, a method whereby the British navy resorted to manning ships out of desperation, with experienced seamen being at a premium. One of the best places to go looking was on British merchant ships; but American ships would do at a pinch, given that many British-born seamen took positions there. Impressing seamen off American ships was one of the causes of the War of 1812, and this book is set just a few years before that.

Hannah's ship (on her way to meet a suitor) is waylaid by Captain Sir Daniel Spark's ship, and some men are impressed. Hannah considers this atrocious, as do all the Americans. It is a fact of life, however, in the Royal Navy, and for that matter in the British merchant navy and British privateers. Later on, Hannah's ship is attacked by a French privateer, and Hannah is the only survivor picked up some days later by Sparks's ship.

The story takes place partly on shipboard where Hannah makes a series of discoveries about Sparks and his crew and wins their affections. It then moves to enemy territory where Sparks and his crew are taken prisoner. At some point, Hannah will meet the future Duke of Wellington (albeit under a slightly erroneous title, a rare mistake by the author). Don't worry; at the end, Hannah and her captain meet up and are presumably about to be married.

When I first read this, I knew little about the British navy, and thus I oohed and aahed over the book. After reading a series of fictional and non-fiction books (beginning with Hornblower and all the way down to a biography of Nelson), I have a better way to judge the merits of the book. And, I had to compare the book in my mind to Laura London's THE WINDFLOWER. Somehow, MISS WHITTIER does not stand the test so well. In the London book, the American heroine is captured by British privateers (pirates); in the Kelly book, the American heroine who is also a Quaker is captured by a well-born British captain of the Royal Navy.

The romance is intriguing, particularly the issue of whether Hannah can be happy so far away from her fellow nationals and her co-religionists, and whether she can be happy with a man whose career keeps him away for so long. I felt that the second issue was serious enough, without the complications of a different nationality and religion. These were not well-addressed by the highly romantic ending. Things fell into place too neatly.
[Well, we do like happy endings in our romances, but still...]

I judge a romance by how well I respond to it initially, and by how well it stands up by itself (are the hero and heroine compatible? are they going to be happy together?) and against other romances of the same type. I liked this book very much at the beginning, and if this were my first Kelly, I would have given it at least a 4 and maybe even a 5. But it is not. And I have questions about the hero and heroine's compatibility, and how well Hannah will stand up to her husband's long absences. There *were* happy marriages (think of the brothers of Jane Austen, for one) but these marriages rarely had so many complications. And, given the other romances and romanticized nautical fiction I have read more recently, I cannot say that this naval Kelly stands up so well.
This is not a bad book by any means, and it is well-written. But, if you are looking for one of Kelly's best, I would recommend her short story "A Christmas Ornament" in a recent Christmas anthology, or among her books, MRS DREW PLAYS HER HAND (for a heroine who is a widow) or the tear-jerking SUMMER CAMPAIGN, or perhaps LIBBY'S LONDON MERCHANT (with its comically bumbling hero) and the sequel ONE GOOD TURN (published recently).

Rated: 3.5 (downgraded from 4 stars earlier this year)

I think this is one of Carla Kelly's better books. I don't think she knows how to write a bad book. I've no talent for writing these things. That said it's a sweet, believable, wonderful story with plenty of romance. On my keeper shelf it goes.

Signet Regency Christmas collections are the best on the market if you like this sort of thing and I do - very much. However, this year's was not the best but, still, anything by Kelly, Layton and Metzger is a Must Read for me. They did not let me down.

Sandra Heath's contribution, "The Solid Silver Chess Set" irked me, sadly, although it was clever and amusing enough. I just don't like fantasy and especially not mixed with Regency fare. Sorry - this one gave me indigestion! Elves. Yeech!

Amanda McCabe's "Partridge in a Pear Tree" is better. She has used a tried and perfected "winner takes all format" where through the machinations of a rich elderly relative, a poor woman and a poor man trump everyone and walk away with the prize of the inheritance. Using a "scavenger hunt" (in England more likely to be called a treasure hunt) a couple win the ultimate prize as well as riches - true love. Well enough done.

Edith Layton's story is a reworking of the Scrooge story with a twist. A poor woman (and not in her first youth!) wins her love when she is set up by her particular Scrooge. There is sparkling conversation here and a fun few pages. Layton always does this sort of thing well.

You can rely on Barbara Metzger for comedy and wit. Here is a sample "His lordship (our hero) was known to be pockets-to-let, seeking to repair his tattered fortune with a dowry darning needle". And another: "She (our heroine) was used to Hanbury House and Ravencroft, not a ramshackle residence for rats and bats and down-at-heels aristocrats". Enough said - this story is delicious and peopled with amusing characters. Gregory and Claire deserve each other and it was fun to watch them!

Carla Kelly is simply one of the best in the business and she NEVER lets you down. Her story of Mary McIntyre, suddenly set adrift from all she has ever known, and Joe Shepard, a not-so-ordinary simple man from a humble background, is peopled by wonderful secondary characters all of whom add to the story in a tight-knit tale of love, greed, humility and acceptance - all in a few short pages which sum up so well all that is important about Christmas. This woman never ceases to amaze me with her huge talents.

A lovely Christmas holiday read; highly recommended particularly for the Layton, Metzger and Kelly contributions.

This year Signet's Regency anthology is genuinely worth the cover price, despite the absence of stars from previous years such as Mary Balogh - but it does have Carla Kelly, and the Edith Layton's not bad either this time. Layton's anthology novellas have a tendency to disappoint.

We begin with Layton's The Amiable Miser. Joy, orphaned in her teens, has lived with her miserly uncle for several years, and she works in his bookshop, mainly because he realised that a pretty young woman would bring in customers. One of Joy's innovations is a romance section: Minerva Press books for the ladies, run as a circulating library. As a result, a number of local ladies meet there regularly to swap recommendations. The hero comes into the picture when Lady Gray, a regular, is ill and her nephew Niall returns a book on her behalf. Joy's uncle engages in a bit of matchmaking by ensuring that Joy and Niall have to spend some time in each other's company. This is an enjoyable little story, although I'm not really convinced that it's all that credible.

A Home for Hannah is second; Barbara Metzger borrows what is now a very over-used idea, that of the poverty-stricken hero. Gregory, Viscount Bellington, has inherited the family title and estates, but his late father and brother gambled all their money away. So he needs to marry someone wealthy in order to survive and rescue his estates. Unfortunately, his proposal to an heiress is interrupted by the appearance of a child who is Gregory's image. Everyone thinks that she is his illegitimate daughter; Gregory realises that she must be his brother's child from one of his many liaisons. The only person who will help Gregory with Hannah is Clare Haney, sister of a neighbour. Is it possible that together they could make a home for Hannah?

Amanda McCabe's A Partridge in a Pear Tree is an unusual and delightful short story. Lady Kirkwood is trying to decide which of her relatives to make her heir. So she decides to hold a house party, and to give the guests a challenge: find the gifts of the eponymous Christmas song. Allison Gordon and William Bradford form part of one of the teams, and come up with some extremely imaginative ways of meeting the challenge. The story is a lot of fun and has some delightful moments. The only thing which bothered me was that I really couldn't see Allison and her sisters leaving their mother alone in the family cottage for Christmas.

Sandra Heath's The Solid Silver Chess Set is the poorest of this collection. The chess set of the title is being carried by an elf as a gift from one elf lord to another, and the elf is present as part of the need for intervention between the two estranged lovers of the story, Philip, Earl of Allensmore and Julia Talbot. However, I found Philip and Julia - especially Julia - rather immature and unconvincing as lovers; both were too quick to jump to conclusions, and Julia especially came across as extremely fickle.

Finally, the gem of the collection is Carla Kelly's No Room at the Inn. Kelly specialises in unusual situations and heroines, and this novella is no exception. Having been brought up as the daughter of an earl, Mary now discovers that she was adopted shortly after her birth and is in fact the illegitimate daughter of a courtesan. The true circumstances of her origins having emerged because her grandmother traced her, Mary's adoptive parents had to tell her the truth - and effectively evicted her from their home. So she is now travelling to her grandmother's home, escorted by the family solicitor and his wife and children. Her new status is evident in the way the solicitor now treats her. Brought up as a lady, but now the bastard daughter of a nobody, where does Mary belong? But when her party is forced to seek shelter at the home of Joseph Shephard, son of her 'father's' estate steward, she realises that there is indeed a place where she belongs.

With one excellent and three very good stories, this is a collection I'll certainly want to keep.

This is the fourteenth Regency Christmas Collection issued by Signet. From the very first edition, the quality has always been high, although to be sure, some have been higher than others. To me, this one is the very best of the bunch. It is as though each author has gone a little beyond her normal wonderful skills, and created something a bit more special than usual for this year of 2002. Four of the authors are favorites from past years; Edith Layton was in the very first book, so it's only appropriate that she lead off. Sandra Heath, Carla Kelly and Barbara Metzger have each been in several of the books, while Amanda McCabe is a worthy newcomer to the collection.

In some years, the books have had a theme, but this year they're just wonderful, heart-warming stories. Edith Layton's "The Amiable Miser" gives us a different look at a miserly sort of fellow, but one with the proverbial heart of gold. And even though he didn't really have to spend any of his valuables, he was still able to provide his niece with her heart's desire.

Barbara Metzger turns from her usual menagerie to the 'infantry' in the delightful "A Home for Hannah". Hannah is an orphan, or so she and the rest of the world thinks, until one day in the park, she spies a likely candidate to be her new 'Papa', thus setting in motion all sorts of interesting activities. Her new Papa is a penniless gentleman who discovers that love can indeed conquer all.

"A Partridge in a Pear Tree" by Amanda McCabe proves that the eye of the beholder may not always see the same things as the rest of the world, but in the end, it is the one who sets the rules that wins the game. Simplicity is, in many instances, much better than grandiose ideas, as established by Lady Kirkwood with her competition. Of course, the Lady wins out, bringing together two young relatives, Allison and William, who discover the true meaning of Christmas.

Certainly there are elves afoot at Christmastime; if you have doubts, you need do no more than read "The Solid Silver Chess Set" by Sandra Heath. If you then still have doubts, you can have no heart, no soul, and no sense of humor, either. The trials of poor little Bramble Bumblekin will bring a smile to your heart if you will but let them, and your soul will be warmed by the reunion of the formerly-fickle Miss Julia and her erstwhile suitor, Philip. Even young Bramble's holiday is made brighter by the inventive imagination of the author.

And finally, Carla Kelly unveils the solution to a mystery in "No Room at the Inn", allowing the young Mary to find not only her identity but her family as well. Twice over, in fact, when Joe also settles her into a love-filled home she'd never thought to have.

Any of these stories will provide a magnum of holiday cheer; together they'll warm your chilly nights and make you think of happy holidays! Enjoy!

How strange to order a book with the title "Libby's London Merchant" only to discover that of all the things the story is about a merchant isn't one of them.

I always enjoy Kelly's books because there tends to be an earthiness to them that is rare in Regency novels. She doesn't favor dissolute rakes and "diamonds of the first water." What I found delightful in this book is how she took standard Regency plot and decided to take it somewhere you don't suspect.

It opens with the requisite titled aristocrat who poses as a London merchant (hence the title) who when stranded in the country with an attractive "country miss" (standard plot so far, huh?) then falls for the girl and wants to marry her (still pretty standard). When he discovers her less than fine lineage he then makes a less honorable proposal-- which the heroine promptly turns down (still know this plot). The interesting thing is all the while there is a secondary character, a likeable but comedic secondary character that has been infatuated with Libby all along-- a simple country doctor. As you go through the novel where standard Regency romance plot devices are dropped into the plot as required the devices are slowly, deftly made insignificant.

It was a nice read.

This heart-lifting volume collects the storytelling talents of some of Signet's most beloved Regency authors, all spinning tales with Christmas carols as a central part of the yarn. These talented ladies pack into less than one hundred pages each an emotional wallop that is rarely found in novellas--sure to please even readers who do not usually find the depth they hope for in anthologies.

Mary Balogh starts us off with "The Bond Street Carolers" in which Lord Heath, who dislikes Christmas, stops in his tracks on Bond Street to hear a boy's angelic voice raised in song. Lord Heath decides that this young man must perform at his annual winter concert--but the boy's mother, Fanny Berlinton, does not want her son exploited. Little Katie Berlinton sees the tall man enjoying her brother's singing, and renews her wish for a Papa for Christmas. Even readers who do not normally care for children intruding on their romance will be enchanted by the parts these two take in this delighful story.

In "The Earl's Nightengale" by Edith Layton, a young woman pawns a musical mechanical bird left to her by the grandmother she never met--a gift that her grandmother said would bring her happiness. When she goes back a week later, as promised, to pay the loan and reclaim her heirloom, it is gone. She catches up with the Earl of Elliott, who purchased it, because it is her only link with her grandmother, and because she and her mother could certainly use some happiness right now. Ms. Layton's Nightengale is a charming gift to her readers, topped with an extra-special bow of an ending.

Next up is Elisabeth Fairchild with "The Mistletoe Kiss." On St. Thomas's Day, five days before Christmas, governess Constance Conyngham is convinced by her young charges to take them "a gooding"--but they did not expect to encounter Lord Deleval at The Devil's Keep, and everyone was even more surprised when he showed up the the bell-ringers' rehearsal. This is a heartening story of two wounded souls who can perhaps heal each other.

In "Make a Joyful Noise" by Carla Kelly, Lord Wythe is charged by his mother to help recruit new choir members for the annual competition between the churches of the neighboring shires. One of his first requests is to Rosie Wetherby, but soon he is ent ranced by more than just her beautiful voice... and Ms. Kelly's readers are entranced as well with the relationship that blossoms.

Anne Barbour concludes this collection with "Melody" in which American Josh Weston, now Earl of Sandbourne, meets his match in Melody Fairfax, companion to the dowager countess. We are emotionally involved from the beginning as we watch these two meet and quickly find a fearsome affinity towards each other. In a collection of masters of the Regency subgenre, Ms. Barbour shines as the star atop the tree.

Kimberly Borrowdale, Under the Covers Book Reviews

I usually am disappointed in books that are anthologies, but I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The first three stories were very good and I would have rated them 5 stars but the last two stories were not as good. My favorite story is the one by Alison Lane HEART'S DESIRE and I became interested in an unseen character, Emma's brother-in-law James. I hope she does his story in the future.

First of all, let me say that I love Carla Kelly. MISS WHITTIER MAKES A LIST is among my favorite Regencies ever. Usually I buy her books without hesitation, and read them with the utmost enjoyment. But this time, with ONE GOOD TURN, Ms. Kelly actually disappointed me.

She does not disappoint in her writing, which is as first-rate and emotional as ever. Nor in her heroine, Liria, who is another of Ms. Kelly's fabulous "heroine-with-a-past"s. My problem was with the hero.

Although I was heartened to see that Nez had matured somewhat from when we saw him in LIBBY'S LONDON MERCHANT, by the middle of ONE GOOD TURN I was about ready to smack him over the head with a two-by-four for being a clueless oaf about Liria and her son. All the information is there, but he just doesn't put it together. When he finally realized Liria's secret, all I could say was "Well, DUH!" And that deflated most of my enthusiasm for the rest of the book.

As much as I enjoy Ms. Kelly's work, I was not impressed by ONE GOOD TURN. For the author at her best, try one of her earlier books instead.

While I enjoy the works of a variety of authors, only two authors (so far) are on my auto-buy list, and for slightly different reasons - Carla Kelly, and Madeline Hunter. Let me explain why Kelly is an auto-buy (that means I buy her new, immediately). She is one of the few authors willing to write about the darker side of Regency life consistently, without being explicit. That does not mean her characters do not feel passion or desire (or any of the other emotions). Such emotions are part of their backstory (their past history). But Kelly's books are almost PG in their content. The only reason they would be rated PG-13 is that terrible things have happened in the past (or will happen in the course of the story) to the hero or heroine.

One such book, which I strongly recommended in the past, is MISS MILTON SPEAKS HER MIND. Another is THE LADY'S COMPANION. Both books are warmly appreciated by Kelly's fans, although the former is a very dark book at times. And now, Kelly comes back to the Regency fans with a sequel (long-awaited) to LIBBY'S LONDON MERCHANT, a book still in print as I speak, in one of Signet's new double titles. What a wonderful build-up to her latest novel!

The story has been beautifully described by another reviewer. To say more would be to give so much away. Run, don't walk, to your bookstore or order this from Amazon. [I love the fact that Kelly's title is at 1,000-something in sales, well above Julia Quinn's and the others - as much as I respect them. Who says traditional Regency fans don't buy books? Note to myself - buy a couple more copies to send to friends I have newly converted to really good Regencies, along with LLM].

Among the titles I have liked and loved over the past few months, this will stand high. It is not an easy read. Kelly is not a light amusing read (usually); she explores darker (but not necessarily deviant) sides of human action and inaction. In this book, she completes the partial redemption of a man who was incapable of appreciating the true worth of another good woman, and how! Liria's story will bring tears to your eyes. [Fans of Georgette Heyer's THE SPANISH BRIDE, beginning with a scene in Badajoz, will appreciate this all the more].

I do hope that Kelly - and the editors out there - are encouraged to continue publishing good traditional Regencies. Recently I have been trying a variety of new authors, and have only found a few promising gems. While I came late to Kelly (after discovering Balogh), I was quickly converted. For the record, most of her books are out-of-print and very hard-to-find. Look up her back titles in your public library, try to buy them through Amazon and other sources, or badger the publisher to print more double titles.

I have read every Carla Kelly book published, and this one does not disappoint. But be prepared: This is not your standard regency -- a comedy of manners, the marriage mart or the foibles of the "ton" -- this is a real example of the other side of the period, one we read so little about. The fine thing about Ms. Kelly is that her characters are so human you want to invite them to dinner. I wish I knew a Nez or a Liria, or even a Luster or Gussie, people who come alive in the pages of this really fine book. I used to read Regencies all the time but got a bit tired of the 17-year-old, bubble-headed heroines and they ceased to be interesting to read about because the plots were all the same. This book will make you think, bring you a different perspective of the period and give you a glimpse of people with depth. I cannot recommend this book any higher -- out of a five-star choice, this book is a 10. Ms. Kelly, I could read one of your books every week all year and never get tired of them. Please continue giving us moments of pleasure....

Was kind of boring and didn't hold my interest and the titles are not all that original have seen them all before!

Unfortunately, it's the lead story that I couldn't even finish. Patricia Oliver is capable of a better effort. The next three stories (Carla Kelly, Edith Layton, & Patricia Rice) were amusing regency stories with the usual impediments to romance: relatives and misunderstandings. The fifth story, by Anne Barbour, was interesting, but I felt that I had read some of the scenes before. In fact, in one scene the dialogue came straight from Georgette Heyer's "Cotillion".

Overall, enjoyable stories for fans of regency romance.

I had to write a review because I disagree with the previous reviewer. The two stories she chose to belittle are my two favorites in the anthology. I can't imagine why she had any trouble reading "Something Old" by Patricia Oliver. Sure, most of us have read many stories in which the heroine is a young girl who has a painful experience at at ton gathering. But this time the girl has the extreme bad luck to fall in love at first sight with a cad who doesn't even notice! Ten years later they meet again. Is this a second chance at love? "And a Six Pence for Her Shoe" by Anne Barbour is a wonderful love story. The heroine waits for her fiance to return from war. She quarreled with him just before he left. Will he give her a chance to prove her love is true? The other stories were fine, but I found them less memorable. Read this anthology and see if you don't agree!