TEST
Take a widower Earl with two young daughters; a lovely, sexy, widow Lady and her young, klutzy sister; stir in a Big Misunderstanding; pour them into a bucolic setting, and you have a recipe for another Regency Romance. Bland? Could be, but this one isn’t, due to sympathetic characters who are truly good people, and happy endings for all involved.
Miles Prescott, the Earl of Strickland, has decided he must take a new wife, just in time to have his rather forceful, matchmaking older sister arrive to “visit” with two eligible women in tow. Miles is quite unhappy with the situation, as he at once assumes that the woman meant for him is the younger Miss Hannah Fairbanks, a “chit” who is about to be presented for her first Season. Miles has not recovered from the loss of his wife, his first true love, and he believes himself incapable of ever really loving another woman, so he desires a wife only to give his daughters a much-needed mother. Having learned a lesson the hard way, he decides that young women only think they will be happy with money and title, but what they really want is love. Therefore, he must look for an older, experienced woman who has already had her romance and will be willing to settle into a comfortable but passionless existence.
Quite to his surprise and relief, he soon learns that it is the beautiful, seductive, older sister Charlotte, Lady Abingdon, who has set her cap for him. A perfect solution, or so it seems. Charlotte is drop-dead gorgeous, and steamy-hot to boot. She is also elegant, refined, and good at heart with all the makings of a fine countess. What more could the earl want? Nothing, he believes, yet he cannot put to rest his doubts.
Hannah Fairbanks, Charlotte’s young half-sister, is more than happy to tag along once it is made clear that no matchmaking plans include her. After all, she has no intention of every marrying, since her passion is limited to medieval architecture. And even if she did want to eventually marry, she’s sure no one would ever want such a hopelessly unladylike person as herself – with her unbridled tongue, scholarly intellect, tomboy ways, and complete lack of physical grace! Who needs a man when there are wonders like the ancient St. Biddulph’s church (the best example of Saxon architecture still standing in England) just waiting to be explored? And St. Biddulph’s is right next door to the earl’s family home, so Hannah’s vacation is sure to be wonderful. All she has to do is not mess things up for Charlotte. Alas, this proves to be too tough a test.
There are some delightful scenes in this book that will leave the reader chuckling. The misfortunes that befall the poor Hannah are both amusing and believable. There are touching scenes as well, especially those in which Miles speaks his heart to his dead wife at her tomb in St. Biddulph’s.
Although misunderstandings and wrong conclusions are used repeatedly to move the story along, the characters show intelligence in asking the obvious questions and confronting one another, rather than flouncing off so they can stay deceived for the next chapter or two. Another refreshing aspect of this book is that there are no villains. Ms. Hern manages to maintain plenty of dramatic tension without malicious behavior from any of the characters, and while there must be a loser in any love triangle, the resolution of this one is good for all.
My quibbles were relatively minor. The first scene in which Miles was introduced left a rather negative impression of him which took several chapters for me to get over. To me, the first scene painted him as a picky, chauvinistic, silly man who had obsessive-compulsive tendencies. Hannah was introduced in a rather strong way as well, and after the first chapter I wasn’t entirely certain I would like either of them. Also, the dialogue stuck me as a bit overdone at times, and not entirely natural. The final Big Misunderstanding also seemed a bit thin, especially after the honesty that had already been displayed by Miles and Hannah.
None of these things are enough to spoil the magic entirely though, and The Best Intentions offers memorable personalities, lively and amusing scenes, and a satisfying ending for all.
Grade: B
Book Type: Regency Romance
Sensuality: Kisses
Review Date: 04/08/99
Publication Date: 1999
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Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.