A Groom of One's Own

Maya Rodale's novel, A Groom of One's Own, starts off with an absolutely inventive memorable chapter; the heroine, Sophie, is jilted at her wedding in front of loved ones and guests. She has no idea her fiancé would state he loved another but even worse, her wedding turns into pandemonium when her brother brawls with her fiancé', her clothes are ripped and even a cat gets into the fray. Sophie escapes to London and within a year's time she is writing all about other people's weddings for a gossipy news sheet. She is one of four females employed at the paper and though she is grateful for her job, she hates attending weddings and writing about the love struck couples. When she experiences yet another panic attack during a ceremony, she runs out into the street and is almost hit by an oncoming carriage but she is literally swept off her feet by the hero, Brandon, the Duke of Hamilton. Sophie just knows he is the one for her. He is so charming, handsome, and gentlemanly and she has no idea who he is because he only introduced himself as Brandon. Brandon is similarly smitten but knows that his infatuation with the beautiful Sophie will end as soon as it starts for he is engaged to a lovely woman already. His fiancée, Clarissa, is beautiful and obliging but Brandon cannot help thinking about lovely Sophie. He is stunned when she arrives at his house at the invitation of his future mother-in-law, who is desperate to have Sophie write all about her daughter's nuptials in her column. So begins a sweet and very honorable romance that is funny, charming and really quite romantic. Sophie is forced to spend time with Brandon and his fiancé. She longs for Brandon yet also likes Clarissa. She knows she loves him and is desperate for him to recognize his feelings too. Brandon is drawn to Sophie's funny, sunny nature, she is flirtatious, troublesome but always kind. He is torn between his duty to Clarissa and his desire to be with the wonderful Sophie. Clarissa is also a nice character, at first she was bland, a colorless girl who I thought would just be a backdrop in this story, not so. When Clarissa meets a charming, handsome Prince, she comes alive and suddenly she is a much more interesting character. I liked just about everything in this story. The characters are witty - Brandon writes silly lists, Sophie writes sarcastic insightful comments when she takes notes, and Clarissa and her Prince flirt outrageously with each other- and the story moves along with great tension. Brandon uses his honorable nature as a shield against emotional entanglements and Sophie is so alive and forthright that Brandon lowers his defenses without really recognizing it. Both humorous and sweetly romantic this is a novel that will go on my keeper shelf.

Finally, a regency romance with plot and pace! Maya Rodale has written a funny, beautiful story that drags you along at breakneck pace as the two main characters fall in love. I love that Sophie is an unusual heroine, she's someone with spirit making her own way in the world and the rest of the writing girls are gorgeous characters I can't wait to see in future books. With her hero, Rodale has taken even more of a risk: he's not the standard devilish rake and the constraints keeping him apart from Sophie are as much internally directed by a sense of honor as they are directed by external events. As a result he feels much more real and new than most regency heroes. It's a great book to kick off a series with, long live the Writing Girls!

I am usually very picky with my historic romances, and surprised myself by picking up this novel for being simply drawn in by the cover. The description on the back was interesting, a woman writing about a wedding of a man she loves, but not hers. Immediately, I am intrigued, and wondering how the happily ever after will take place. I open the book, see the author has written a book on my wishlist, and, before I know it, I've bought the book and am glowing in the bliss of sheer giddy-happiness that fills me after a satisfying read. First of all, the writing is wonderful and easy to follow. I was intrigued, laughing, and occasionally tense throughout the story, eagerly turning the page to see what would happen next. The main characters of Brandon and Sophie were wonderful. The secondary romance was sweet, as well, and different than the first (which made for a lovely comparison of the two). The prince was one of my favorite characters (especially when seen through the eyes of Brandon). Other secondary characters were also very animated and fun, setting up potential stories and plots from both Brandon's family and those in Sophie's Writing Girls group. The idea of having four women write for a paper was part of what drew me into the story. I love the idea of independent women, and the author does an excellent job of making their existence seem probable to the time period. I did not once feel the characters were out of place in the setting, and loved how well the author weaved the characters together in the story. Full of fun, laughter, and emotions (and a bit of writing), this novel met every expectation I have for a good historical romance. For a few hours, I was taken away on a journey to a different time and setting, where love seemed impossible, but would triumph in the end with a grand finale (including a theatrical swooning and rush to a wedding!). It was a breath-taking ride that left me smiling.

In 1822 at the church in Buckinghamshire, the man she is engaged to marry Matthew Fletcher breaks off their relationship saying marriage is a commitment. Stunned, Sophie Harlow writes off marriage. Thus it is ironic because one year after her disavowal of marital bliss and her fall from grace, she obtains a position as one of the four Writing Girls; her column is Miss Harlow's Marriage in High Life for the London Weekly. For the Weekly, Sophie covers the wedding of the Duke of Hamilton Brandon to Lady Clarissa, daughter of the Duke of Richmond. She would like to beg off because she is very attracted to the groom, but must attend if she is to keep her job. To her amazement the Duke appears to want her and to both their shock, the bride seems more interested in a foreign prince. However, the quartet is all honorable people so no one will take that critical first step to disentangle the wrong pairings into the loving relationships. The first Writing Girl's Regency romance is a screwball comedy of errors that feels like combining Sheridan's The School for Scandal with a 1930s madcap movie inside a regency romance. The story line is fast-paced throughout as the quartet dance to love but with the wrong partners. Maya Rodale provides a wonderfully zany historical with three other Writing Girls to go. Harriet Klausner

The storyline was predictable but very well written. It was good to read a story that showed honorable good people who believed in each other and did not simply walk away from love. I could not put this book down and read it in 1 night. It was beautifully written and I found myself rooting for the 4 main characters.