A Merry Chase

Twist and countertwist! With characters lips twitching and lopsided grins grinning, the reader can't help but twitch and grin along! Lady Laurel Simmons is quite flattered that Lord Royce van Cleef starts paying her court until she learns that she's the "prize" in a wager to see how easily women fall for men if approached in a mysterious, seductive manner. She sets out to get even! Laurel and Royce are a perfect match - witty, smart, playful, vulnerable and - FUN!!! The pursuer becomes the pursued with villains, plots and counterplots constantly brewing in the background. I don't mean to make this book sound complicated - it certainly is not - but what it lacks in deep characterization and emotional angst, it makes up for in page-turning, excitement-filled, action-packed Romance! Give this fluffy, endearing book a try - I hope you like it as much as I did. It's a quick, hilarious read.

This is by far Ms. Malvey's best book yet. The hero and heroine are well matched for spirit and wits. I couldn't put it down or stop laughing!Royce van Cleef, Earl of Tewkbury, if extremely gifted. He is handsome, charming, and very, very lucky....at least at games of chance. Blissfully unattached he observes his friends' awkward attempts to woo their beloveds with great amuzement. He compares winning a mate to a fox hunt and advised studied observation as the obvious tactic for a successful campaign.Is it any wonder that his friends want to take him down a peg. Knowing their cocky friend can't resist a sure thing they propose a wager. Royce must woo and win a woman of their chosing using his own technique. Royce hadn't considered marriage but he must produce an heir sooner or later, so he gamely accepts. He is wise enough to stipulate that the lady of choice must meet his criteria for an acceptable partner. He is greatly relieved that the woman they choose is Lady Laurel Simmons. She is lovely and well suited to his title. There is just one catch.Lady Laurel has no use for men whatsoever. She'd been jilted once in favor of a minor inheritance and is determined never to risk her heart again. Neither the friends nor Laurel had counted on Royce's considerable charm. When it appears he is winning all too easily, his friends up the ante by "accidentally" tiping Laurel's best friend off to the wager.Horrified at being duped a second time Laurel doesn't get mad, she gets even! Laurel spreads the word about the wager throughout the ton, omitting the name of the lady involved. Poor Royce finds himself inundated with hopeful debutants. In fact everyone seems to view him as the catch of the season. Everyone but the one he wants.The moves and counter moves are hilarious, until Royce realizes that this is no longer a game. All to late he finds that he has more to lose than a simple wager. If he doesn't find a way to make amends he will lose the only woman he has ever loved. Now Royce must persue Laurel in ernest. But can he ever regain her trust?Complications include the mechanizations of Royce's mother who opposes the match, the return of Laurel's faithless fiance', and a scorned debutante bent on revenge. The story concludes in a dramatic manner as befits this amusing tale.Ms. Malvey gets better and better. I highly recommend this delightful Regency romp.Leslie Tramposch ~ UReviewIT

Royce Van Cleef scoffs at his friends for being wimps in their dealings with women and courtship. HE himself would never go about winning a woman in such a hamhanded manner! One should simply go about the business in a logical manner and not let emotions cloud the issue. The conversation results in a wager: Royce will use his system of logic to court and win a woman of his friends' choosing. The woman they choose--Lady Laurel Simmons--is beautiful and charming and fit in every way to become a earl's wife...except that she has vowed never to marry!Lady Laurel's previous experience with a fortune hunter has hardened her heart against the entire male sex. But even her disillusioned heart begins to melt when confronted with the handsome Lord Tewkbury's charm and persistence...until she learns about the wager and realizes that he is just another lying deceiver. That's when she ups the ante and begins a scheme of her own to bring down the over-confident earl.The plotting pair become so engrossed in their romantic fencing match that they almost don't realize that they have fallen in love in spite of all of their precautions...until a serious of malevolent incidents threaten Laurel's life and it becomes obvious that someone is trying to forestall a match between them.An enthralling tale of unexpected love that at the same time touches the reader's heart and tickles her funnybone...my favorite kind of historical romance!

Oh, wow--I loved this book! Victoria Malvey has penned another winning romance with her wickedly delicious regency romp, A MERRY CHASE. Royce and Laurel's courtship was clever, funny, and above all, wonderfully romantic! A feel-good read that I will turn to whenever I need a lift, A MERRY CHASE goes on high on my keeper shelf, right next to Ms. Malvey's first three novels.

In 1816 at Whites, Lord Royce Van Cleef debates with some friends the logic behind courting and marrying a woman. While his friends argue that logic is not part of the process, Van Cleef likens the chase to that of a foxhunt. His companions challenge Royce to prove his method by chasing down and wedding Lady Laurel Simmons, who has announced she will never marry after being unceremoniously dropped by her former fiancé when his fortunes changed three years ago. Though he thinks love is bogus, Royce accepts the wager because he needs an heir anyway.Royce begins to study his quarry and his pursuit of the unattainable starts to make progress when Laurel learns about the bet. As they fall in love, Laurel changes the rules of the game in an attempt to checkmate her persistent suitor.Though A MERRY CHASE is a by the book Regency romance, readers of historical love stories of any era will fully enjoy this jocular tale. The story line is entertaining due to the intelligent cast. The lead couple is a witty, humorous duo battling for the upper hand in the game of love. The support ensemble provides a feel for the era and motivates the two stars into action and reaction even as they observe the foxhunt twist into a bullfight. The enchanting Victoria Malvey makes Regency romance novels fun to read.Harriet Klausner