The Perfect Waltz (Merridew Series)

This is the follow-up to "The Perfect Rake" following the same family of five sisters, this time focusing on the twin called Hope. Although there are occasional references to the events in "The Perfect Rake" it isn't necessary to have read that book to understand this one - however the details of the difficulties that the five girls (Prudence, Charity, Hope, Faith and Grace) experienced growing up with their evil grandfather are spelled out in that book and only alluded to in this. Hope is at the start of her second season. Her two elder sisters Prudence and Charity are happily married and she and her twin Faith are meeting various men at balls and parties etc, but none of them quite hit the mark. Then she catches sight of someone who rather reminds her of her evil grandfather - a strong and muscular man. Despite this initial negative connotation she finds herself interested in Reyne. He asks to waltz with her and although not a comfortable dance, and in no way living up to her ideal of the perfect waltz, she is intrigued by him. Sebastian is courting Lady Elinore, a prudish woman who has been on the shelf for years and is several years older than him. He's not courting Lady Elinore for his own means but because he needs a mother for his younger sisters who had been taken away from him when they were young and have only just been found after over a decade of being missing. Sebastian doesn't know in detail what happened to the girls in this time but Cassie wears a knife strapped to her leg and Dorie doesn't speak at all. Sebastian needs someone who can help look after the girls as governesses are being hopeless. He knows that Lady Elinore is involved in a charity school for orphans and thinks she's just the ticket. Unfortunately for him he sees Hope Merrivale at a ball and from that moment he's smitten. Not enough to deflect him from his strange courtship of Lady Elinore, but he is unable to keep away entirely from Hope and keeps spending time with her. He thinks she's a young woman who has no concept of the difficulties his sisters have had and therefore can't help them - he doesn't know the Merrivale sisters' difficult past. There aren't any great surprises in this book. Hope has to learn to trust a man again, Sebastian has to understand the true needs of his sisters, Lady Elinore has to throw off the shackles of her unconventional and life-crushing upbringing and Sebastian's friend Giles has to learn to look beyond a woman's outward appearance to discover a genuine women beneath. The twin love stories in this book are gently written and the characters are engaging. My only reservations are that Sebastian seems remarkably mercenary about Lady Elinore and that he also seems very blinkered about what would be good for his sisters; equally, Hope doesn't seem to see anything wrong with riding roughshod over someone else's strongly-held beliefs about teaching the children in her care. Their attraction seems largely physical for the first half of

Since her very first book, I have been an admirer of Anne Gracie and think she delivers first class stories with high calibre writing, excellent characters and an unflinching ability to write about real life issues. The second instalment in the "Perfect" series, this one was equally as good as The Perfect Rake. Others have summed up the plot in great depth so let me say what I admired most in this book. Child abuse is a difficult subject to write about and not become either hectoring or maudlin. Let's just say that Gracie has been able to keep this theme running in two books in such a way that her characters have a very interesting and subtle distinction. I admire her willingness to bring such a theme into romantic fiction and allow her characters to triumph over it. The hero in this book, Sebastian Reyne is unusual but a loving and wise man who, once he realises what he really wants, seems sure to give the heroine, Hope, a contented, loving and deeply satisfying marriage. I'm looking forward to the third in the series. An admirable author and a very good tale indeed.

I just finished this incredible book and had to comment on it. I'd never heard of the author and bought the book on a whim (as in I needed more books for my TBR pile). Without giving away the story, this book was the absolutely BEST romance I've read in a year's time. Since I'm a Writer WannaBe, I eat up books and probably have read one hundred since last February and this one stands head and shoulders above even the others that I've loved. The hero is very different from most heros and is more human with greater appeal, depth and compassion than most romance characters. He isn't even handsome, yet I fell in love with him and can so understand why the heroine did! As for the heroine, I am normally not that excited about heroines, but this one was just wonderful. Rather than the normal feisty, childish spitfire you read about in so many romances, Hope was truly a mature, compassionate (yes, they both were), winsome and very sympathetic heroine and she won my heart. An amusing background romance goes on and it is also quite amusing with good humor. I can't wait for her next book, and am going to order "The Perfect Rake," her first novel. This is one multi-gifted author!

Much as I enjoy Anne Grace's novels, I wasn't sure that I was going to enjoy the second installment in the Merridew sisters' series, "The Perfect Waltz" mainly because I wasn't sure if the beautiful and (almost) perfect Hope Merridew would be able to sustain my interest. I worried needlessly: Hope may be the almost perfect heroine, but Anne Grace made her intelligent, compassionate and determined enough to make her an interesting heroine and one that it was easy to root for -- add this to an extremely interesting storyline and a secondary romance subplot that possessed sizzle as well, and you have a fairly memorable romance novel that is sure to win raves! Beautiful and lively Hope Merridew's days of suffering abuse from her grandfather are long over. These days, she and her sisters are able to enjoy lives of luxury and ease thanks to the generosity and love of their granduncle, Oswald, and to the splendid and advantageous matches that her two elder sisters made ("The Perfect Rake"). No, these days all Hope has to worry about is which ball to attend and which gown to wear. That is until she meets the dark and enigmatical Sebastian Reyne. Rumour has it that he is a pushing mushroom and an illegitimate son of some sort who may have murdered his first wife -- not the sort of man a much sought after diamond should be interested in! And yet, something about Sebastian intrigues and fascinates Hope (much to her chaperone's dismay). After all this is one man who seems to be able to tell her and her twin apart! And yet, much as he seems to practically devour her with his eyes, Sebastian seems to be courting another lady. What should Hope do? Should she concentrate to meeting other, more eligible gentlemen or hold out in the hope that Sebastian will come to his senses? She knows that she and Sebastian are meant to be, but how to convince him? "The Perfect Waltz" could have ended up being a book all about a young woman's determination to nab the man she wants. Fortunately, it was not. By factoring in Sebastian's and his younger sisters' unhappy histories and his attempts to make things right for them, and Hope's unhappy memories of what life was like before she and her family escaped to London, Anne Gracie packs her book with enough backstories to give structure to the romance that develops between Hope and Sebastian, thus making it more believable and credible. And speaking of romance, I esp liked the one that developed between the lady that Sebastian was ostensibly courting and his best friend. It had quite a bit of sensual heat. The pacing was smooth and unfrantic and characters, well all fairly well developed -- and these two vital ingredients, along with the absorbing storyline really did contribute to making this a very enjoyable and riveting read for me. So that all in all, I'd say that that fans and romance readers are in for a treat with "The Perfect Waltz."

By 1818 once impoverished Sebastian Reyne had become very wealthy through hard work. His motivation was to find his two sisters Cassie and Dorie to bring them home so they can be a family again. He succeeds, but his preadolescent siblings are out of control behaving anything but lady like. Sebastian decides he needs a wife to supervise his sisters as the latest governess fails besides which he objects to the woman using force on his beloved sisters. He chooses Lady Eleanor as the perfect candidate to marry. However, Sebastian runs into a problem when he dances with Hope Meridew as he finds he desires her even as he pursues another. Hope shares his deep regard, but feels there is little she can do since he still plans to marry Eleanor out of a sense of duty. As his hearts and other unruly body parts sends him one way, his brain keeps telling him to go in the other direction. Of course Sebastian never factored in that his siblings have their own agenda as to whom they want as their new "sister". This is a terrific Regency romance due the strong characterizations. Hope and Sebastian are a fine couple, but he makes the tale because even though he knows what he wants, his desire clashes with what he believes he needs. Duty vs. love is brilliantly battled as Anne Gracie writes the perfect historical. Harriet Klausner