With This Ring

Carla Kelly always manages to incorporate a social issue into her books, without eliminating the romantic side of her story. The plot, the characters and the dialogue here are all well developed. An enjoyable relatively short read.

I am a HUGE Carla Kelly fan and I didn't think she could top MISS WHITTIER MAKES A LIST but was I wrong! WITH THIS RING is undoubtedly one of her best stories ever. The hero, Major Sam Reed, is one of the most compassionate, selfless characters I've ever come across, even if he does embellish his military paperwork in order to get his men what they need. The heroine, Lydia Perkins, is quite unappreciated at home, and is only brought to London to act as a maid to her younger, much spoiled sister Kitty. Lydia finds true usefulness in nursing Major Reed and his wounded and dying men as they lay forgotten in a crumbling church while all of London is celebrating the victory at Waterloo. Sam convinces Lydia to marry him after she is thrown out by her family. Sam is in most urgent need of a wife, since he told his mother and aunt that he was married in order to secure the money he needs to run the estate he inherited. I don't want to give any more of the story away, but the two have quite a few unexpected, entertaining and sometimes poignantly moving adventures between leaving London and arriving at Sam's home in Northumberland. Simply put, this is a MUST read and a definate KEEPER!

With the intention of reading a few chapters before going to bed, I found myself hours later unable to put the book down until the very last page was read. My first book by Carla Kelly (but most certainly not my last), I found it to be absolutely wonderful. The concerns of the main characters were genuine, honest, and very noble, the last being a quality you don't find very often in stories regarding the ton. The story touched my heart.

I can't really tell you why this book worked so well for me, but it did. The minor characters are drawn with such a wide brush, they are almost caricatures, but somehow, that even worked and the end result was charming. It's a lovely story and deals with death in a spiritual way (almost unheard of in romance). From the blurb in the back cover, I noted Ms. Kelly is involved in the Hospice program, which is probably why this portion of the book is both lovely and has substance. I was also impressed that Ms. Kelly understands the titles and rituals of the Church of England, and treats them and prayer with something more than a plot device. This is rare in romance. This was my first book by this author, but it won't be my last. I was totally impressed.

This was my first 'short' regency romance and my first Carla Kelly book. I enjoyed it tremendously. The writing is fluid (thank you!), the story is original, and the characters are believable and well-developed. I cried for the soldiers who died. The descriptions of death and disease as a result of war were simple, but so real that you can't help but feel it. But mostly I chuckled and laughed out loud at Lydia's thoughts and actions. And thankfully, Major Sam Reed is no cardboard hero. He is brave and compassionate, but also somewhat of a liar (for certain reasons, he tells his family he married a nonexistant woman named Delightful Saunders and had a nonexistant child with her and talks Lydia into marrying him to save his tail!). I highly recommend this book! Very original. Very well-written. I had almost given up reading romance after some rather excruciating experiences with a hero and his manroot and another hero who was over-sexed to say the least. Well, I'm off to look for her other books!

Carla Kelly, one of the best and most original Regency authors today, delivers another original, well-written, and charming romance that will please any fan of this genre. Heroine Lydia Perkins is in London with her parents and younger sister, trying to crash the aristocratic social circle's Season. Unappreciated and mistreated by her mother because she doesn't share her sister's extraordinary beauty, Lydia doubts herself and her own inner beauty but ultimately follows her own heart. This leads to a clash between her and her family. Hero Major Samuel Reed, a war-weary veteran of the Napoleonic wars, refuses to leave his wounded men in the inadequate hospital where a nation celebrating the exile of Napoleon has left them all but forgotten. He also is avoiding returning home to his estate, where his mother expects him with a wife and child in tow. The problem is, he has neither! Lydia's and Major Reed's accidental acquantance blossoms into friendship and they eventually discover their true selves while discovering their love for each other.