Scan barcode
A review by frootjoos
A Tryst with Trouble by Alyssa Everett
5.0
Review online here: http://rnslnitelite.blogspot.com/2012/01/tryst-with-trouble-review.html
It's been ages since I read a really satisfying Regency romance. I read a few last year that I don't even count as having read since they were so poorly written and disengaging, I might as well have been leafing through a ten-year-old copy of Cosmo. (Wait, is Cosmo still around?)
A Tryst with Trouble, Alyssa Everett's debut novel, was just what I needed to revive my love for Regency. Ben and Barbara provided everything I look for in a good couple--likeability, chemistry, and conflict. Everett embroils them in mystery, a few improper situations, and just enough comedy to keep it from being a stuffy Historical with a capital H. At first I thought I'd be annoyed by the alternating points of view, but I ended up enjoying it. It's really the author's knack for balancing all the story elements that kept me firmly engaged in this novel.
Here's a bit from Barbara's perpective that made me laugh out loud:
"Do you think my pulse always hammers that way?"
"I don't know." I gulped, afraid to let myself believe I was the cause. "You might have a heart condition."
Everett also throws in a bit of commentary on homosexuality that strikes me as very modern, and that I found very welcome especially against the backdrop of prim and proper English society. It's done well in that not only does it seem plausible, but it also figures slightly in the plot--not enough to be a central issue but shaping and nudging the rest of the puzzle pieces into place.
Oddly enough, the last three Regencies I read were sadly lacking in the department of hot and bothered--sad wastes of a romance novel, in my book. I know they're supposed to be more on the tame side compared to Historicals, but there's a fine line between getting some and getting none at all. Again, Everett manages to balance tension with release--not too much, not too little--just right.
A too-transparent mystery would have ruined this for me, but don't be too quick to decide whodunit. Everett managed to keep me guessing almost up until the end. (It also didn't hurt that my mind cast the actors from the new BBC Sherlock in some of the leading roles--yum!) This is definitely one I will be picking up to re-read, and I'll be looking forward to more entertaining releases from this bright new author!
It's been ages since I read a really satisfying Regency romance. I read a few last year that I don't even count as having read since they were so poorly written and disengaging, I might as well have been leafing through a ten-year-old copy of Cosmo. (Wait, is Cosmo still around?)
A Tryst with Trouble, Alyssa Everett's debut novel, was just what I needed to revive my love for Regency. Ben and Barbara provided everything I look for in a good couple--likeability, chemistry, and conflict. Everett embroils them in mystery, a few improper situations, and just enough comedy to keep it from being a stuffy Historical with a capital H. At first I thought I'd be annoyed by the alternating points of view, but I ended up enjoying it. It's really the author's knack for balancing all the story elements that kept me firmly engaged in this novel.
Here's a bit from Barbara's perpective that made me laugh out loud:
"Do you think my pulse always hammers that way?"
"I don't know." I gulped, afraid to let myself believe I was the cause. "You might have a heart condition."
Everett also throws in a bit of commentary on homosexuality that strikes me as very modern, and that I found very welcome especially against the backdrop of prim and proper English society. It's done well in that not only does it seem plausible, but it also figures slightly in the plot--not enough to be a central issue but shaping and nudging the rest of the puzzle pieces into place.
Oddly enough, the last three Regencies I read were sadly lacking in the department of hot and bothered--sad wastes of a romance novel, in my book. I know they're supposed to be more on the tame side compared to Historicals, but there's a fine line between getting some and getting none at all. Again, Everett manages to balance tension with release--not too much, not too little--just right.
A too-transparent mystery would have ruined this for me, but don't be too quick to decide whodunit. Everett managed to keep me guessing almost up until the end. (It also didn't hurt that my mind cast the actors from the new BBC Sherlock in some of the leading roles--yum!) This is definitely one I will be picking up to re-read, and I'll be looking forward to more entertaining releases from this bright new author!