I think I've tried reading this before... but left it unfinished...I'm glad I did read it this time. It is rather charming. I like the fact that the h never backs down, and gives fitting replies to the H. The banter between them is rather sweet (inspite of the numerous ows that crop up! Cybele (the blond Phyrne), his uncle's (neighbor) and his first, a russian and an indian, a redhead, Lady Malvern, Lady Margaret, Lady Shelhurst... phew...). Loved the fact that he felt he had to repent, and he sort of did.Absolute and utter fiction though. Take it as a piece of fluff, and it will not disappoint.********************************************* “Was she an English lady?” she asked to urge him along. He had already told of intrigues with a Russian and an Indian.“Yes, a married lady, a neighbour of my uncle's.”uh... what era are we in btw?? this was their 2nd outing (4th or 5th meeting), and he's told her about his "intrigues"... i doubt someone would in this day and age, but hey, when you're being charmed, you do not care about such things.although, to be fair, i did like this passage: “I don't. There is much in what you say, but that is not to say that consorting with either one is good. You set up a home for ruined girls on one hand, and ruin them on the other. There is no logic in that."“Prudence, we're talking about two very different species. Those little girls—young, ignorant without the sense to know what they're getting into ... My Phyrne—the mistresses of gentlemen, are in a different class entirely. They knowingly go into this sort of a life because they don't want to work. They prefer a life of leisure and luxury, they have a beautiful body to buy it with, and they sell it. It is a business transaction."and the rest of it, which ends: “Yes, I'll accept that partial victory, before you convince me I'm a scoundrel for not selling my own old ramshackle body to help my uncle pay the bills." *************************************
I had never heard of Joan Smith, even though she has a bazillion romance titles on Amazon. When one of my favorite Amazon reviewers (who goes by the sobriquet Old Latin Teacher) wrote that this book was the next best thing to a Georgette Heyer, I became curious.Well, Old Latin Teacher was right. This is a charming, witty story of a rake and a bluestocking, with delightful characters and sparkling dialogue. There's no sex, which I miss, but hey, I've got an imagination. And annoying Uncle Clarence (a painter who doesn't realize that he has no talent) is one of the most hilarious, original characters I've encountered in a long time. It's almost worth reading the book just for his scenes.
Do You like book Imprudent Lady (1978)?
imagine if you took jane austen turned her into a character mixed with charlotte bronte, and stuck her in london with a ridiculous painting uncle and an attractive lord byronesque 'hero'... and you'd have this. I liked how it put all the other authors of the day in perspective, and i wish Smith had pushed the envelope just a little more with her lady writer Prudence, she didn't take the rope to the end of the dock and she totally could have pulled in an even better tale. This is a pair of characters I would not mind seeing again in a second book.
—LemontreeLime
The banter between the Heroine and hero (H/h) was great. I so wish I could think of such witty things to say irl. :)I found both the H and h were very likeable, the minor characters (mainly Uncle Clarence) were very funny and the plot was believable as was the romance that grew between the H/h.My only quibble was with the last bit of the story - the arguing between the H and h grew tiresome but I could see where the author was going with it. All in all, a really enjoyable read and I will definitely be looking for more Joan Smith books.Clean.
—Laura
This is my first read by Joan Smith and I found it intriguing, sometimes amusing but hardly a traditional regency romance. It's more of a friend’s story than a love story... but it does have a HEA.Prudence, the title's imprudent lady, becomes a writer with some success. She shares a publisher with the famous Lord Dammler, the time's most celebrated writer, and ends up being introduced to him. Although she is a bit critic of his work, Prudence can't help but admire him.Lord Dammler, alas, finds Prudence quite unremarkable but a series of events lead them to spend more and more time together and as she falls in love with him he just sees her as a friend. Prudence naiveté in terms of the ton's social behaviour does lead her to some trouble with an admirer without ever realising it. Her social awkwardness does make for some humourous moments as does her silly uncle. Lord Dammler is quite unhappy with Prudence's admirers and they become an object of discussion between them leading to some witty dialogue.Eventually Dammler realises what his feelings for Prudence really mean but for a moment there it seems all may well be lost and where he previously commanded Prudence's emotions he will now have to work for his happy ending.An interesting read, much different from your typical romance novel which is always a plus. However the lack of empathy that I felt with both main characters made it a slow read for me and while recognising its value and originality it doesn't come close to being a favourite.Grade: 3.5/5
—Ana T.
