Regency Buck by Georgette Heyer

[lightreads]

Regency Buck by Georgette Heyer


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
The one where our heroine and her silly brother discover, upon their father’s death, that their new guardian is the sardonic Lord Worth. And then everyone gets into social scrapes.

Almost, but decidedly no. The heroine here is almost my favorite kind of Heyer girl – witty, perceptive, cleverer than the men who are supposed to be her betters – except for how she’s ultimately an idiot so that the hero can explain the entire plot to her. And the hero. Almost my favorite sort of Heyer man – dry, sarcastic, smart – except for the part where he’s also a raging asshole. And their dynamic is almost my favorite sort of Heyer romance, where the couple spends the entire book being hilariously cutting at each other, except for how he sexually assaults her on first meeting, threatens to beat her later, and she seems to like that sort of thing.

Actually, you know, one of my favorite things about Heyer in general is that she really played around with romance structures and – I almost said conventions, but of course it wasn’t that, since she invented so many of them. This book is no different. It’s a vague sort of mystery where you’re supposed to be unsure who the hero actually is, but the whole thing almost, but ultimately just doesn’t work.

Sometimes, so close is also so very, very far.

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Comments

[sibyllevance]

The only Heyer book I read was Friday Child and I had the same issues with it. Sad to see it doesn't get any better in her other novels :(

[lightreads]

Oh but it does! I really enjoyed The Grand Sophy for hitting the dynamic just right, and being socially inoffensive (except for one scene).

[sibyllevance]

Isn't that the one that has antisemitic content despite having been written in 1950?

[lightreads]

Oi. Replying with the proper account this time.

Yes, that's the scene I meant. It's one of those stereotypical "Eeeeeevil Jewish moneylender! Who is Evil! And Jewish" routines.

[aella_irene]

I have failed to read that one, but I have read An Infamous Army, which is its semi-sequel. In which Bad Bab Childe is scandalous and outrageous and drives everyone mad, and spends most of the book setting Judith's teeth on edge.

[lightreads]

Oh, I didn't know about that one. I was unimpressed with her last configuration like that I tried, Devil's Cub, but I'll give that one a shot.

[aella_irene]

The heroine is the grand-daughter of the MCs from DC. I think it makes a difference, though, having it be the heroine instead of the hero.