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Quiet Meg (2008)

by Sherry Lynn Ferguson(Favorite Author)

4.05 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

080349906X (ISBN13: 9780803499065)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Montlake Romance

series

Regency Trilogy

review 1: Charles Cabot is a landscape architect. He has more commissions than he has time for, but he couldn't help but accept one from his old school friend Bertram Lawrence. The Lawrence's estate is going to be a bit of a challenge because everyone wants something different. Sir Eustance, Bertram's father, is confined to a wheeled chair and Charles has grand plans to make the grounds more accessible, which pleases the old man. He manages to convince Bertram to accept the changes and Bertram's little sister Lucy, about to have her come-out, appears to be infatuated with him. Charles wants nothing to do with the spoiled beauty. He is, however, intrigued by the one member of the family he has never met: Miss Margaret Lawrence. She seems to share his passion for landscape design for ... morethe kitchen garden she designed for Cook is incredible. When he learns that Meg has been the victim of harassment by the wealthy and powerful Earl of Sutcliffe, her plight brings out his protective instincts. Then he finally sees Margaret and tumbles head first into love. He knows he shouldn't, for the last man who dared to love Meg paid dearly for it. At last Meg returns home from living in seclusion with her elderly aunt. She's disconcerted by having a stranger in the house, especially one so handsome and clever. She can't help being attracted to him, though she's terrified of what will happen if Mr. Cabot returns her feelings. She can only hope that Lord Sutcliffe has forgotten her. Alas, it seems that he has not and is still determined to possess her at any cost.This story is vastly different from any other Regency I've ever read. It more closely resembles Phantom of the Opera. (Yes, girls, the Phantom is a psycho maniac murderer determined to have Christine). The plot takes many different turns which differ from Phantom. Phantom is of course a crime novel with a Gothic plot but the basic idea is the same. I stayed up long past my usual cut off time finishing this book. This story is also unique because the story opens with the hero's point-of-view and the heroine is discussed, but doesn't appear, for a couple chapters. The story is truly unpredictable. The plot moves in a different direction than the one I thought it should go in but I think my way would not have solved the problem. I didn't like the romance so much. It begins with love at first sight, which I don't like. The love between the hero and heroine grows as they get to know each other, but they spend a lot of time misunderstanding each other and arguing for no reason. I didn't really feel that they shared enough of a connection but of course I rooted for them because of the wicked villain determined to destroy their lives. I wasn't crazy about Meg. She's a regular Helen of Troy. Men fall in love with her as soon as they see her. She's a little meek but that's due to her circumstances. She's terrified and wants to keep a low profile. I certainly empathized with her and felt she deserved happiness, but I didn't exactly relate to her or love her. Charles is actually similar to Meg. He's handsome and a bit quiet. He's passionate about what he does and seems to enjoy it. He's also not so secretly related to half the nobility in Europe. I don't really get why he has to protect someone he doesn't know. He's a little too noble for my liking. The secondary characters are wonderful. I liked the Lawrence family, with the exception of Lucy. Lucy's fault is being young and silly. She talks too much too. Sir Lawrence is a doting father. He adores his children and wants to protect his eldest daughter. He doesn't wallow in pity for being an invalid. He doesn't have a tyrannical temper because of his condition either. He cares about his estate and is a moral man. I'd want him for my father! Louisa is a realistic big sister. Instead of being social climbing and snobby like most older sisters, she married for love and she has a good relationship with her siblings. Bertram is a bit of an idiot but he cares about his sister very much. They tease each other as siblings often do but it's never mean or malicious.Charles' Grandmere is delightful! She's very wise and knows what her grandsons are thinking before they do. She's a bit spirited and not a haughty grande dame. Charles' cousins, Hayden and David, add some humor to the story. Hayden is an atypical dandy and I liked that about him. David is very clever and must have been an excellent soldier. I'd like to know how the Marquis became such an expert on women and David needs a bit more backstory too.The villain is particularly nasty. He's well beyond the typical villain who wishes to possess the heroine as an object. Unlike Erik in Phantom of the Opera, he doesn't have a backstory. We don't know why he's the way he is. He just likes toying with Meg and doesn't like to be thwarted. he enjoys the hunt and playing with his prey. He must not be right in the head to be so cruel. He's truly a maniac who doesn't deserve any sympathy.
review 2: This was really enjoyable. It had a little more serious plot than some of the other regency stories I’ve read lately. Our villain, Lord Sutcliff, is stalking Meg. He has turned her life upside down in true stalker fashion and even killed her fiancé forcing her into hiding. Now, almost a year later she has decided to stop living in fear and reenter society. If I don’t analyze the story or the characters and simply read, I enjoyed the story and plot. It moved along quickly and I was curious to see what would happen next. I’m trying to decide if I should vent or leave it that it was a fun read. I guess I’ll vent. Just a little.On their own, I liked Meg and Chas (Charles), but together I didn’t feel much chemistry. I guess because they spend hardly any time together, and when they are together they are arguing or almost kissing. I don’t usually buy the whole “love at first sight” storyline, and this one seemed a bit overdone. What made Charles different from Lord Sutcliff, or all the other countless men who all wanted Meg for themselves? I would have actually liked if Meg was a little more real, instead of being so beautiful that men were killing themselves over her, before even getting to know her in any way. I would have liked for them to have a stronger foundation to their relationship besides being instantly attracted to one another. I just have a hard time believing in their love when they’ve spent so little time together.Towards the end I was a little confused by things. For example, was Chas’ cousin David suddenly in love with Meg (after meeting her for all of two seconds)? By this time I just wanted to finish so I didn’t bother re-reading to figure that out. But, it bugged me that here was ANOTHER guy instantly in love with her. I also thought the ended was kind of weird with Lord Mulmgren and a little anticlimactic. Again though, if you just read it and not analyze too much it really is a lot of fun and I’ll probably like it more a second time around. I look forward to reading more from Sherry Ferguson.Content: Clean romance. less

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