Candace Camp has been an off-and-on author for me, and unfortunately, this book was more off than on.
The Courtship Dance by Candace Camp
(2009, Regency Historical) 3/29/09
Grade: 3
Lady Francesca Haughston survived a bad marriage, and now spends her time arranging matches for others. She’s given up on love since a broken engagement to her childhood friend, the Duke of Rochford, many years ago. Maybe the best thing she can do is arrange a marriage for him – but why is he paying more attention to her than his marriage prospects?
Although this book had a lot of elements that I usually enjoy, in the end, this book was predictable and a bit tedious. There were things I liked about the book, particularly the friends-to-lovers storyline (Rochford is a nice hero), but there were just too many cliches, particularly the heroine who’s convinced she’s frigid (which went on far too long). This book also depended a great deal on characters from previous books in the series. The scenes of the ton were entertaining, and I liked Francesca’s cleverness in becoming a matchmaker to make ends meet, but overall, I was more bored than enchanted.
One thing I did like about this book was all the description of the Season. A lot of Regency historicals have gotten away from this, but what’s the fun of reading a book set in the Regency if you’re not going to have balls and dresses and parties?
Karen Wheless
Latest posts by Karen Wheless (see all)
- Love Irresistibly by Julie James - June 18, 2013
- Vacation Reading - June 17, 2013
- The Way Home by Megan Chance - June 1, 2013