A feel good book!http://www.kaseymichaels.com/links.html
Kasey Michaels, aka Michelle Kasey, aka Kathie Seidick, has been around for a long time and during that time she's published over a hundred books. She's an author I've been reading from the beginning and her earlier books remind me of Georgette Heyer, with sensual overtones. Between the years of 1982-1992 she wrote a series of books that were connected by their cutesy titles: The Belligerent Miss Boyton, 1982; The Tenacious Miss Tamerlane, 1982; The Rambunctious Lady Royston, 1983; The Lurid Lady Lockport, 1984; The Savage Miss Saxon, 1985; The Mischievous Miss Murphy, 1987; The Questioning Miss Quinton, 1987; The Anonymous Miss Adams, 1989; The Dubious Miss Dalrymple, 1990; The Chaotic Miss Crispino, 1991; and The Wagered Miss Winslow, 1992. Now, granted, I don't remember each and every one of these, but I do remember them being some great light reading. I also remember The Tenacious Miss Tamerlane as being one of my favorites and also having one of my favorite romance laugh-out-loud moments in it.
I loved everything about this book - the language, the dialogue, the characters, the story. As I was rereading this book, I found it amazing how much the written romance language has changed in just twenty or so years. Even Ms. Michaels writing has changed. This book is full of wonderful, archaic, rich words and phrases: "cut line, you great booby," "cozen," "faradiddle," "the gel was a positive quiz," "pish-tosh," "or is it that you are simply a nosey busybody who delights in sticking her fingers into everyone else's pie?" From the moment I sat down to reread this book I had a smile on my face. Tansy and Avanoll were a wonderful couple... loved every minute of their exchanges. The secondary characters were great, not a distraction to the story. The aunt had me chuckling.
And of course, the scene... you must remember that Avanoll is one of my favorite types of heroes, a better-than-everyone, stuffed-shirt kind of guy. Here's the set-up - Avanoll has just bestowed a kiss upon Tansy:
"Deeper pondering of this incident would come easier at his Club, with a glass or two of port to hand. For now he contented himself by simply dipping his head quickly and kissing the tip of her nose before making for the door, leaving a bemused Tansy staring at his retreating back - one hand absently touching her lips.
Avanoll turned at the door and - in celebration of his startling discovery of a new and vastly intriguing side of his cousin, not to mention his superior handling of a sticky situation the girl could have mushroomed into an ugly tale of compromise if not for his quick talking - jauntily saluted her.And, that's just the beginning of a my favorite funny scenes. By the way Horatio is a dog.
Be good to give the girl a little romance to dream about, he congratulated himself. The incident wouldn't be repeated, for that could lead to problems, but now that she had had a taste of womanhood, perhaps she would join Emily in her husband-hunting and he would be rid of her. Strangely, that thought destroyed some of his good mood, but he refused to let it ruin his day.
As he made to turn away again Tansy suddenly called out his name but he merely smiled, letting her know that although romantic dalliance had its place, it was time now for other pursuits. He shook his head in the negative and wagged a finger at her that meant "Naughty puss, I must be off," and turned once more for the door, "the hero making his exit," and with one step tripped over Horatio and went sprawling head-first onto the black and white tiles of the foyer."
If you've never read any of Ms. Michaels' early works, I suggest you choose one of the cutesy title series; these are all fast reads and very charming and they are what romance writing is all about.
Time/Place: Regency England
Rating:
Sensuality: Warm
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