Though ostensibly in London for her debut, Miss Deirdre Wheaton is far more interested in meeting celebrated poets than eligible bachelors. In fact, her deepest, most secret desire is to have her own poetry published someday . . . until she meets the Marquis of Wrotham.
Once Cupid’s arrow strikes, Deirdre can think of nothing but the handsome nobleman. Determined to give the poets’ most exalted emotion, love, a fair try, she goes about transforming herself from the “ugly duckling” of the family into an elegant woman of fashion in order to catch Lord Wrotham’s eye. But no sooner does she succeed in attracting his notice than she learns that her intended apparently has an aversion to her first love—poetry!
Normally I would give the old undercommunication/miscommunication plot a big thumbs down, as it gets de trop after a chapter or two. But in The Cygnet, it somehow works.
Perhaps because the characters are quirky, or a little left of center, or perhaps because the character foils are strong and entertaining. The villian is just right, not too over-the-top, and the hero is a bit of rake–yet a secret nerd.
Its not a super memorable story, but for those of you who love the ugly duckling theme you will enjoy a quick soujourn with The Cygney. In traditional Regency style, carriage rides and maybe one or two kisses are about the extent of the action…and as always seems to be the case, a few off color mentions of mistresses form the bulk of the rationale behind a PG, rather than G, rating.
So far, Brenda Hiatt has been a real pleasure to read, almost to the calibre of a Hern or Heyer.
(4 out of 6 Enjoyable, quick read with very little to dislike about it)
| Content Rating | |
|---|---|
| Mature Content |   |
| Adult subject matter, scenes | |
| Intimacy | |
| Kissing and embracing. | |
| Violence | |
| Some minor violence and violent subject matter | |
| Overall |  |
|---|---|
| Some parental guidance recommended for younger teens. Some adult subject matter, but mostly a clean Reg Rom. | |
