Karla B. (gaslight) - , reviewed on 4/22/2010 + 145 more book reviews

Gave up on page 283. The personal side of Charles II's reign has been done before, and better, by Kathleen Winsor in Forever Amber. The same characters are here: Castlemaine, Buckingham, Rochester, Nell, Minette, Duke of York, the spaniels, and the rest. There was nothing new, and nothing unique about Haeger's style to make me want to keep reading. In fact, Haeger's decision to have Nell and Rose's accent be phonetic with dropped aitches was irritating. I'd have preferred the reader be allowed t...more Gave up on page 283. The personal side of Charles II's reign has been done before, and better, by Kathleen Winsor in Forever Amber. The same characters are here: Castlemaine, Buckingham, Rochester, Nell, Minette, Duke of York, the spaniels, and the rest. There was nothing new, and nothing unique about Haeger's style to make me want to keep reading. In fact, Haeger's decision to have Nell and Rose's accent be phonetic with dropped aitches was irritating. I'd have preferred the reader be allowed take it upon herself to hear the voice, with assistance from the author of a couple mentions of a "dropped aitch." (And doing something so cutesy stylistic consistently has its pitfalls. I found two occasions where Nell didn't drop it, but the next line of dialogue, she did.)

Haeger had her cast behave much as Winsor did in Forever Amber, which means that either she adopted Winsor's characterizations as her own, or Winsor got her stuff right and managed to tell her story in a much more engaging manner besides. Amber was a heroine you love or hate (or both), but I couldn't work up much interest in Nell here.

I guess one book involving Charles and his mistresses is enough for me, and the next time I read about the Merry Monarch, it'll have to be mainly about the political side of his reign or his early years in exile. 2.5 stars

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