BOOK REVIEW: Regency Buck by Georgette Heyer

Wanting to read something purely escapist, I turned once again to Georgette Heyer. A recent review of Regency Buck put that one on my list and my library had it on the shelf, so I was able to settle in and enjoy.

Judith Taverner and her brother, Peregrine have recently lost their father and come into large inheritances. They are now wards of the fifth earl of Worth, a man they have never met—a man who has no desire to meet them and who has instructed them to stay in their small town and not come to London. Judith and Perry disobey.

To their shock, Lord Worth is not an old grump, but a handsome, arrogant young man. Worth has no wish to be a guardian, but he is, nevertheless, a very good one. He sets them up in a London house, arranges for a chaperone for Judith, and makes sure they meet all the right people. Before long, Judith, who is worth a fortune and beautiful to boot, is receiving marriage proposals galore, all of which Worth refuses for her.

Judith is dismayed by her guardian’s high-handedness. Not that she is interested in any of her suitors, but she is used to her independence and finds Worth’s interference in her affairs insupportable. She much prefers the assistance of her cousin, Bernard, whom she has also just recently met. He treats her with the utmost civility. And tenderness.

Worth is also too dismissive of Perry. Judith worries about her younger brother, who is letting the attractions of London—gambling, drinking, and spending his inheritance as fast as Worth will allow—spoil him completely. And there is something even more worrisome. If Perry were to die, she will be his heir. And Perry seems to be increasingly prone to scrapes that are dangerous, even life-threatening. She’s starting to think they are not accidental. She’s starting to wonder why it is that Worth is turning away all of her suitors. And then. . . Perry disappears.

Regency Buck is another pleasant romance to transport you to Regency England for an amusing romp. Judith is, for the most part, a strong, practical heroine who is easy to root for. She gets carried away at times, but is willing to recognize her mistakes and back down from them. Worth is about as alpha as they come. He can be unpleasant, but he has his reasons. Bernard stands as a reasonable rival. The plot twists enough to make you wonder–even though a Romance reader will surely know how it will have to turn out. Another winner from Georgette Heyer!