A Brazen Curiosity: A Regency Cozy
Series: Beatrice Hyde-Clare Mysteries, Book 1
By: Lynn Messina / Narrated By: Jill Smith
Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins
Oh GOSH how I LOVED this! What a terrific, terrific find!!!!
Beatrice Hyde-Clare, upon her first Season, thought she’d do okay. Sure, she has the sharp shoulders of a fencer; sure, her aunt has told her repeatedly that she’s wan. And that spray of freckles dusting her nose? Perhaps those might be considered adorable?
Nope. She’s dubbed drab by Society, and now she finds herself a spinster of 6 and 20 years old, and she’s shy besides being drab.
BUT! Then she discovers the body of a murdered spice trader during a country house party, and suddenly she BLOSSOMS! Her absolute terror upon thinking she might be the next to go shows her that THAT’S what REAL fear is, not all this shyness she’s felt whilst out in Society. NO! She’ll never be so afraid of Society again.
And she’ll never be cowed by Society’s Elite again either. And that includes that dastardly Duke of Kesgrave—a pedantic, imperious, smug prig if ever there was one. Unfortunately, as she goes about trying to figure out who murdered the spice trader, the Duke just keeps popping up until the two are in cahoots.
This is a truly DELIGHTFUL start to what I hope will be a fantastic series. What I really liked about it is that the language is true to the era, and there was just something soooooo Austenesque about the clever banter between Bea and the Duke. There’s a touch of romance, but the two don’t fall madly in love. Rather, we get to see them as their relationship evolves into a real friendship (Which is amazing because the book opens with Bea being thaaaaaaaat close to flinging foodstuffs at the Duke cuz his snide ways make her wanna throttle him. Of course, at the beginning, she’s so repressed she’d ooooonly daydream about it!).
Bea is a witty, clever, intelligent woman, level-headed. And it’s refreshing to find such a strong heroine in a jolly delightful Regency. That she winds up investigating a murder is believable, plus the whole time she’s doing so, she’s muttering about how much easier things would be if she were a man doing the investigating. It’s a nice commentary about how little women could get away with then (Now?!?).
I’m sooooo looking forward to the next in the series and have already tacked it onto my Next Listens as I don’t believe in Delayed Gratification.
Nope. I snorted with laughter, chuckled with delight, and Jill Smith’s top-notch narration (Her voice for the Duke had me swooning in love!) made me engaged and entertained for 7 1/2 verrrrrrry short hours. Delayed Gratification?!?
Oh HELL nooooooo!!!! I’ll get RIGHT back to you on how the second book is!!!!
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.