"Regency Rake Meets His Match"

In THE DUEL, master of the Regency Romp Barbara Metzger brings us the tale of Ian, Earl of Marden and the innocent Miss Renslow.

Ian is a Rake of the first order. As the book opens Ian is fighting a duel with Lord Paige because of his philandering with Lord Paige's wife. As Ian takes the required 20 paces he makes up his mind about 3 things:1)he will delope as Paige has a legitimate grievance (although everyone else in the ton has slept with Paige's lady!) 2) He will never fight another duel and 3) He will never sleep with another married woman. Ian's plan would have worked except the scurrilous Paige fires early and nearly shoots Ian in the back. Ian whirls and nearly shoots Paige, but then he fires a harmless shot off to the side. Imagine Ian's panic when after his shot goes into the woods, there is a cry of pain. Ian races to the woods horrified to discover he has shot a young, sickly looking boy.

This series of events has Ian doing penance by not only taking care of the young lad,Troy; but fetching the young man's young sister to care for him. Imagine his horror after he has had Miss Athena Renslow alone under his roof, to discover what he took for a young girl was actually a marriageable Lady who he has compromised.

The antics that Ian and his delightful friend Carswell go through to try to provide a chaperone for Athena, even if a bit late and their efforts to outwit her determined suiter had me in stitches. But, what took this story from being your typical Regency Romp into the 'very special' category was that Metzger broke many of the trite outcomes in this form.

Athena and her brother are intelligent people who immediately recognize Carswell incognito and laugh together over the fact that the 'Lady' needs a shave.

Ian's desperation to provide a chaperone and his futile hopes that gossip will not taint Athena are all for naught, which every reader will no from the beginning (this IS a romance after all), but the trip to Ian's Wedding is just a lot of fun.

Athena is a delightful heroine, quick witted, brave and completely down to earth. A perfect match for the good- hearted Ian, who hides his light under a bushel basket of gossip and philandering. Metzger's deft hand keeps Athena from worrying about marrying 'above her' or keeping Ian from her bedroom too long. Many books drag this 'will she/won't she' out so long one no longer cares by the time the couple weds. Also, both Athena's and Ian's internal monologues had me giggling, as did their snappy dialogue.

A word of mention about the chapter opening blurbs also needs to made; the snappy opening quips from Anonymous and Mrs Anonymous often had me laughing out loud.

Metzger's story is a lot of fun, but her characters are each fully drawn and delightful--which is not always the case in a light Regency. The secondary love stories were both sweet and Ian's dismay at watching his sister fall in love with his Rakish best friend was lots of fun.

Metzger has made a very smooth transition from writing short form Regencies to single titles. The book does not feel 'padded' as is often the case with a writer used to a shorter form novel. Also, the humor is kept under control and never descends into the slapstick area. These are two very intelligent and very likeable people who fall in love under extraordinary and often humorous circumstances and I was engrossed in their story from page 1.

Reviewed by Linda Hurst
Posted March 5, 2005

From the award-winning author of A Perfect Gentleman comes an enchanting tale about an imperfect earl and the picture- perfect woman who teaches him that love is always worth fighting for.

Summary

If only he could go back in time. Then Ian, the Earl of Marden, would not have dueled, and he would not have hit an innocent bystander—a sickly lad, no less. And he certainly would never have brought the boy's sister, Athena Renslow, to stay at his house without a chaperone. Now, on top of it all, the nineteen-year-old beauty is under the mistaken impression that Ian is the gentle hero who rescued her brother—instead of the rogue who practically killed him... Unable to find her a respectable duenna, Ian resolves to do the honorable thing. But Athena won't let the wealthy, handsome bachelor sacrifice everything by marrying a country nobody, despite the urgings of both their families—and the desire of both their hearts...