Honoria and the Family Obligation

De: Alicia Cameron

Narrado por: Helen Taylor

When the eligible Mr. Allison is to come to Fenton Manor to woo Honoria, there is a problem. She doesn't remember what he looked like. Crippled by her timidity, she hardly looked at him when they'd met during her first London season. But he had spoken to her father, determined to ask her for her hand. Her siblings, Serena and Benedict, find this highly amusing, but after Honoria overhears a conversation between her parents about their finances, she realises she must marry Mr. Allison, and this constraint leaves her martyred and unhappy and unable to share her feelings.

When Mr. Allison arrives, there is another problem. One to do with her sister, Serena.

Mr. Allison, (annoyingly handsome and kind) fails to propose as expected and leaves abruptly - but invites the confused family to stay at Bassington Hall, his own country home. His kindness to all her family leaves Honoria with no legitimate excuse to escape marriage. Mr. Scribster, his ugly, unpleasant, unfeeling friend, guesses more than she would like and offers Honoria a place to concentrate her dislike and frustration.

Meanwhile, Benedict embarks on an adventure with his rogue of an uncle, Wilbert, to save his childhood friend and neighbour, Genevieve Horton, who has become the unhappy Lady Sumner. By learning some scandalous skills, Benedict hopes to give some options to the most trapped figure in all of polite society - an unhappy wife.

When Benedict's life hangs in the balance, all the major players are changed forever and the tangle of romance is finally resolved.

©2017 Alicia Cameron (P)2017 Alicia Cameron

(3.5 stars) Be patient... it's complicated...

I love what I've read of Alicia Cameron's books so far, but this one is a little more difficult to review.

It took a while to introduce all the players and set things up. In the meantime, I found that I wasn't particularly taken with any of the protagonists, but I made myself keep reading because so many of the author's fans like it, there had to be a reason, right?

Once Cameron sets everything up & puts it in motion, it IS pretty entertaining, & I was really getting into it - it has a Georgette Heyer flavor to it that had me eagerly looking forward to the resolution(s) of all the complications.

And the ending amusingly sets up like Hercule Poirot gathering everyone to deliver the big reveal. The reveal wasn't quite as good as the expectations I'd been building, but it was still an entertaining scene.

Honoria's relationships with Scribster & Prescott needed better development. It's a romance before it's a mystery so that was a higher priority than keeping the reader guessing who she would choose. Well, and it needed more romance.

I didn't care for the constant, and especially the explicit, references to Scribster as ugly & pock-faced or Prescott as a moron by the other characters. It mostly just sounded mean.

Honoria's "coming out" was disappointing. I don't mind noble characters hiding their virtue, like Gascoigne in Cameron's "Delphine and the Dangerous Arrangement", but something that smacks of the reverse wasn't particularly amusing or appealing.

So, the first 3rd was a bit tedious, the middle 3rd was excellent, and the ending was good.

Of all the plot threads, I think I liked Benedict, Genevieve & Wilbur's the best because their characters developed so much more positively over the course of the story than everyone else's.

Honoria's gets 2nd place mainly because of the positive & amusing development in Scribster over the course of the story.

Romance level: sweet kisses, nothing graphic

Religion: use of the Lord's Name in vain in typical Regency expressions (By G*d,for G*d's sake, etc), sadly, but not cursing at least

Language: a handful of "d*mn"s + a" h*ll" or two

Romance, Mystery & Lots of Laughs

4 1/2 ⭐️ This was such a fun book to read that I had trouble putting it down. I’ve read 2 novels and a novella by Alicia Cameron in the past week and now have two of my daughters reading them too. So many smiles between us and even outright laughter. Great characters, a bit of mystery, at least one nasty villain, and several heroes and heroines. Lots of warm fuzzy family relationships and even some truly awkward moments working through relationships and mixups. My only complaint is that one of the primary characters is called “ugly” numerous times by a young lady and ultimately I thought it was a bit much...especially after some changes in appearance and in relationships. To be “honest” is one thing but as a friendship develops it seems that honestly might have been stated with a bit more warmth or at least less harshness. However, I LOVE the book, the characters, the storyline, and of course the HEAs. Very good narration.

So pleasant

This story is everything pleasant that one could wish for. An excellent story line, marvellous characters, and a lot of light hearted amusement.
It was exceptionally nice to have sisters and a brother ands parents who loved each other so well without the petty jealousies that is so common especially in literature.
The narrator was perfect. One of the most accomplished that I have heard so far.

Good writing

Loved the way the author did more showing than telling—a rarity these days. All the couples were interesting, and I wanted to know the outcome of each. The only downside to that was difficulty in keeping up with who was who. The story switched from subplot to subplot rather fast. But with an occasional rewind plus the occasional faster speed, I found it an entertaining read altogether. Great job by the narrator too.

Too much drama

The story ended well but there was just too much drama. It was hard to not quit the story.

Honoria and family

I was able to finish it but I wasn’t in any hurry to do so. It just wasn’t that interesting. The narration is excellent and it isn’t awful, I just wasn’t emotionally invested in the characters. It filled the time driving to work and back but I was able to forget about it once I turned it off.

A Historical Book

This is the first time I have read this author but will read her again. I felt the storyline was well written with believable and interesting characters. This is a typical Regency book with romance. It is a light read. I noticed there were some noticeable historical errors in the writing of this book. The books storyline is written so well and flowed so you can overlook the errors and enjoy it as a book nothing more. There are many twists and turns to keep your interest. Overall this is a good book.

Regency Romance - with plenty of twists & humour

Slow and clever plot development, a few sub plots, and humour that in in one part (chapter 25) was extraordinarily funny.

The plot starts with a couple of misunderstandings, but an elegent enough reason for no one to communicate their concerns, to get the novel going. I really enjoyed the listen and even towards the end I could not see how the main characters were going to acheive their HEA with only three chapters left.

If you liked Clarrissa and the Poor Relations, or if you like Regencies romances with humor and wit, you will not be disappointed at all with this novel. Narrator was very good.

Wonderful

Charming humorous story with excellent narrator. Honoria's extreme shyness and inability to speak up when she needs to can be frustrating, but she grows. Her impish younger sister is a delight, as is the entire family and their friends.

Full of Charm

This is lovely story with engaging secondary characters. Sweet escapism without loads of angst and sex or angst-ridden sex.