MR. HARDING PROPOSES by Catherine Dove is a story about a pair of childhood friends whose relationship is altered by a proposal of marriage. Several proposals, in fact. Mr. Richard Harding can't quite seem to get his act together for most of the story, and only in the last couple chapters does he make his feelings and intentions known.
The story is about more than Mr. Harding and his proposals, though. It focuses on the upheaval in the lives of a widow, her children, and her brother when they go to London for the younger daughter's first Season. They live with their Uncle Henry at first until a few experiences with allegedly unsavory persons act as catalyst for the entire family. Ultimately, there are wedding bells.
The title of the story is a bit misleading. Yes, Mr. Harding proposes several times before he gets it right, but because there is so much more going on than just his proposing, a broader title that addresses the overall picture might have been more appealing.
As far as character development is concerned, I liked how Richard and Georgiana's characters were described through their interactions and dialogue. Not only are we entertained by their lively discussions, but the reader also sees the length and depth of their friendship in such a way that one can easily imagine the development of a romance. Likewise, their separation tugs at the heartstrings, and one can easily feel the fear and desolation Georgiana experiences after rejecting Mr. Harding. As for the heat level, the romantic scenes are virtually nonexistent, and those scenes that might be called love scenes are completely benign, giving this story a heat level of 1 out of 5 (sweet).
Unfortunately, it was difficult to get into the story because there was too much unnecessary dialogue in the beginning of the book. Much of the dialogue between the mother and Georgiana could have been handled with a paragraph of narration. The reader would have been able to understand how irritating and irrational the mother is without wanting to put the book down because the reader is tired of "hearing" her complain and carry on. Dialogue is meant to advance the plot, but instead, much of the early dialogue simply slows the pace of the book down to a glacial speed. Once the characters get to London, though, the pace of the book speeds up and the story is much more enjoyable.
Overall, I enjoyed the novella as any other run of the mill regency romance and give it a rating of 3 out of 5.
**Review originally written for The Romance Reviews.com at http://www.theromancereviews.com/viewbooksreview.php?bookid=8105
