THE LAZY BACHELOR by Catherine Dove is a fantastic and funny romantic comedy that should not be missed by any reader of romance novels. The beginning will intrigue you, and the ending will please you. Ms. Dove has turned out a fun read with this second book in the Rowland Sisters Trilogy, and I give it five stars.
Like the first book in the Rowland Sisters Trilogy, in THE LAZY BACHELOR, there are several characters that receive the attention due a leading character, but pay close attention, because the Rowland sister in this book is not the main focus. In this second installment of the series, the reader sees Lord Shipton (a rejected suitor of Mrs. Georgiana Harding, née Rowland, and stepson to Sir Henry's new wife, Lady Becknall née Shipton) fall in love. The reader is also privy to the initial stages of friendship between Miss Cecilia Rowland and Viscount Ravenshill, which is important background for the third book in the trilogy. The lazy bachelor in the book, though, is Lord Shipton's cousin, Mr. Peregrin Tyndall, whose unbelievable laziness has caused distress in the lives of his two wards, Miss Frances Armitage and her younger sister, Eleanor, who live with a woman who could rival Cinderella's wicked stepmother. The Misses Armitage descend upon the house party in progress at Lord Shipton's country estate, and the party soon turns out to be the most interesting party some of them have ever attended. It certainly made for a fun evening for me.
From the beginning, I was intrigued by Peregrin ("Perry") Tyndall's character. The narration and dialogue are well crafted, letting the reader know that something important is about to happen to Perry, while moving the plot along. The pace of the book continues at a good speed, and the dialogue and narration lead the way with spirit and wit.
I also enjoyed the wordplay immensely, especially the recurring banter about changeling children that made me laugh out loud. The characters engage in a brilliant and intricate web of schemes, and not all the schemes are typical of Regency romances. Here, Perry is so afraid of inheriting the title and all the attached responsibilities that when Lord Shipton injures his head in a fall from his horse, Perry sets out to find Lord Shipton a wife so that an heir can be born to cut him out of the line of the succession. Needless to say, Perry's matchmaking attempt is misguided, but all works out in the end.
The development of the romantic relationships in the book are well done, describing long-standing familial relationships and/or interactions that make the characters' emotions believable. The romance is sweet and clean, definitely meriting a rating of 1 out of 5, and is appropriate for teens and adults alike.
Overall, aside from the occasional glaring grammatical or typographic error, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to any romance reader.
**Review originally written for The Romance Reviews.com at http://www.theromancereviews.com/viewbooksreview.php?bookid=8106
