This review contains spoilers. TW: SA. At first I was charmed by this novel with the friendships between the main characters, Ferdinand Shilton, Alick Wolfe and Lord Purfoy, and the rebellious heroine, Corinna Ormesby. Corinna travels to London disguised as a man to become a portrait painter and to discover her father. However, I quickly lost my patience with it. The plot is both rushing and dragging, the initial premise over with in the first hundred pages (Corinna is swiftly out of peril once she arrives in London, falling in with the three friends, being discovered to be a woman and is reunited with her father), leaving the main section of the novel for the characters aimlessly hanging out and arguing with Darius Wolfe, the book’s cartoonish villain, heir to half of the Earl of Ramsbury’s fortune, split with Corinna. Darius Wolfe’s actions are the reason why I was hate-reading this book for the last eighty pages. Spoilers ahead. To gain the full Ramsbury fortune Darius decides to kidnap Corinna and sexually assault her so she has no choice but to marry him. So far, so evil. But then, for some reason, all the characters treat this as just another annoying thing Darius has done?? Lord Purfoy jokes about Darius stealing another of his brother’s pets, once they are discovered Corinna says Darius ‘meant her no real harm’ (even though he already forced a kiss on her and KIDNAPPED HER), and then proceeds to bandage his wound after Alick duels him!! And, aside from a wound in the arm, Darius gets to go back to his normal life and marry his mistress. Which is not only ludicrous from a modern perspective, but also from a contemporary one; a man (an Earl) kidnapping an Earl’s daughter is so beyond any concept of honour that Regency readers would think it was something out of a Gothic novel, and not a good one. As a Regency romance fan, I didn’t appreciate this addition to the genre. As a woman, I deplored it.

Unfortunately, I just didn't click with this novel. The premise did not work for me in this time period. and I just couldn't get past that.

The storytelling felt forced and naive like our main character. The story didn't engage me, and I didn't feel invested in the outcomes. It felt a bit clunky as the chapters switched back and forth between scenes and perspectives. It wasn't always easy to follow who was involved in a scene and they felt disjointed from each other.

Corinna or Cory was too naive and bland for me. I didn't connect with her and spent most of the time cringing as she made mistake after mistake as she constantly forgot that she was posing as a "man." Everything works out for her but it sure didn't feel grounded in reality.

The main premise of the book -- that she is posing as a boy and will become an heiress-- had several problems for me. First, she is illegitimate and it's my understanding that in early 1800s England, an illegitimate child could not inherit. Second, why did her father lose her in the first place if he cares so deeply about her now? Those emotions seemed forced. Third, she is really bad at pretending to be a boy so why didn't she get discovered far earlier? That just didn't work for me. I couldn't really get over those issues and they colored my experience with the book.

The potential was there, but for me it needed more development and research.

I was happy to give a new to me author a try. However this book wasn’t for me. There was some language in this book and the beginning was long and a little dry

Oh how I loved this gorgeously written Regency romance, with feisty heroine Corinna willing to dress up as a man to travel unchaperoned to London to find her father. The historical detail is exquisite, with dialect and descriptions that make you feel you're right beside Corinna on her quest, befriended by kind Alick Wolfe, and his friends Lord Purfoy and Ferdinand Shilton. The story kept me rapt, and made me bereft when it ended. More, Jane, please!

Heyeresque hijinks in a Regency romance for a bright young lady donning cravat and breeches for her quest to find her father.

Introductions are In Order
Jane Dunn is a new to me author, but by no means is this her debut into historical research or writing sparkling historical romance. This was plain to me from the start and I welcomed her attention to authentic historical backdrop and dialogue even while I delighted in the madcap plot to put naïve country girl, Corina Ormesby in men’s clothes and have her conduct her quest to find out who her father is.

Damsel in Disguise
Motivated by a sketchy marriage prospect her older cousin insists is all she can expect to attain, naïve Corina feels motivated to dress in men’s clothes for protection while on her lone quest to London in search of her unnamed mysterious paternal parent. Amusing how this gets complicated fast by three new dandified friends who take her on their larks and give her a real eye-opener into the difference between the gentle and confined world of Regency ladies and the freedom that comes to a man of class and at least moderate means.

I expected the ripping off her disguise to bring great drama and I girded up my loins for it. But, it turns out that the disguise didn’t even last through half the book. Her discovery and meet up with her long, lost father was also tame so no need to fear over the top drama. In truth, the conflict was elsewhere because finding her father might not have led to him shunning her, but her papa was only the beginning not the culminations of complications in Corina’s life including her attachment to capable and kind Alick.

Light, But Not All Frivolity
While An Unexpected Heiress had a light, not quite madcap quality with the disguise and the group of friends, it touched on social issues of the past like how precarious life could be for women forced to depend on men, the stigma of illegitimacy, and the lot of ‘second sons’ like Alick. I liked how Jane Dunn brought this out while keeping up the entertaining tone of story and due diligence to character and relationship development. Speaking of relationships, my favorite element in the book was the friendship and scenes with Corina, Alick, Ferdy and Purfroy.

Summation:
An Unsuitable Heiress has a lively Regency era dialogue, sparkling characters, and rompish set up to a solid Regency Romance. I would definitely pick up another of Jane Dunn’s regencies and suggest other sweet historical romance fans pen An Unsuitable Heiress to their wish list.

This was something of a mixed bag for me. I’m a huge fan of historical fiction and loved the synopsis of this one. I haven’t read lots of novels set in the Regency period and was intrigued by the idea of the central character having to disguise herself as a male in order to be able to minimise potential danger when she travelled to London to attempt to find her estranged father.

The author is a biographer and her skills in this area are extremely prevalent in the historical accuracy and portrayal of the period and the use of terminology and dialect throughout. I did find, however, that by not always understanding the meaning of some of the words and phrases, it detracted from the flow of the narrative.

The opening chapters were quite dialect heavy, which made it difficult to get into, although once you immerse yourself, the story begins to pick up pace.

I loved Corinna/ Cory as a main character, especially in her boldness to confront the brute she witnessed flogging his horse en route to London, despite her obvious disadvantage. Similarly, in even making the decision to travel alone to London, the reader very early on in the plot gets a vivid picture of her personality.

A pleasant overall read.

With thanks to the author, Rachel at Random Resources and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to participate in the tour.

This was such an interesting read! I found myself so engrossed in the story, the characters had such incredible arcs, and I can't wait to follow this author's journey!

I read this in one sitting. It was such a fun read and i definitely get the Georgette Heyer similarities.

It‘s not Jane Austen authentic, but it doesn’t claim to be. Our heroine disguises as a young man to travel to London to finally find her father. Corinna Ormesby is fierce and independent and I really liked her. In disguise, she befriends 3 of London‘s most dashing bachelors. Meanwhile she unknowingly is closer to her father than she knows….

There was a lot going on but it only contributed to a fun and dynamic story. The romance was cautiously developing and super slow burn, but beautiful and sincere.

I don’t want to spoil anything, but if you love Regency romances, unique characters, exceptional friendships, feisty heroines and swoony heroes: you got to give this a go.

Please see my post for review.

Blog tour - http://ramblingmads.uk/2023/05/27/blog-tour-an-unsuitable-heiress-jane-dunn/

Corinna Ormesby has lived with a distant cousin ever since the death of her mother. Corinna knows that she is the illegitimate daughter of a nobleman but when her cousin pushes her to marry she decides to escape to London to become a portrait painter and maybe find her father. Dressed as a man Corinna gets into trouble at a wayside inn and is rescued by three young men about town who take her under their wings.
I really enjoyed Dunn's first Regency novel and this one is even better. It's lightweight and skips along with a real joie de vivre. There is enough historical detail to please, a little too much of the historically accurate language! The story is utterly preposterous but the whole is just a complete joy

How lovely to be back in the Regency period for another historical romance by Jane Dunn. In 1815, The Battle of Waterloo has concluded and the effects of the war have had a profound impact on many families. Others have benefitted from it, such as Darius, who steps up to become the legitimate heir of Lord Ramsbury. A complete contrast to his younger brother, Alick, his pride and vanity make him fairly unlikeable. Parallel to the lives of the Regency aristocrats, we also have a story based around Corinna Ormesby who proves herself to be ingenious, independent and determined. As the lives of these characters collide, you get to see how life was for the upper classes and in particular, the men.

The plight of women is shown in stark relief to the freedoms which the men enjoy. In order to solve a mystery around her parentage, Corinna sets out to leave the path to an unhappy marriage which has been set for her and to travel incognito as a male. She risks her reputation and future marriage prospects to do so. This is a pacy romance with some entertaining characters and equally entertaining animals! I enjoyed seeing how Corinna set out to follow her ambitions and yet always kept her kind heart and generous spirit intact.

In short: Friendships are forged in Regency London

1815 A Cinderella-ish story with beautiful clothes, dogs and horses. A damsel dressed like a boy, rescued by a group of male friends, who are from upper society, as she is running away to try to find her father. Better protection probably couldn't have been found even though a few small things were quite risqué. Cory is quite a girl. The guys are quite the guys, rogues yet honorable, caring and soft hearted. Not a quick read (thankfully!) as you must continually keep reading to see what happens next, yet you don't want it to end too soon. Excellent read. (Just a few places that could offend.)

I received this book free from the author, publisher and NetGalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
#NetGalley #AnUnsuitableHeiress #JaneDunn #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout #BoldwoodBooks

Having thoroughly enjoyed Jane Dunn’s first foray into Regency fiction, The Marriage Season (you can read my review here) I was delighted to accept the invitation to read her follow up, An Unsuitable Heiress. This book had a different feel from the last one; if I said it was a ‘swashbuckler,’ I hope this would give you the idea of how different this is from the generally uptight feel of a prim and proper Regency romance!

The heroine of the piece starts off early on disguising herself as a boy so that she can safely travel from her country home to London unchaperoned to try and find her father. She is adopted on the road by a band of high society rakes who take her disguise at face value, which frees her from the constraints women usually faced in this society and opens the scope for adventure.

Even after it is revealed that she is, in fact, a woman, her friends continue to feel more relaxed around her, which gives a different perspective on ‘The Season,’ as it were, and also sets the story up for mixed feelings towards her from her gentleman friends who have to process her transformation from brother in arms to potential love interest. All in all, the plot is an interesting and refreshing twist on the Regency romance novel, treading the line between love story and an adventure.

If I had a small niggle, I’d say there was a section about two thirds of the way through where the story dragged a little, and I was eager for the action to ramp up again, but the denouement delivered some great excitement to finish the book off on a high. I think lovers of Regency novels will find this a fun and interesting addition to the canon and I look forward to seeing what this author produces next.

As a child, I used to ‘borrow’ the Georgette Heyer books from our bookcase, and read them secretly. I’ve always had a love for regency romance, and historical fiction. Although this beautifully written book could fall under regency romance, there is so much depth to the story, covering love, loss, illegitimacy, inheritance, friendship and the way in which regency society works.

Jane Dunn has such an engaging writing style that I was immediately pulled into the story, to the point where nothing existed beyond my book. I shut everything out, heard nothing (sorry Mr Bookmad) and fully immersed myself in a regency world created by the author with such skill, and the subtlety that only a historian can bring to a fictional world.

I loved the tenacity of Cory, she was so confident and pure-hearted, and prepared to stand up for what was right. Her friendship with Alick, Rav and Ferdy was an entertaining one, and I loved the way in which she quickly became part of their friendship group, and they rallied around to help her find her father in London. In addition to her new found male friends, I loved the way in which she could effortlessly draw new friends to her, and I particularly liked Suze and Taz. A special mention should also go to little pet dog Piro, who was adorable, and very tenacious when it came to sausages!

There were lots of new words I came across within the story which added authenticity as well as giving me some new regency words.

An Unsuitable Heiress was a compelling and enthralling story of a determined young woman’s journey to find her father and her own place in the world.

After the death of her mother Karina sees her only way out of marrying The gross man that wants her is to run away and find her father this is what she does only she dresses a 19-year-old boy and goes by the name Cory well living as a young Artist she makes acquaintances with the wolf brothers Darius takes things too far an Alec only takes a mis far as any gentleman would but they think Karina to be there fellow and just a friend when Karina finds her father it changes everything but not the way she has come to feel about Alex the differences between Alex and Darius become so big they eventually have a showdown. This is an awful summary but keep in mind this is a Jane Dunn book so not your average wash rinse and spin Regency but one with meat on its bones and a plot you’re not gonna get anywhere else I love her books and have never read one I wouldn’t of given five stores to unlock the Corey and Alec chain done seems to have a backlog of great characters and even better plots. if you love Regency romance with great plots then you’ll love An Unsuitable Arress by Jane Dunn I certainly did I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

A nice clean regency romance, that stays true to the period. I did feel it became a little to descriptive in places but overall a pleasant read.

Corinna Ormesby has spent a tranquil life in the countryside with her cranky Cousin Agnes since the loss of her mother. At the age of 19, Corinna realizes that discovering her father's name may be her only chance to avoid getting married to the hateful Mr. Beech. Her father's identity has always been a tantalizing mystery.

Corinna decides to travel to London and dons a man's disguise. When Corinna travels alone as a young woman, she runs the risk of scandal and peril. However, when she poses as a youngster and makes friends with three dashing men—the attractive and competent Alick Wolfe, the dapper Ferdinand Shilton, and the unrepentant Lord Purfoy—she gains access to the world of Regency England, which is exclusively for men. And when she encounters Alick's troubled brother Darius, a breach of trust results in a conflict that is fatal.

Corinna's rural simplicity quickly dissipates as she encounters courtesans in Covent Garden and gambles in gentleman's clubs. But when she finally meets her father, learns the truth about her origins, and sees how her fortunes have changed, she must make a rapid decision about how to come out as who she really is while hoping that one young man in particular will recognize her true beauty and status as a Lady.

The Regency era is vividly brought to life by Sunday Times bestselling author Jane Dunn in this page-turning story filled with romance, intrigue, friendship, and color. ideal for Jane Austen enthusiasts. Janice Hadlow, Gill Hornby, and anybody who has a void in their lives that resembles Bridgerton.

Loved the authors writing and the characters she brought to life through this novel capturing the Regency England Era. Thanks to Netgalley, Rachel Random Resources and Boldwood books for an advance copy for my honest review.

A Suitable Heiress continues Jane Dunn’s exploration of Regency-era England. Once more, we have a very different main character, young Corinna, who knows she’s a bastard, but is determined to find her father, and continue in her quest to become an artist. And how might she manage this? By masquerading as a man and running away to London.

What ensues is a delightful tale of the era, not without its peril for our heroine/hero as her disguise is discovered and her father found. But this is only half the story for Corinna must manage her friendships carefully and guard her reputation as well as her companions while seeking to fulfill her ambitions.

An Unsuitable Heiress is a delightful Regency tale sure to appeal to fans of the era.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my review copy.

An adventurous lady, with surprises galore
And a delightful dog most folks will adore.
A quest to find just who is her father at last
And leave her matchmaking cousin in the past.

Such a fun historical romance
I really hope you'll give it a chance!
Corinna decides to escape her cousin's matchmaking plan
By finding her father as soon as she can.

London is where her search will start
But first from her friend she'll have to part.
She's also going to be in disguise, too,
Since travelling alone no lady would do.

Dressed as a man, she's on her way
When a chance encounter changes her day.
She makes three dashing blades who think she's male
And they'll help her search for her father won't derail.

These gentlemen take her under their charge
Introducing her to the male world at large.
From gambling, clubs and so much more
A side of life she'd not thought to explore!

However, what will happen when it is revealed
Her gender and identity so carefully concealed?
The friendship of these men means such a lot
She hopes one especially won't hate her plot.

I thoroughly enjoyed this delightful read
And hope it is one you'll also need.
For my complementary copy, I say thank you,
As I share with you this, my honest review.

After reading The Marriage Season, I was eager to get lost in Jane's writing again. I wasn't disappointed. I found the main characters likeable and I especially liked how brave and determined Corinna was. I also loved the vivid descriptions. Overall a delightful read.