Autumn Masquerade
Series: Timeless Regency Collection, Book 1
By: Josi S. Kilpack, Donna Hatch, Nancy Campbell Allen / Narrated by: Sarah Zimmerman
Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins
How I did get my Regency ya-ya’s out on this one!
Celebrating Autumn, or ANY Season for that matter, is a truly grand excuse to wallow in a set of short stories/novellas set in the Regency era. As a lover of Romances (Yeh yeh yeh, they’re kinda sorta my guilty… oh soooo guilty… pleasure…!), I dunno why, exactly, I’ve honed in on them, but there you are.
If you’re willing to suspend disbelief for 7 hours and 27 minutes, and if you’re willing to NOT ask yourself a couple of: Well, why don’t they just…? -or- But I thought they said…? questions, you’re in for a fine time with Autumn Masquerade, my most recent wallow into the “Timeless Regency Collections”. I mean, a couple of them are about Dukes, for cryin’ out loud, the grandest of the grand!
Let’s start with “A Merry Dance” by Josi S. Kilpack shall we? The intrepid Lila, who has her heart set on marrying her cousin, overhears that her dear uncle is set on making a match of her and an older gentleman, named -for gosh sake- Mortimer of all names. She CAN’T bear it: His name! His advanced age (He’s three and thirty—egad)! Her adoration of dear cousin Neville! Of course the only thing she can do is give Mortimer a disgust of her. And so she goes about being rude to his horse, bathing in perfumed oil (And even she’s gagging and retching with THAT one), showing a hearty appetite, talking about politics instead of embroidery. Usually, such antics have ME developing a disgust for the heroine, but here I found it kinda amusing as Lila, after each attempt, runs wailing to her best friend, failing miserably, and acknowledging that Mortimer has been kind and gentle with each ploy. Plus, the man is really quite intelligent, and very interesting, and drat it all! she finds herself developing feelings, deep feelings for the man, and they’re quite different from the shallow feelings she has for Neville. But, dunno—she may’ve run Mortimer off for good. I kinda worried about Lila’s decisions, but they suited her growing character, and this wound up in the “Charming” category.
In “Unmasking the Duke” by Donna Hatch, the heroine is Hannah, an almost pathologically shy 18-year old girl, tongue-tied amongst company at the best of times, and now, no way around it, she’s faced with having to go to a ball being thrown in her honor by her much-loved older sister. Good thing it’s a masquerade, as she’s counseled to let her mask/disguise be a strength, giving her the courage to do and say and be the person she is but is always too afraid to act as. During the ball, she finds the man of her dreams, a good and interesting man, but he has his secrets, and he too is using his mask to bask in the glory of being himself… and not the much pursued Duke of Suttenberg (Who by the way, Hannah loooooathes because he’s so rude and arrogant). The unmasking is dramatic, and the scenes that follow are quite believable as it’s a slow process for the two to come to trust each other. Their personal weaknesses are addressed, and each supports the other as they try to figure out how to be themselves… at least when it’s just the two of them. This is the longest story, and I thought that apropos as it’s slow going when learning to trust. Swoon-worthy…!
Though I reeeeally liked the third and final story “What’s in a Name” by Nancy Campbell Allen, I must admit that this is the one where I found myself pulling back on those aforementioned questions about Why don’t they just…? to go along with having to drag myself away from a couple of plot holes. Penelope is the “off” twin, not as poised as her sister Persephone, and always running around to look for fossils, her hair flying about, running and hunting stones in the sun, her bonnet askew. She’s okay with turning into a spinster, but things come to a head when the Duke she’s been writing to, and falling in love with, comes to meet her… as Persephone… Cuz when the Duke’s mother went looking for a female for him, OBVIOUSLY, the fair Persephone was the one a letter was delivered to. Persephone, in love with another gentleman, can’t be bothered, so Penny has been writing as herself, with her love for paleontology, but with Persephone’s name. All well and good, and Penny is assuming the fossil-loving Duke is a frumpy old gentleman, until the Duke visits to make Persephone his wife. Now, there were plenty of times I had to pull back and scratch my head, but for the most part, this was a sweet Listen, and Penny was just so lovable!
Sarah Zimmerman narrates this in fine style, and tho’ she did do her trademark “hit the second to last syllable with emphasis, and draaaaag the final syllable of each sentence”, she didn’t do it soooo completely that I was taken out of the story. She starts each story this way, but then settles into a more natural rhythm, and her delivery of characters is always truly a joy. Still, I was soooo relieved about her not hitting that trademark! I’m picky that way, and there’s nothing that ruins a good Regency as a head-scratching performance.
Each story featured Autumn, so one feels the Season and feels as though it’s a character in its own right. These weren’t just slapped together with a mention that “it was Autumn” and that’s supposed to be enough to string stories together and call it a collection. Nope, I had an old-fashioned desire to curl up with some hot chocolate and listen as the heroines wrapped themselves in their pelisses against the chill (Or perhaps had the Heroes greatcoats placed over their shoulders… huzzah!) and contemplated the beauty of red, gold, and orange.
Loved it all, and can’t wait for the NEXT excuse to hit a Timeless! Too bad Audible’s Escape package is biting the dust, as this is a selection they offer(ed). But I needn’t fear as I’d purchased it cheap with the kindle Whispersync option… and may that option never go away!
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