The Mad Herringtons, by Jane Myers Perrine, is a regency romance. It is published electronically by Beyond the Page Publishing. I think that it had been previously published in 2002 by Avalon, which had been bought out by Amazon. Anyways, at the present time, Beyond the Page is selling the Kindle version for about $2.99 US on Amazon. For the most part, I found the novel to be breezy, funny, and enjoyable to read. One might describe this as a fun regency romp. Certainly, it has the feel of chick lit done in regency style.
Aphrodite Herrington is the sensible and responsible daughter, born into a family whose members all exhibit passionate natures. They are collectively known to the ton as the Mad Herringtons and include Aphrodite's parents and 12 other siblings. Her parents have no problem making rather public displays of affection and procreating at such a fast rate and continually increasing their brood (indeed, in this story, there is another on the way). Her sister, Terpsichore, who dresses quite provocatively for regency standards, has established her own townhouse without a chaperone, with their parents' approval. Her oldest brother, Aeolus, is in Congo, Africa, searching for the source of the Nile based upon his own opinion. Her younger sister, Athena, is an accomplished flirt, enjoying the company of eligible and ineligible males, particularly in kissing them without thought or concern for her reputation.
Aphrodite is different; she wishes to conduct her life with propriety, without any hint of scandal. She also desires to be married, but to a husband who is sober, sensible and not prone to frivolity and passion. She finds herself betrothed to Frederick Horne, who exhibits a similar personality and compatible interests to her own. However, Frederick's mother is not convinced of Aphrodite's suitability, and so arrangements are made for a house party at Frederick's estate so that Aphrodite has the opportunity to get acquainted with her future mother-in-law.
Included in the house party are Aphrodite's sisters, Terpsichore and Athena, and another brother, Asklepios, who appears at the party under an alias in a scheme to temporarily escape being caught by a magistrate who is looking for the culprit who dug up his daughter's dead dog. Frederick's cousin, Viscount Thomas Warwick, heir to the Earl of Wharton, is also present to represent his branch of his family. At least, that's what he is telling himself and others.
Warwick decides that Aphrodite really needs to know what she is getting into if she marries Frederick; she will gain the atrocious Mrs. Horne as her mother-in-law, which would be a fate worse than death. Really, he's not helping Aphrodite because he can't forget the kiss that he stole from her two years previously, a kiss that he can't get out of his memory.
We also find out that even though Aphrodite says that she wants the predictable and dependable Frederick, it is the rogish Warwick who catches her eye, but she will not let her heart open to him because she doesn't trust that he would offer marriage to her because of his past dealings with her.
Thrown into the mix is the re-entrance of former suitor of Terpsichore's, Athena's indiscriminate flirting towards the male species, and preparations for a performance of a Midsummer's Night Dream. Will Aphrodite be able to keep all her siblings from social ruin? Will she be able to resist Warwick and keep her intentions to marry Frederick?
The novel has a touch of naughtiness in it, but this is expressed by characters other than Aphrodite, who is in all things proper and controlled. For instance, Athena makes reference to to Warwick looking at Aphrodite by saying, "When you weren't aware, he looked at your bosom. You have a lovely bosom. I've seen many men notice that," (typical talk from a flighty man-crazy teenager). Terpsichore also makes a couple of outrageous comments about how it would be worth it to be compromised by Warwick should the occasion arise. Her character appears to live to shock others with her outrageous talk and dress. However, there isn't really any actual descriptions of sex in this book, other than the implication of something that is to happen between a couple of minor married characters. By some standards, this novel would probably be considered sweet and clean, but it certainly doesn't match what you would find in a Harlequin Love Inspired novel.
There was one point in the story where I was a bit confused. In chapter 1, Aphrodite turns
away from the Viscount Warwick, but he is referred to as a Marquis. At
least, I think that the use of the word referred to Warwick, because
otherwise, she is turning away from her father, who is known to be a
Marquis. However, she is not dancing with her father; instead, she is
dancing with Warwick.The other thing that I found confusing what that Terpsichore had her own townhouse, which I think would be unheard of for a single unmarried woman who would be considered under the protection of her living parents. However, it is explained in the story that the Marquis and Marchioness had encouraged the whims of their children and permitted Terpsichore to have her own establishment.
I'm not an expert on regencies, but I had a lot of fun reading this, so if there were major historical inaccuracies, I didn't notice them and I don't think that I would have really minded. This was an enjoyable book. I wish that there was more to read about the Mad Herringtons. Maybe Ms. Myers Perrine will write more about this delightful family; after all, there are ten (eleven!) other members that we haven't met yet!
Disclaimer: A free e-copy of The Mad Herringtons was provided by Net Galley in exchange for a review. All opinions stated in this review are mine.
