Isabel: A Sweet Regency Romance (Families of Dorset Book 2)

I really loved the character of Isabel, her goodness, kindness, and desire to do good. I liked that her faith was motivating factor for her. It was also interesting to read about some hard issues Ms.Keyes addressed in her story in a gentle but true light. The suspense and the development of the story definitely kept me turning page after page. And of course it’s funny but obvious to the reader that lack of communication is not helping the matters here. But isn’t it the caveat in itself?

I loved it though just enough tension to keep you reading to the end . very much loved this story.

I enjoyed this sweet, proper romance. Isabel was a good character. This does have a bit of a Christian element to it. I love how she became stronger knowing who she was and she gave grace to others because she knew herself so well. She was able to figure out why others did what they did. This is a great gift I have been striving for in my life. It was nice to see a character in a book working out how to do it instead of going around hating everyone or letting everyone hurt her. I love how complicated everything got and how it all worked itself out. This was a good story with a good foundation that was followed well. I took off a star because it got a bit wordy and the end drug out for me a bit too long.

I enjoyed this story. It was clean with a very nice ending and filled with twists. Well written, though I did feel the angst between Isabel and Charles dragged on a bit. Charles and Isabel are very likable. Her father was not, though he never had to answer for his odious ways. Farrow was quite despicable. Al least there was some consequences to his actions. There wasn't really closure concerning Cecilia and Julia. However, the next book is Cecilia's story so I suppose it will be addressed there. I did enjoy that the supposed 'runt' got her man while those who were arrogant because of their beauty, did not. There is poetic justice in that and a valuable lesson about how not to treat people! There are some very nice supporting characters as well. I really enjoy and recommend this author's books.

It was rather dragged out but was not too bad in tbe end. Endless misunderstandings do not make a pleasant story, the reader could do with more substance to the story.

Since numerous review have already picked apart Isabel by Martha Keyes, I will only talk about many of the positive facets of this sweet and clean Regency romance.The writing is descriptive and pretty true to the period. It had the right balance of thoughts to dialogue, and each scene moved the story forward. The danger and angst is well woven into the plot, as is the eventual resolution.Although it begins slowly, the story of Isabel Cosgrove and Charles Galbraith is both simple and complicated. As I read it, I was reminded of how plans can often go astray, and of how it is truly better to be honest.The characters are all interesting, and I really like both Isabel and Charles. They are basically good and kind people who must deal with less than good and kind people. Kind of like real life. I am especially fond of Isabel's best friend Mary. Everyone should have a friend like Mary.The ending is happy, and also includes an epilogue.

I loved this book!! 1st..it's cute Eliza is so sure she knows what's best for Charles that she drives me crazy, even though I know she'll have a happy ending. And I wanted to beat Charles over the head because he keeps trying to win Juia. I ove the characters the little bit of drama thst brought this book to a new level instead of just a Regency era romance with balls & carriage rides. Farrow's participation intrigued me so much! I never would have guesed his relation to a "certain someone". 😁 2nd reason...it's clean! As a Christian & a woman who was raised with good morals, I really treasure clean romances! A great writer can make a clean romance more intriguing & sexy than one filled with pornography. And THIS is a great author! I thank this author for writing this terrific romance! And 3rd..it was a free ebook. I read so many books that I can't afford to buy more than one for 99 cents occasionally. So thanks to the author & Amazon for making this free. Hopefully I'll get to read the next book about Cecilia. I did find itstrange tht se didn't appear,but was only mentioned in epilogue, but then I read the reason.

This book was perfect. Not flawless, or groundbreaking, but thoroughly and utterly perfect nonetheless.Isabel Cosgrove is a smart, logical heroine, in the tradition of Georgette Heyer's more self-possessed leads (think Fredericka Merriville or Annis Wychwood). She controls her emotions instead of succumbing to them, and her character remains true to her noble ideals throughout the book.Charles Galbraith is a genuinely good guy, no arrogance or smirking involved. He wants to do the right thing in all situations, and he doesn't take offense where none is intended.And I utterly love them both, especially when they're working together. There were so many places where this story could have veered off into high-strung drama, but instead the main characters act with their wits about them. The conflicts keeping them apart align realistically to their personalities, which makes the growing tension between them feel natural instead of forced. The motif of self-sacrifice (and of neither expecting that self-sacrifice from the other) was the icing on the cake.On a technical note, yes, there are a lot of lip-biting/lip-worrying character beats. You can choose to let it bother you or slough it off as one of this novel's particular quirks. The story was such a breath of fresh air in its characters and plot progression that I'm not going to hold that minor clumsiness against it. I am definitely looking forward to reading more from this author.

In a drunken wager, Charles Galbraith wins Isabel Cosgrove's hand in marriage from her inebriated father, despite being in love with Julia Darling. Julia's feelings and attitude to Charles have not remained constant and he is acting in anger. On discovering this, Isabel is appalled. She has always had feelings for Charles yet did not wish to be married under these circumstances.Together, Charles and Isabel plan how this mess can be undone so that he can win back Julia's regard, even though it is secretly breaking Isabel's heart.I found Charles to be a bit of a wet character, with Isabel taking the lead. He couldn't seem to make up his mind all the way through the book and showed no romantic inclinations at all to Isabel. Therefore it seemed unrealistic for him to feel hurt towards the end of the story when Isabel declares her intentions.The romance is not sharp enough and it is unclear when Charles has a change of heart. Quite wishy washy. It does not leave you feeling the love...well only one way! The secondary story line is unconvincing and unrealistic entirely.

I am a huge Georgette Heyer fan so my expectations for historical romances are quite high. I am so used to reading awfully written stories on this genre, that I was quite wary of this one, prepared to delete it after a couple of pages if it did not sound and read as a period story of its time should. I was pleasantly surprised. Of course, this is no Georgette Heyer, but it was still a good read. I did find it a little too dragging at times, but overall the story had a sound plot and even though, I found myself rushing pages a few times, I did make it to the end and found that I did enjoy it. It is not a hard plot to understand or figure out. I knew what the plot would be like and how it might possibly end a couple of pages/chapters in, but this did not spoil the story for me. I suggest you give it try if you do like historical romances.

Clearly the author is trying to emulate Georgette Heyer, but unfortunately this is rather too long, too rambling and just doesn't have the lightness of touch.The silly addition of the beautiful waif is pointless and adds nothing to the story. The romance is ok and has a reasonable development, but again, the whole thing is just too longwinded and gets rather dreary. It needs to be more punchy. Cut it by 25% and it would be much improved.

Intriguing story telling, but light hearted enough to be read at leisure, I would have liked more historical content, but still worth reading.

Good intricate plot with interesting twist and turns. Not too many Americanisms to spoil the authentic feel of the period.