Saturday, April 23, 2011

Cloudy with a Chance of Marriage-Kieran Kramer

Cloudy with a Chance of Marriage
Kieran Kramer
St. Martin’s, Apr 26 2011, $7.99
ISBN: 9780312374037

In London Hodgepodge Bookshop owner Jilly Jones loves her store and even her aptly named for its weather Dreare Street. On the other hand she loathes the institution of marriage having tried that despicable union before.

Her new neighbor, Captain Stephen Arrow is one of Regent’s targeted Impossible Bachelors. He inherited a place near her shop and wants to sell it, but only a fool would buy a house on unlucky Dreare Street; besides his unwelcome family horde resides inside the abode. As an attorney arrives ready to evict the street’s occupants over the lack of payments, Stephen admits to himself he enjoys baiting feisty Jilly who uses her witty arsenal to pickle his brain. He realizes he wants her with his heart and to win the misanthrope he must perform the impossible like learning the Dreare secrets wrapped inside the fog of the street.

This intelligent Impossible Bachelors tale (see Dukes to the Left of Me, Princes to the Right) is a wonderful enchanting Regency romance starring two witty combatants at gender war and an eccentric support cast. The story line is fast-paced except for a short moment when the runaway wife’s spouse arrives as he is more dreare than the street. Readers will enjoy this fun entry as humor and wit combine for a fine historical; that is not raining meatballs or pickles (See the wonderful children’s tales by Judi and Ron Barrett).

Harriet Klausner

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