The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
ISBN: 1402217714
Pages: 320 pgs
Genre: Romance/Regency
Challenges-Read’n’Review Challenge, 100+ Reading Challenge

Rating: 


Summary from publisher:

The Talisman Ring is one of Heyer's funniest and fastest-paced romantic comedies, telling the story of a fugitive heir, a tempestuous Frenchwoman, and the two sensible people who try to keep them out of trouble.

"... A long-lost family heirloom, a young heir falsely accused of murder, a band of smugglers, two utterly delightful Heyer heroines, a taciturn, but highly resourceful older gentleman - all play their parts in a tale funny enough to have you laughing aloud."

My Review:

This is one of the few Heyer novels I managed to skip over when I bought the rest of her works. Don’t ask me why I skipped it, I don’t know. I do things that surprise me at times.

I really loved this novel. It had it all…comedy, mystery and romance. It was as perfect as perfect can get without becoming obnoxious. The characters were awesome. I especially loved Sir Tristram Shield and Miss Sarah Thane. I had such a crush on Tristram. He is almost in the league of Severus Snape and Mr. Darcy in the group of my literary crushes. He was so much smarter than everyone else. He was always at least ten steps ahead of everyone else. If I was Eustacie, I would have married him in a split second. I also really liked Sarah. She was so smart. She had her head firmly on her shoulders. I really love strong, intelligent female characters. The dialogue was sharp  and witty.  Without giving anything away, the proposal scene at the end was hilarious. This was a great hybrid… regency romance mixed with mystery mixed with comedy. I found that those three elements really worked together well.

I did find, however, that the story got a bit weak at times. Not often but enough that I noticed it and only for a chapter or two. I found that this generally happened when Ludovic and Eustacie were the main focus. I couldn’t stand Eustacie. She was so flighty and insipid. Definitely not my sort of character. I didn’t like Ludovic either but I didn’t want to bash my head into a wall when he was around. This couple did not have the charm or grace that Tristram and Sarah had.

The Talisman Ring would be a great for a Heyer fan that has already exhausted the other Heyer Regency romances and is looking for something a bit different. This might not be the best intro to Heyer but for a veteran, it’s a great read.

Sourcebooks also does a great job of re-issuing these Heyer books. The cover design is really pretty and reflects the novel perfectly.

*A copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher for review. My opinion is my own and has not been influenced in any way and any monies made from associate or affiliate accounts are recycled back into the blog.