Mad About the Major

This was my first rodeo with Ms. Boyle's works and it was fun. A breezy little novella.It was a case of mistaken identity and an urge to flee. "Kingsley" (heir to a duke) and "Birdie" (daughter of another duke) were each being forced by their parents to marry an unknown party and they were desperately unhappy. Birdie rebelled.Birdie slipped away from her home and voila! encountered Kingsley. Their one last day of freedom and Birdie's one day of adventure began. Of course, given her status, Birdie didn't divulge her name and rank so Kingsley kept mum too. They had tons of fun and I did too, tagging along with them.I've read another similar story that I enjoyed immensely, but this one had a charm of its own. I ditched my disbelief and had a good time. After all, don't many lighthearted romances require some suspension of disbelief? Personally, I like to think this one happened just as it was written. It made me laugh and it made me feel happy. Was the premise on the impossible side? Sure. I read it as a flight of fancy. Pure whimsy.Enjoy your reading! :)

If you're a fan of Elizabeth Boyle's work, you'll like this. The H and h are pleasant and the story is Boyle-cute. I picked this up because I haven't read Boyle since maybe 2010. This was relatively inexpensive and I was curious to see if her writing is evolving.This is part of Boyle's The Bachelor Chronicles series. The h of this, Arabella, is the daughter of James, Duke of Parkerton, who had his turn in the spotlight in  Mad About the Duke (The Bachelor Chronicles Book 7) . Arabella, nicknamed Birdie, is feeling caged in and restless, curious about the world and not wanting to be married off and stifled even more than she is as the daughter of a duke.Her Daddy Duke, on the other hand, feels she needs to settle down and he's working on getting her married off to the Marquis of Somersale, son and heir of the Duke of Marbury. To that end, there will be a house party at the Marbury estate so Arabella and Somersale can meet.Meanwhile, Arabella meets handsome hero Kingsley at a masked ball. He mistakes her for a courtesan and comes on to her in a rather lewd manner. Arabella is appalled by and attracted to him in equal measure. But, alas, nothing can come of this and they part (very abruptly thanks to Dad the Duke) without even knowing each other's identities.So when it's time to leave for the house party, Arabella escapes, meets Kingsley accidentally and convinces him to accompany her on her day of freedom. Oh, you know where this is leading. And it goes the typical Boyle way. She has a writing style that will appeal to a reader who isn't all that interested in logical, sensible or historically accurate behavior in characters.

First off, I haven't read any of the previous books in the series, and I was able to keep up with the story with no problem. The story focuses on Arabella Tremont (Birdie) and Major Kingsley. Basically, Arabella wants to have an adventure before she marries this fuddy-duddy heir to a dukedom. She happens to run into Kingsley who is the reason she has to marry the fuddy-duddy. Basically, Arabella and Kingsley have an adventure.Super cute read. Arabella's exuberance is contagious and Kingsley can't see how he can live without her. They both draw closer as the story progress. Mad About the Major is a fun let go of your problems kind of read. Yes, it's a bit predictable, but it's fluff read. Sit back and relax and watch these two enjoy a scandalous adventure.Copy provided by Avon via Edelweiss (but I did purchase the book).

I adored the heroine in this one so much! Arabella (Birdie) took life by the horns and ran with it. Kingsley would love to live his life without his families influence. They meet by accident at a ball with Kingsley being set up by his friends to accost Lady Arabella. Her father proceeds to punch him out cold and they leave thinking that's the end of it. On the way with her parents to meet her "betrothed" a few days later, she see's a chance to escape and takes it! She happens to run into Kingsley who's on the way to his parent's house as well. They proceed to spend the day together with him granting her 3 wishes of things she's always wanted to do to feel "free". The rest is history! I loved how I've never actually read a story like this before with this type of story line!Patti Wissore

This novel is like getting on a "nag" and finding out it's a race horse! This book swept me up in the story and characters and I feel so grateful that I was invited to go along for the ride. I absolutely hated putting it down. Every time I thought I knew what was next--it surprised me!The heroine is the kind of person I wish I would have been in her era and all because the milk maid could whistle! I would love to know what set the author off on this novel's path but I'm every so thankful she took the trip and that we can go along.The hero and heroine are taken on a real joy ride when he agrees to giving her,her three wishes she SAYS he owes her! Put on your jacket because the ride goes from starting up to full speed ahead. I was really sad when I finished it and look forward to this author's next book.

This was a delightful read. Kingsley and Birdie were great together.When they meet Kingsley mistakes Arabella aka Birdie as a courtesan and after saying some very outrageous things to her and taking some liberties with her person, is punched in face by her father the Duke of Parkerton.When they meet again days later - neither knows the others true identity and Birdie insists that Kingsley owes her a day of freedom. Which he agrees to grant in exchange for a boon of his own.This book was absolutely delightful. It was short - but longer than a novella. It is well written and flows nicely. There is plenty of humor and sexual tension.It loosely ties to the Bachelor Chronicles series - but can easily be read as a stand alone.I would definitely recommend this book.

boring

An interesting read from a good author.

Lady Arabella Tremont trifft auf einem Maskenball auf einem Mann, der sie im Garten verführen will, weil er sie für eine der gefragtesten Kurtisane Londons hält. Sie ist zwar angetan von ihm, aber dass geht dann doch zu weit. Ohne zu wissen, wer wer ist, trennen sich ihre Wege wieder. Er erhält ein blaues Auge von ihrem Vater und sie eine Standpauke und sie soll nun eine von ihrem Vater arrangierte Ehe mit dem Erben eines Dukes eingehen. Als die ganze Familie dazu in die Kutsche steigen will, um zu einer Hausparty des Zukünftigen zu fahren, flüchtet Arabella, "Birdie" zunächst ohne ihren Verstand zu gebrauchen, erst mal weg.Sie wird fast von Major Kingsley überfahren, der sich ebenfalls auf den Weg aufs Land machte. Beide wissen noch immer nicht, wer der jeweils andere ist und halten dies auch weiter so. Kingsley hilft Birdie einen Tag lang eine Liste mit 3 Sachen zu begehen, die sie nie gemacht hat, bevor sie ihm dann verrät, wer sie ist und er sie nach Hause bringen kann. Es ist nichts großartiges, was sie tun will, nur eben völlig unüblich und eigentlich unmöglich für eine Frau in der Zeit und vor allem für die Tochter eines Dukes. Sie will mal Spaß haben im Rahmen ihrer Vorlieben und Möglichkeiten.Das ganze Buch handelt von diesen paar Stunden, in welchen die beiden sich zwar persönlich kennen lernen, aber nicht namentlich.Was hier sehr schön und auch witzig erläutert wird, ist, warum die beiden nicht nur für einander wie geschaffen sind, sondern auch warum sie sich verlieben müssen. Es ist mal wieder ein Typischer Elizabeth Boyle Kurz-Roman der einfach ihre Klasse zeigt.Ohne viel drum-rum wird hier eine Liebesgeschichte beschrieben, die von Anfang an fesselt und mit zwei Helden, die einfach stimmen und wirklich sympathisch sind.Das war wirklich mal wieder ein richtig unterhaltsames Buch, das Spaß gemacht hat.Es ist auch nicht notwendig irgendein Buch aus der Reihe zu kennen.

What was not to love - the story is excellent from start to finish - uncomplicated and fun but just a teaser into Kingsley and Birdie's day of playing hooky - who needs a lot of heavy drama when you are enjoying the antics of young people goofing off. I like Elizabeth Boyle's novels most of the time anyway and this novella was charmingly innocent until they broke into the house

A marvellous tale of managing parents, pending nuptials and a distinct reluctance on the part of the not so happy couple to agree to the inevitable.