Review: 4 "Entertainingly Funny" Stars
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 1, 2014
What do you get when you cross The Princess Bride with, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves and Shakespeare's  A Midsummer's Night Dream? Well you get Ravensdale, a deliriously funny spoof of our beloved regency romances.For those of you familiar with historical or regency romances you will note that they all follow a certain pattern. You have the evil conniving family member, the misjudged heroic rogue Duke/Earl and the plain but beautiful and strong-willed heroine aka love interest of said misjudged duke. And while the stories are entertaining they are usually implausible and outlandish; full of dangerous heroics, dashing chases, romantic prose and indescribable loving gestures. Yet we still fall completely and undeniably in love with each and every story. So why not poke fun at it a little, and that's exactly what Ravensdale does.Our players in this comedic take are Edmund Ravendale, the dastardly malicious cousin, Reynaud Ravensdale our handsome rogue, and Isabella our stubborn no nonsense heroine. Isabella is set to marry against her will (the audacity) until a botched robbery places her in Reynaud's sights and he is instantly enamored and head over- stumbling, nervous nelly- heels in love with her(major shocker there 😊) Throughout this book you are heartedly engaged in all the ridiculousness that is the regency romance genre, from the sappy declarations of love to the repentant bad guy. You get the heroine who doesn't listen therefore repeatedly putting herself in danger and the Rogue who will do anything to win her heart.  Even throughout the book the characters reference and analyze situations stating that they seem straight out of a romance novel. The section headings in this book will have you laughing as well as each one dictates the obvious of what's to come in the chapter.And despite all the satire there is still an enjoyable story taking place in this book. Elliot does a fine job of allowing the reader to not only laugh at some of the absurdities in this tale but also root for the players to find their happy ending. There is plenty of emotion and heart in this book as both Isabella and Reynaud are characters of admirable quality and depth. Isabella never once becomes the damsel in distress and though Reynaud may not always agree with her actions he treats her as nothing short of an equal. And unlike most  tales in this genre Isabella's heart is not easily won therefore making the ending of this tale bittersweet.I applaud Elliot for making the poetic regency romances we hold dear to our heart into something fun and different. She never insults or tarnishes what we love about the genre but allows it to blossom with comedy making it something I particularly loved even more.