Jan's Reviews > Almost Heaven

3.5 to 4 stars. An early Regency romance, (1992), and probably highly influential for many authors writing these kinds of books today. It's much longer than today's books though, and I did struggle with this aspect. After a while I began to wonder what other complications could possibly happen to Ian and Elizabeth before they got their HEA. I was tempted to start skimming, but stuck it out till the lovely epilogue and very sweet final lines.

I did read this book several times a number of years ago, and it used to be an absolute fav. I would have given it 5 stars then, no question. It's now so long since I read it, I'd mostly forgotten the twists and turns of the story. But as I read this time, some of it started to come back to me. I remembered how much I LOVED the early scene when Ian and Elizabeth have just met at a house party, and they share some stolen hours talking (and kissing) in a little cottage in the woods on a rainy afternoon when everyone else has gone off to the village. For me, that scene was once one of the ultimate romantic swoony scenes. Now I've read so many HRs since those days (some of which also had the romantic scene in the cottage in the woods LOL), and sadly, the original has lost a little of its magic for me. I kinda felt nostalgic. How long since I've read a book that really touched me so much as this one (used to do)? A while. *sigh*

This is a well-written book with a sweet, beautiful, young, naive but loyal, canny and intelligent heroine. She is a countess in her own right. The hero is a very masculine and sexy alpha who is incredibly intelligent, and quite ruthless in his business dealings. A self-made man who is also secretly the heir to a dukedom. Their characters and behaviours have been the model for so many other writers, I'm sure. They are both likeable and they carry you along on their adventures. There are angst and drama and misunderstandings along the way, but you know Ian and Elizabeth are meant for each other, and finally the HEA happens.

There are some very funny scenes and characters in this book. I'd forgotten that until this reread. But it's an enjoyable aspect of the book. There is a little bit of what we would call today 'purple prose' in some of the romance/sex scenes, but it's not too much and is simply a sign of the period when the book was written.

I have an old paperback copy, with a completely inappropriate cover image LOL. For one, the woman is wearing Georgian/eighteenth century clothes, not Regency-style when it's set. Also she is depicted in a saucy pose which is nothing at all like any way that sweet innocent Elizabeth would behave. Ah well. I suppose it was the same then as now - the cover is all about selling the book, not reflecting the contents.