The Barkin Emeralds: 5

by Nancy Butler

Book Overview

On behalf of her mistress, Miss Maggie Bonner is returning a rejected betrothal gift-an emerald necklace-to Lord Barkin in Scotland, when she is mistaken for his intended and kidnapped by a dashing pirate...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451211758
• ISBN13: 9780451211750
• Release Date: June 2004
• Publisher: Signet Book
• Length: 215 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Outstanding!

When Alice Fescue elopes with a captain of the militia, Miss Maggie Bonner is devastated. Being Alice's former tutor and current hired companion, it is Maggie that Lady Fescue takes out her ire upon. Lady Fescue had arranged for Alice to marry the Earl of Barkin. In fact, the earl gifted Alice with the Barkin Emeralds before returning to his castle on Quintay. Lady Fescue charges Maggie with the task of returning the emerald necklace to the earl or finding herself fired without reference. En route to the remote island Quintay, Maggie finds her ship boarded by a pirate. Maggie, mistaken for Lord Barkin's intended, finds herself a prisoner on an island, St. Columba, situated close to Quintay. Gulliver "Gull" MacGuigan has had a long standing feud with Barkin. Gull is desperate to help the people on his dying island. Taking Barkin's intended is his last hope. Yet Gull is very attracted to the captive and already knows it will be difficult for him to let his charge go when the earl arrives to ransom his fiancé. If only the lovely lady really was who she claimed to be, rather than the Fescue girl he knows she must be. ***** Author Nancy Butler proves to her readers, once again, that she is the Dame of Regency Romance. The characters are very well developed and I easily came to care for them. Highly recommended reading! ***** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Another winner from Ms. Butler.

I won't bother with a synopsis, as others have already done so, just add my two cents about this author's incredible writing style. Characters, action, pacing, witty dialogue, descriptive prowess and narrative without going over the edge, believable plot and storyline for the era - Nancy Butler never fails to deliver excellence in all areas; and she always throws in that little extra added surprise/something to keep the reader going. I recently heard that she will no longer be writing Regency era romance; I'll sure miss them - but will continue to read her, no matter what genre she moves to.

Roaring adventure romance

Nancy Butler's latest is a Regency, but in strict fact does not truly belong to a that genre in its usual definition. There is nary a drawing room or high perch phaeton in sight and the nearest society miss is definitely a long way off stage in the far background of this rollicking high adventure.Maggie Bonner is companion to Alice Fescue, a young lady recently betrothed to Lord Barkin. While travelling to join him on his distant Hebridean Island estate, the lady decamps and it is left to Maggie to return the betrothal gift of the valuable Barkin Emeralds to the earl. Then everything is turned on its head, first she is robbed of the emeralds by a seeming pirate and then she is kidnapped to the island of St. Columba. Gulliver McGuigan is no pirate, but a desperate man trying to grab the attention of Barkin to help save the island and its people from an ever more quickening slide into poverty.Naturally there is plenty of spark between the spirited pair, as Maggie angrily tries to convince him she is not Barkin's betrothed. Of course attraction soon spices up the mix of fast-paced action. Maggie and Gulliver are a realistic pair and it is a pleasure to follow their interaction.This is a very enjoyable and eminently readable tale. The romance is not too much pushed to the edges by the action and blend in well. Maybe the romance simply springs into being too quickly considering the few days involved, without any development, but that's a quibble regarding realism and not writing.Secondary characters, Gulliver's cousin Dorcas and Lord Barkin, are also well realized, if not given much page space.Great stuff.

She's great

I hadn't loved the last Butler -- usually she's in my top ten writers of all time. But this one was as good as I'd come to expect. What a writer! Dang, I'm jealous. Even when she writes about characters we think we've met before the dark brooding mysterious man, a dashing robber and the bright, poor-but-determined miss she adds such a dimension to the characters that they're brand new.The island is a vivid setting too -- almost a character in its own right. And as always, the secondary characters are great without pushing the main characters off stage. The secondary romance was sort of underdone in that it didn't seem like there was enough to keep the feud alive but they were convincing enough I didn't care.

not your average regency

Nancy Butler's latest book "The Barkin Emeralds" is far above average. Maggie Bonner's life has too little happiness and her future looks bleak. It appears that things can only get worse when she is robbed of the emerald necklace she is returning (on behalf of her employer) to Lord Barkin. But then... she ends up cast on the shore of the island of St. Columba and her life begins to change in a wonderful way.Gulliver MacGuigan, the man who stole the necklace and for a good reason, is the best kind of hero. He feels responsible for the people of this island and works hard (dirty, back-breaking labor) to help them. He's stubborn, she's determined and together they are strong. The interaction of these two people is sometimes witty, sometimes touching, often passionate. And believable! I enjoy a regency romance where the heroine isn't a society deb and the hero isn't an aloof millionaire. This isn't London. It's real hardworking people who are worried about how to make a living when their familiar way of life is being threatened.Gulliver's cousin Dorcas, Guy, Og MacNeill and a few others are great secondary characters. Their stories add wonderfully to this book.Nancy Butler has a way of writing that makes the characters and their romance seem real. No silly, unbelievable plot twists or out-of-nowhere surprises. Just genuine feeling and emotion. I think she's an author in the same class as Mary Balogh and Carla Kelly. This is an enjoyable, romantic story!