Plain Jane (A House for the Season) Paperback – February 1, 2013

I have read all of M.C. Beaton's Hamish Macbeth and Agatha Raisin books and several of her stand-alones, but none of the Regency romance/mysteries. The first struck me as her honing her prodigious skills, but this entry was absolutely fun and charming. I LOVED it!!!! I look forward to reading the next one in this series.

This story is much better than the first book in the series and the added mystery is the icing on the cake of this romance. The heroine may not be a beauty, but everyone (outside of her nasty mother and sister) seems to agree that she is very "taking" and her sister complains that everyone likes her. Imagine that! Actually being pleasant company! When the mother comments that Lord Tregarthen would never consider marrying such a "plain" girl as Jane, her father says under his breath that at least he'd have a warm and loving wife. You get the idea.... Jane is sweet, worthy and pretty enough. Lord Tregarthen is tall and handsome with golden hair, is very kind to Jane and immediately appreciates her finer qualities. Their romance is satisfying and the mystery they unravel together adds a small element of intrigue to the story.We also get to know the house staff better and I felt like Chesney had a firmer grip on each of these characters and where she was going with their relationships to each other than she had in the first book. Now they are firmly established as a "family" unit growing in loyalty, humor and comeraderie with each other. These characters are what keep readers buying the next book in the series. Overall a good book recommended to Chesney and Regency fans.

This is the 2nd volume of the House For the Season series. It is very good, but I did not think it was as good as the first volume. The writing remained the same high caliber and the servants' characters were not only consistent, they actually grew some in this book. What put me off a tad was the story itself. Jane specifically seemed to be a walking contradiction. She made the most terrible social blunders but for some reason her Hero never thought bad of her. And personally, I didn't see the ah-ha moment on the Hero's part as being convincing. He just sort of fell into marriage and happened upon a grand passion. Not to mention the single sentence explanation of why he talked like a fop did not exactly make sense to me. I felt like the abovestairs cast were the background characters this time around while the belowstairs cast were the center stage cast. This would not have bothered me except for the fact that this is a Regency Romance and in my opinion the central love story should be exactly that, central. But it was a very good book nonetheless and had me chuckling out loud several times. I adored the cat and I believe Joseph was my favorite character this time around although I have not yet fallen out of love with Rainbird. Highly recommended for all Regency Romance lovers.

Romantic romp with two sisters, one beautiful and one plain. A strange household filled with ‘enslaved servants’. Many remarkable results.

A charming heroine who is also a hero and a lovely and slightly strange cast of characters make this a very fun romp. Enjoy.

not as good as the first book... but.. worth a read... plain younger sis manages to capture rich titled man's attention... beautiful but shallow older sis doesn't...they also solve a mystery along the way... and the servants below stairs have their share of tragic romance... so so read..

Delightful! Late night read. Couldn't turn it off - sooo entertaining.mystery and romance - light - hearted humor. Love the below stairfolks.

I first read this series (House for the Season) over four decades ago and was delighted with it. Rereading it brings back pleasant memories. It still delights!

J'avais découvert ce jus au Canada et je l'apprécie beaucoup.

Quando si legge una serie di romanzi che si susseguono sviluppando ogni volta un po' più della storia che si segue passo passo è importante, io credo, essere certi che non passerà troppo tempo dall'ultimo libro della serie e il successivo, per non dimenticare e per avere il piacere di vedere come va a finire.

Younger sister to a beautiful debutante and daughter of the most pushy mother, Plain Jane is a little bit like Cinderella, except that she does not have to do the cleaning. Poor thing, she is told so many times that she is so plain that she is not worthy the expense of new gowns and the bother of taking her to dances. And she believes it.Ah, but with the help of the staff at 67 Clarges Street, Plain Jane shall go to the ball. And the little caterpillar will become a beautiful butterfly. And catch the eye, and the heart, of the most dashing Lord Tregarthan.But of course, nothing is easy, and with a runaway hero of war father, a most selfish sister, a beau who does not know if he wants to be tied down and a mystery to solve even if her life is threatened, our little Plain Jane will need to be very brave.And once again, Rainbird and his crew come to the rescue.I was very happy to find the staff of 67 Clarges Street still there and I realised that  The Miser of Mayfair: The House for a Season, Book 01 (A House for the Season)  was only book 1 of a series (House for a Season series) and that I will see more of them in the next books. Which is good, because despite being downtrodden by the Agent looking after the House for the owner, being blackmailed into staying in service, the Staff at 67 Clarges Street is unique. I think Rainbird, the butler, is as much of a hero as our Debutantes .An easy afternoon (or morning) read, perfect for the holidays. The Miser of Mayfair: The House for a Season, Book 01 (A House for the Season)

Romantic, nice, easy to read. This book is full of well defined classic characters: the mean; the candid; the smart; the rich; the servants; the loyal... despite this the plot is original and funny.

This is as enjoyable as the first book in the series. An easy and light read; as are the rest in the series.