A Brazen Curiosity

I love this book because it is so clever, so funny, and makes me feel happy. I’m always game for a smart Regency romance, and I love a good mystery, so that is how I found this ebook.

The protagonist, Beatryce Hyde-Claire is shy and witty and self-effacing. The love-interest is handsome and didactic and totally puzzled by Beatryce.

The mystery is good, but the repartee between the two, along with the funny side characters make this a wonderful romance-mystery-comedy. The fact that it is first in a series, made my year!

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the imagined food fight in the beginning of this cozy mystery that shines with social satire, witty tongue-in-cheek dialog, and situational humor. The mystery is entertaining and the characters of Miss Beatrice Hyde-Clare and the Duke of Kesgrave are both well developed and amusing.  

A Brazen Curiosity made me laugh out loud. Often. Seriously, it’s that funny. The heroine, Beatrice Hyde-Clare, simultaneously discovers bodies, insults the aristocracy, and solves crimes, all with the help of a duke who’s fallen in love with her (inexplicably, in Beatrice’s frank opinion.) Her family’s pretty awful and her self-esteem’s a little low, but Beatrice is a unique and delightful Regency miss with a sense of humor and a realistic perception of the world around her. A Brazen Curiosity has more satisfying romance thrown in than the other books on my list, but romance is seldom on Beatrice’s sharp… show more.

This is the first in the Beatrice Hyde-Clare series of Regency romance, murder mysteries, and it is an absolute delight. Despite writing about murder, Messina has light and silly down to perfection, and the series gets more silly as it goes on. I recommend all her books. Be careful where you read because your sudden bursts of laughter may disturb others.