I had high hopes for Wedded Bliss, Barbara Metzger’s first full length Regency-set historical romance. I have enjoyed her traditional Regencies in the past, chuckling at her humorous asides and her self-aware characters. But this one was too long and too chock full of melodrama for my taste. And the hero was a big minus.

Robert Rothmore, the Earl of Rockford, is a man in ruthless control of his life – until one day he’s not. As a diplomat for the Crown, he separated his life into personal and professional and ceded the personal half over to relatives. He never sees his two sons, who live in the country with his sister and his former in-laws. But when his sister unexpectedly elopes with the bailiff who’s been robbing Rockford blind, he has to take control of the situation and of his mischievous son. When he finds said son, William, in the care of a neighbor woman, Mrs. Henning, Rockford assumes she’s after money, and their first meeting is somewhat disastrous. But soon he realizes what an asset she could be to him. She seems such a capable woman – the kind most useful in a marriage of convenience. If he can get Mrs. Henning to agree to that arrangement, then his life can go back to the way it was before – safe, predictable, sane, and loveless.

At first Alissa Henning is completely enraged by Rockford’s high-handed behavior. She is doing him a favor in caring for William, and he is, in one moment, accusatory, and in the next, presumptuous. However, Alissa’s fortunes are waning, and a neighbor’s behavior is becoming predatory. A marriage with Rockford would solve all of her problems, and she could make a home for her boys and his. But marriage to the heartless Rockford seems a bleak proposition. Is he really as incapable of softer feelings as he seems?

Anyone familiar with Metzger’s writing will know that she writes her books using a great deal of narrative exposition. She also utilizes interior monologue often in quite funny ways as the characters come up with humorous asides and commentary on the current situation. This works well in a traditional Regency as it is a short format and must necessarily be condensed. In a longer historical, the numerous descriptive passages were more obvious, and Metzger’s summing up of what’s occurring quickly turned either tedious or exhausting.

Alissa is a nice heroine, steady, pragmatic, and loving. Her sacrifice for her family is noble, and she is easy to understand and like. Unfortunately, she is paired with Rockford – a frozen fish stick of a man. In the beginning of the book it is clear that he knows neither of his sons at all well. He doesn’t even recognize the younger one, William. Both of his previous marriages were failures, and his part in those fiascos was not inconsiderable. When he proposes to Alissa, he makes it clear that he does not intend to be faithful, and, indeed, he is not. His transformation from stunted, emotionless peer to loving father and husband was not at all believable given his history and temperament.

Metzger’s Regency society seems amazingly fluid. Alissa’s first husband was a disinherited Duke’s son. She lives in poverty and obscurity when Rockford first encounters her, and her marriage to him is a huge step up, but no one comments on this. Her neighbors are remarkably accepting and the ton comes around quickly. Rockford’s sister commits the unpardonable sin of running away with the bailiff and then not marrying him, but she and Alissa are able to cover things up with no problem. The rigid stratifications of Regency society are thus both present and absent in Wedded Bliss, depending on what the plot demands at the moment.

All of Metzger’s secondary characters are remarkably flimsy or stereotypical. Her villains are would-be rapists or ravishers with bad hygiene. The children are one-dimensional joke fodder, and the fact of their parents’ marriage creates no noticeable chaos except what is necessary for humor or plot advancement.

Wedded Bliss was unfortunately quite a disappointment for me. If you’d like to try out Metzger, I’d have to suggest ordering the books Signet is reissuing from her backlist over purchasing this newest offering. I particularly enjoyed the combination of A Suspicious Affair and An Angel for the Earl.