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June 2019 reread with the Georgette Heyer group!

News flash: I'm not 18 any more. So even though I still have a soft spot for romances in general and Regencies in particular, my appetite for reading about sweet, silly young girls who do brainless things and have Big Misunderstandings with the guy has dwindled to almost zero. When you're yelling "TALK TO EACH OTHER, PEOPLE" at a book, it's not particularly conducive to the romantic feelz.

Which brings me to Venetia. Venetia herself is one of my favorite Heyer heroines: intelligent, witty, resourceful and not easily fazed by events that would make most ladies throw up their hands in despair. She's 25 years old--just about on the shelf by Regency standards. Because her father was a damaged soul, Venetia has spent her entire life in a small town with a very limited circle of friends and acquaintances, but she's nevertheless well-read and socially adept, if rather innocent in the ways of the world.

Enter Damerel: an older man who's a confirmed rake and pretty much doesn't care about anything any longer. Or at least he thinks he doesn't, but underneath there's an intelligent, kind man that his growing friendship with Venetia brings out of hiding. He starts out intending to seduce her--hey, she's a lovely girl and he's bored--but his growing friendship with and respect for her and her brother soon make him realize that he can't do that. Which leads to a moral conundrum for Damerel: his life has been so reprehensible that he's no longer accepted in society, and marrying a sweet younger lady like Venetia would make people despise him even more, and shun them both.

"[I'm] something worse than a fool. Would that she could make of me a saint, or I of her a sinner-- For the first part it's too late, old friend, too late! And for the second--it was precisely my intention, and a rare moment this is to discover that if I could I would not!"

What to do? The resolution isn't as simple as you might expect.

It's lovely to watch Venetia's developing relationship with Damerel. They trade literary quotes and allusions and they just understand each other. Their relationship is in turns witty and heart-wrenching. And way sexier than any other Heyer romance I'm aware of! Heyer never gives you anything more than a kiss--no tangled tongues or groping or anything like that--but you can almost feel the heat rising off the pages when these two are together.

I loved both the humor and the literary allusions and references in this book. I think it's the most intelligently written of the Heyer books I've read. I can feel my brain cells multiplying while I read it. Or expanding. Whatever it is they do.

I found a handy online guide to the literary references in Venetia, which might help other readers too: . This was invaluable in keeping my brain cells from exploding from trying to expand too fast.

And I've changed my mind on this second read: Venetia gets all 5 stars.

P.S. re "orgies": at the end of the book(view spoiler)[ Damarel jokes that they're going to have a lovely orgy, or something to that effect. This has bothered a lot of readers, including me. But here's my evolved take on that scene: The first time I read that orgy comment I thought it was cynical; the second time I decided he and Venetia were just joking around. Then we were discussing it in our Georgette Heyer group read a few months ago, and someone said that what Damerel really means with that comment is that they're going to have a great wedding night and love life generally--a nice little "orgy" with just the two of them. (hide spoiler)]I read the scene again and personally I'm convinced that that's the right interpretation. Hope that helps!