(seriously, I don't have a pithy summary for a review better that it's own title)

I had a total blast.

I love Heyer's harebrained MC's, and Sophy is an order of magnitude on any of hers I've read. I had so much fun with the way she's completely on top of all the chaos she sows around while working to set things as they should go, and I knew the ride I was setting myself to as soon as she appears, but even more when her friends start popping up and you realize they like her, respect her, will help her, but pray not to be the focus of her arrangements.

I also love all her side characters in all their glorious follies. I even enjoyed Eugenia, because she was such a perfect foil.

It's not that the end is in any way unexpected, but the getting there was hilarious and entertaining. I totally get why it's a favourite Heyer now. It's certainly elbowing up there in the podium.

This is hilarious. Talk about an agent of chaos.

Tasks 1, 2, and 4 completed. Points = 3

Task 1:  Share a picture of your favorite light display. ~ I might be reaching here, but no man-made display has ever captivated me as much as the night sky (though lantern festivals come close).

Task 2:  Cleaning is a big part of this holiday; choose one of your shelves, real or virtual, and tidy / organise it.  Give us the before and after photos.  OR Tidy up 5 of the books on your BookLikes shelves by adding the CORRECT cover, and/or any other missing information. (If in doubt, see here: http://jenn.booklikes.com/post/1782687/state-of-the-database-booklikes-database-halloween-bingo-and-a-mini-rant-with-pictures). 

I literally just rearranged my shelves and have no before pictures, so digital it is. I'm not sure how to track this, so I'll just list the titles I tried to tidy up. (Kindle editions only. Hope I didn't screw up any book data. Y'all might've opened Pandora's box with this task.)

1. Call of Poseidon by CP Bialois (Added cover and description, corrected ASIN and erroneous crediting of editors as authors)

2. Illegal Magic by Arlene Blakely (Added cover etc., corrected ASIN)

3. The Savage Blood by Tamara Rose Blodgett (Reported duplicate book entry with incorrect ASIN)

4. Stolen Peace: The Untold Story of the Spanish Conquest by Gloria Bond (Added cover and other book data, corrected ASIN)

5. Maggie Come Lately by Michelle Buckman (Added cover and book data, corrected ASIN)

Task 3: Eating sweets is also a big part of Diwali. Either select a recipe for a traditional sweet, or make a family favorite and share a picture with us.

I'll come back to this one.

Task 4: During Diwali, people pray to the goddess Lakhshmi, who is typically depicted as a beautiful young woman holding a lotus flower. Find 5 books on your shelves (either physical or virtual) whose covers show a young woman holding a flower and share their cover images.

See books at top of post. This was a struggle. Thank goodness for my small Heyer collection! I might be stretching it with a couple, but I'm reasonably sure I see flowers in that basket on The Grand Sophy's cover, and I think those are flowers in her hand on Sprig Muslin.

Book: Read a book with candles on the cover or the word “candle” or “light” in the title; OR a book that is the latest in a series; OR set in India; OR any non-fiction book that is ‘illuminating’ (Diwali is Sanskrit for light/knowledge and row, line or series)

I have to agree with pretty much all the male characters in this story: Sophie is a terrifying woman. Well-intentioned, but a sly and manipulative busybody. A number of her schemes depend on luck, especially her dangerous games with horses. Still, it’s a fun story, and I really enjoyed everyone getting their hearts’ desire in the end, even people who don’t deserve it.

I subtracted a star for the disgustingly bigoted portrayal of the Jewish moneylender. I try to judge books with respect to the social attitudes of the time in which they were written, but this was written as a historical romance in 1950, not 1590.

This is not my favorite Georgette Heyer book (Cotillion still holds my heart, I'm afraid), but her books are remarkably readable and fun and this was definitely an enjoyable romp.

Regency romances (and this is, although that is probably not really my favorite part, a Regency romance) and I have a curious relationship. They are one of those genres that I tend to like the idea of more than the actual result. Some of it is my curious relationship with the whole romance genre (I like, and often even require romance in my books, but generally heavily mixed with something else), and some of it due to the fact that Jane Austen kind of holds the title for the genre, and very few things really manage to hold up in comparison for me.

Setting that minor digression aside, The Grand Sophy was charming, and a large portion of that was due to the main character. Sophy is one of those characters you want to see succeed at whatever she is currently turning her hand to. She's outrageous enough you completely understand London being turned upside-down simply by her existence, but despite a bit of a temper and maybe just a soupçon of bossiness, she genuinely has people's best interests at heart, even when she seems not to, and watching her arrange things to the satisfaction of herself and those she loves best is a remarkable venture. 

I did see pretty early on where this was actually going in almost all respects, but the journey itself was worth every moment. People are in love who shouldn't be. People aren't in love who should be. Good people deserve a happy ending and bad people don't. It's relatively basic fare, but it's all handled with a style and panache that makes you genuinely like the characters and thus care about their ends. 

I think this book may have sent me rushing back into a Georgette Heyer mood, and I don't regret that a bit. I've heard this book described as one of her best, and I can absolutely see that.