The infamous rake, Lord Richard Hamilton, has finally chosen his bride—the very appropriate Miss Emma Grey.
The ton approves, Lord Grey is pleased, Lady Grey delighted, and Emma is over the moon, but her uncle, (the blasted) Duke of Arden opposes the match, and Emma is ordered to move to the duke’s estate to think things over.
Richard Hamilton refuses to take things lying down and concocts a plan. A plan that should have brought the lovers together and had them married within a month. It was a simple matter of masquerading as the duke’s gardener, compromising the lady, and then having the duke rush them off to Gretna Green.
Alas, he underestimates the duke’s intelligence and the tangled situation on the estate—never had he imagined that compromising a lady could be so difficult.
His endeavours lead to a comedy of errors, charades, and knotty love affairs. Yet he forges ahead in spite of pesky house guests, a flea bitten mattress, his lovesick best friend, and a blackmailer.
Just when things seem to be going well, someone is murdered (very inconvenient), and he happens to be one of the suspects (extremely inconvenient).
His simple plan for winning the wager suddenly becomes … a tad complicated.
The ton approves, Lord Grey is pleased, Lady Grey delighted, and Emma is over the moon, but her uncle, (the blasted) Duke of Arden opposes the match, and Emma is ordered to move to the duke’s estate to think things over.
Richard Hamilton refuses to take things lying down and concocts a plan. A plan that should have brought the lovers together and had them married within a month. It was a simple matter of masquerading as the duke’s gardener, compromising the lady, and then having the duke rush them off to Gretna Green.
Alas, he underestimates the duke’s intelligence and the tangled situation on the estate—never had he imagined that compromising a lady could be so difficult.
His endeavours lead to a comedy of errors, charades, and knotty love affairs. Yet he forges ahead in spite of pesky house guests, a flea bitten mattress, his lovesick best friend, and a blackmailer.
Just when things seem to be going well, someone is murdered (very inconvenient), and he happens to be one of the suspects (extremely inconvenient).
His simple plan for winning the wager suddenly becomes … a tad complicated.
My Review: As much as I love historical romance, I'm not a big fan of Regencies. The whole "social season" and class structure of the time period just doesn't appeal to me. However, when I was offered a chance to review this book and saw that it was a cozy mystery as well, I jumped at the opportunity, and I'm so glad that I did. The lovely pastel cover perfectly reflects the story within the pages...a jaunt through Regency England that is a total feel good read. Richard and Emma are delightful characters, as are the cast of secondary characters. The plot takes readers from suspenseful twists and turns to laugh out loud moments. Mystery, romance, comedy...this book is pure fun! This is a debut author to watch.
FTC Full Disclosure: The author sent me a copy of this book with the request for a review.
3 comments:
I'm already giggling at this premise. An aristocrat posing as the gardener. Too funny. Looks like I'm adding this book to my TBR list.
It's a lot of fun, Brandi...I think you'd enjoy it!
I like the Regency era, and the fact that it is a mystery as well makes it even better. Love the premises!! Lovely review!
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