The heat level is low and the mystery abounds!
- Sue Menard
- Jan 27, 2020
- 3 min read
An outsider at her first English ball, Jewel is fascinated with the beautiful dresses and the lovely dancing, but she’s vowed to save the Earl of Winchcombe from her cousin’s marriage trap. When she first glimpses the handsome lord, her heart beats faster. As they plan to thwart her cousin’s machinations, she discovers a kindred spirit in Oliver—even if he’s a peer and she’s a lowly colonist. Caught kissing the earl, the ball ends in disaster and Jewel’s displeased uncle whisks her away to Scotland..
Lord Scar, as the ton calls Oliver, would rather be anywhere than at a godforsaken masquerade ball and when he learns from the free-spirited colonist about the nefarious marriage plan, he grudgingly accepts her help. Jewel intrigues him and sets his heart racing. Yet, when the ball is over and the mask is off--Oliver curses the scar that will send her screaming away.
When her uncle banishes her, Oliver comes to her rescue by offering Jewel his hand in marriage. She agrees, despite his disfigurement. But what’s a beastly lord like him to do with such a beautiful wife--especially when he discovers she’s delightfully saucy?
MY REVIEW
Julianna is a Boston native who has traveled to England to run away from and get over a broken heart. She now resides with her aunt and uncle.
Oliver Chalford is the earl of Winchcombe. He has not set foot in town in several years due to a prominent scar on his face. A scar that sentences him to be ridiculed and feared.
When Julianna realizes her aunt and cousin have hatched a plan to nab an earl and force him into marriage, she sends an urgent message to said earl.
This sets off a set of unforeseen events that none are prepared for. Julianna must fight for her independence and freedom while Oliver must fight to protect his and title prove his sanity.
Together, they set out to solve a mystery and set each other free. How will Oliver prove his sanity and how can Julianna ever be truly free?
I enjoyed the mystery in this novel tremendously. It kept my undivided attention and had twists and turns until the very end. It was invigorating and engaging.
Julianna and Oliver’s first meeting is sweet and romantic. I couldn’t help but sigh. Their interlude felt whimsical. I felt the spark of their first kiss
With that being said, however, I had a hard time believing in their relationship. For me they fell into to love too hard and too fast. There was no relationship building or getting to know each other before the notion of love was thrown about. Not to mention the misconceptions and mistrusts that abound between them during the story.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved both characters. I just wanted them to love each other on a deeper more meaningful level than shortly after a first kiss.
The heat level is low but the mystery abounds.
I received an ARC via NetGalley of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Quiet unassuming mid-west mother on the outside, living the lives of dozens of characters on the inside. Diana Lloyd, mother of gingers, has enjoyed books since she first ate one. Once she learned to read, she enjoyed them even more.
After years of hiding her writing away in boxes under the bed, Diana dared to enter the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Contest. And then forgot she entered. Imagine her surprise when an RWA board member called to tell her that her historical romance HOW TO TRAIN YOUR BARON was a finalist. She convinced herself it was the result of a clerical error.
To everyone’s surprise, it wasn’t.
When the amazing, wonderful, obviously brilliant people at Entangled Publishing offered her a 3-book contract, she jumped at the chance. Warm fuzzy feelings of eternal gratitude for both Romance Writers of America and Entangled Publishing will follow Diana throughout her writing career.
But–wait–there’s more!
A gaggle of talented historical romance authors welcomed Diana into The Drawing Room Historical Romance Group on Facebook as a patroness. Diana knew she’d found her people and together they work to promote historical romance, support & encourage historical romance authors, and provide readers of historical romance with a fun space to discover new authors and new stories.
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