The book started out on a great note, but about one third into the story it took a lot of turns into ridiculous land, leaving me thinking the hero should have deposited the heroine back to her father's house and then left her for someone else. All those plot twists hinged on the heroine's impulsive, TSTL actions and all revolved around kidnapping - So. Much. Kidnapping. Seriously, after the third time, shouldn't everyone in this damn story keep one eye out for possible stalkers? No? Okay then.

 

Alex is a captain in the Royal Navy when he inherits the marquis estate from his late uncle and cousin. He is a member of this group of gentlemen who bring criminals to justice using spy and detective methods. Charlotte helps her father run their carriage shop; her father has made a lot of money and connections, but wants a title in the family, so he is shopping Charlotte around the marriage mart. Alex would rather keep his captain persona rather than take on the public persona of a marquis. But there is fun banter and a nice chemistry between the two. Charlotte is the victim of an attempted kidnapping (here we go) one morning in Hyde Park; luckily, Alex is there to thwart the kidnapping and extracts a promise from Charlotte to be a crap ton more cautious. Which she then breaks (over and over again).

 

While her father is away in Oxford on business, Charlotte is kidnapped again and held for ransom. The ransom is just for show, because the kidnappers' boss wants Charlotte (read: her dowry, which her father has made quite public) to be his wife. The father calls in Alex, who with his valet/buddy/muscle Davy go undercover and succeeds numerous times to rescue Charlotte, just for her to do something else stupid. Charlotte is on a boat headed to Lisbon to pick up her "suitor" and then onward to India for a honeymoon, leaving enough time to pass for her to be forced to marry her captor to keep her reputation in society's good side. The more she falls in love with Alex, the stupider her actions become. Lisbon is full of easily-bribable people as it turns out. Finally, after Alex proposes to Charlotte a second time on their way back to England and she says yes does he announce his title. Also the father isn't exactly all that smart either; the impulsiveness of Charlotte can also be seen in her father. The British ambassador to Portugal wasn't much help, thankfully his wife was as well as the nuns....yeah, this book had a lot of crazy sauce to it.

 

Alex is a good guy, and pretty smart. Charlotte was a smart woman until she fell in love. I hate this in romance. I read this for RB Bingo "person in uniform on the cover."

I hate to do this to y'all, but the most important thing I think you need to know about this story is also a spoiler. It's hinted at but you don't learn the truth until around the 70 or 80% mark, but I MUST say it because, well, if you read the spoiler you'll understand.

THEY HAVE THE SAME GREAT-GRANDFATHER. I think the author said it made their relationship second cousins (she also added a "once removed" but the character that said it made it sound like she wasn't sure). I'm sure this is fine for some but for me,

It's talked about how the heroine looks exactly like the great-grandmother at that age and all the talk of similarities was too in the family for me.

(spoiler show)

 

Moving on, the spoiler basically just put a cherry on what I would call a meh book. If you're looking for a clean read, this would be for you but also be aware the romance is slow and meandering. I liked the heroine and hero together but while at times they had chemistry, their dialogue could also be a bit stiff. This is a Mills & Boon and it comes with the more stiff upper lip reserved story and characters.

Satisfying period romance.

This book isn't awful, but it is pretty humdrum and ordinary. The plot is very predictable, but it was a pleasant sort of predictable, which meant that I didn't mind blowing an afternoon reading it. If you like masquerade stories or you're just dying to read another Regency trad, this one isn't terribly innovative, but it's cute at times.The heroine, Emma Lindsay, is heiress to a fortune. Her stepfather has tons of gambling debts and cannot touch her money. However, he can marry her off to an older lord with a nasty reputation in order to save himself from his debts, and that's exactly what he decides to do. Emma's mother arranges for her to flee to the home of an old friend. Traveling under the name Fanny Draper, Emma ends up traveling in the same public coach as the hero (of course) and when she arrives at her destination, it turns out that her mother's friend is also a relative of the hero (shocking, I know.)Even though she's hidden away in the country, Emma/Fanny can't let down her guard (naturally - you never know who might be lurking in the shrubbery) and so she just cannot bear to let the hero know who she really is(bet you didn't guess that one either.) The hidden identity charade goes on way too long and the characters aren't the most well-defined, so I can't say that this was a book I'd recommend. It's just middle of the road - not so good, not so bad.

An enjoyable summer read, probably nearer 5 stars than 4, but not quite worth an "amazing" rating! Recommended for anyone who likes family and relationship sagas and anything set during WWII.