Compromising the Marquess

by Wendy Soliman

[kimbacaffeinate]

Set in England 1814. Leah Elliot and her sister have taken up residence in a seaside town in southern England. With her sister’s poor health and the death of their father leaving them destitute, Leah has taken to donning boy’s clothes at night and uncovering gossip for London’s gossip rag. Accompanied by the local towns preacher’s wife she attends a meeting at the home of Hal Forster, the Marquess of Denby. While his younger brother attends them, she quickly realizes he is hiding and listening. Curiosity gets the better of her and she sets out to discover his secrets. When she discovers he might be involved in treason she has to decide whether to sell out the dashingly handsome Marquess. Hal is not a traitor but a spy for England and he quickly realizes Leah is the source of the rumors that may undo his mission. The two of them begin working together and the chemistry between them is downright steamy. I easily consumed this in day and found myself completely immersed in this pleasurable tale.

I love feisty, intelligent heroines who do what they must for those they love and Leah was perfect. She is inquisitive and it often gets her in trouble. Determined never to marry, she skirts the edge of societies rules with her thirst for knowledge. Hal the Marquess is in a word smexy. A long haired spy who is confident and cocky I loved watching Leah unravel his cool composure. He thinks he is in control. *tisk-tisk* Gabe is Hal’s younger brother and Felicity his younger sister and they were both entertaining. Beth, Leah’s younger sister was sweet. I am hoping we will get their stories. Mrs. Wilkinson the preacher’s wife drove the poor Marquess mad with demands. She is the local gossip and holds him accountable for everything. The girls Aunt is a ghastly woman and I could not wait for her to get her comeuppance. A Frenchman and an investigator as well as the publisher of the gossip rag all added to the suspense and made the tale believable.

Give me suspenseful mystery with twists and a side of hot romance and I am happy. Soliman delivered with a fast paced tale and I quickly found myself enthralled. While some of the mysteries threads I immediately figured out there were other whose twists surprised me. The author did an excellent job of weaving everything together and making it believable. The romance between Hal and Leah was filled with teasing and sexual tension. I loved the references to Fanny Hill and the role it played in their romance. The romance developed slowly and I enjoyed watching it unfold.

Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer