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Love is hottest in the darkness before dawn.
Elissande Edgerton is a desperate woman, a virtual prisoner in the home of her tyrannical uncle. Only through marriage can she claim the freedom she craves. But how to catch the perfect man?
Lord Vere is used to baiting irresistible traps. As a secret agent for the government, he’s tracked down some of the most devious criminals in London, all the while maintaining his cover as one of Society’s most harmless—and idiotic—bachelors. But nothing can prepare him for the scandal of being ensnared by Elissande.
Forced into a marriage of convenience, Elissande and Vere are each about to discover that they’re not the only one with a hidden agenda. With seduction their only weapon—and a dark secret from the past endangering both their lives—can they learn to trust each other even as they surrender to a passion that won’t be denied?
Elissande Edgerton is a desperate woman, a virtual prisoner in the home of her tyrannical uncle. Only through marriage can she claim the freedom she craves. But how to catch the perfect man?
Lord Vere is used to baiting irresistible traps. As a secret agent for the government, he’s tracked down some of the most devious criminals in London, all the while maintaining his cover as one of Society’s most harmless—and idiotic—bachelors. But nothing can prepare him for the scandal of being ensnared by Elissande.
Forced into a marriage of convenience, Elissande and Vere are each about to discover that they’re not the only one with a hidden agenda. With seduction their only weapon—and a dark secret from the past endangering both their lives—can they learn to trust each other even as they surrender to a passion that won’t be denied?
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is an intriguing story because you have the hapless Lord Vere who is a Government Spy but hides behind an identity where he plays Lord Idiot who mixes up his facts, gets easiliy confused, has the knack of being in places where he is not welcome or invited, forgets facts easily, talks incessantly & most of that is a load of nonsense. A clever disguise & not even his own brother realises that this is just an act. As an agent he has tracked down numerous criminals & solved a lot of crimes. His latest job is to investigate a man who has made his name through diamonds.
Elissande Edgerton is beautiful & has a many faceted personality but she is desperate to escape with her Aunt from her "despotic" tyrannical uncle. He is truely cruel. What makes her complex is that she "acts" when she is with people which she has had to improvise because that is what her uncle has turned her into. She smiles but its not real & so when Vere encounters her he realises that she is false but he cannot help liking her, admiring her but he falls into her trap as her desperation forces her to entrap him into marriage. Here comes the twist in the tale as he questions why knowing that he is an idiot she has dragged him to the alter.
Along comes the intersting twists as you see flashes of the ingenious man who lets out his true personality - one occassion being when she imbibes too much alcohol. These flashes are tactfully executed by the author. Ellissande soon however discovers this act & realises that both of them have much in common.
Behind this you see the cruelty & menance of the uncle & his attempts to hold his neice under a very tight reign. My one criticism of this story would be that i wanted Vere to display more sympathy to his wife when her uncle hits her & that part of the story to have had more significance.
As they get to know one another & discover the true personality that is inherrant under all the layers they realise what they are really all about. I thought that the story about the background lovestory between the brother & his childhood friend did not really work & dragged just a wee bit.
I really admire ST - this one may not be as good as her previous ones but i still rate her amongst my keepers & this book is still exceptional. The original complex depiction in both characters is really good & that is what makes her unique. I would buy her next book without thinking. A must read this one. I loved the part when Ellissande sees him as he changes his clothes - much like girls admiring the male physique - brilliantly executed. The success of a book depends on how likeable the characters are & in this she excells....
Elissande Edgerton is beautiful & has a many faceted personality but she is desperate to escape with her Aunt from her "despotic" tyrannical uncle. He is truely cruel. What makes her complex is that she "acts" when she is with people which she has had to improvise because that is what her uncle has turned her into. She smiles but its not real & so when Vere encounters her he realises that she is false but he cannot help liking her, admiring her but he falls into her trap as her desperation forces her to entrap him into marriage. Here comes the twist in the tale as he questions why knowing that he is an idiot she has dragged him to the alter.
Along comes the intersting twists as you see flashes of the ingenious man who lets out his true personality - one occassion being when she imbibes too much alcohol. These flashes are tactfully executed by the author. Ellissande soon however discovers this act & realises that both of them have much in common.
Behind this you see the cruelty & menance of the uncle & his attempts to hold his neice under a very tight reign. My one criticism of this story would be that i wanted Vere to display more sympathy to his wife when her uncle hits her & that part of the story to have had more significance.
As they get to know one another & discover the true personality that is inherrant under all the layers they realise what they are really all about. I thought that the story about the background lovestory between the brother & his childhood friend did not really work & dragged just a wee bit.
I really admire ST - this one may not be as good as her previous ones but i still rate her amongst my keepers & this book is still exceptional. The original complex depiction in both characters is really good & that is what makes her unique. I would buy her next book without thinking. A must read this one. I loved the part when Ellissande sees him as he changes his clothes - much like girls admiring the male physique - brilliantly executed. The success of a book depends on how likeable the characters are & in this she excells....
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
As soon as it arrived I couldn't put it down. It was an excellent read and if you like romance with a dash of intrigue then this is the book for you. I thought it was well written and the author (Sherry Thomas) showed in-depth knowledge of her subject. I would certainly be buying more of her books.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
34 reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Surprising, and nearly great
27 May 2010
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I have enjoyed Sherry Thomas since I stumbled across her first novel, Private Arrangements. I love her sentences, I like nearly all the characters she creates. The best part of this book was probably the dialogue, and the ideas of deception and self-deception are intriguing, and it was nice to see some of the characters from her previous books mentioned. I laughed out loud more than once, in surprise and delight both. However. It was still a nearly good book, an almost great romance, a practically nice story. Her strengths lie in the tensions between characters, the things people do to themselves and to each other, mostly with words. So when she created a dramatic moment of action, it was oddly flat and not terribly tense, which consequently deflated some of the other revelations a bit. I still liked it far better than many of the romance novels I've come across, but it was a tich disappointing from this author.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
It is rare I read a romance this good
28 May 2010
Format:Mass Market Paperback
The Marquess of Vere is a secret agent of sorts. In public, he plays a bumbling idiot. In private he is a investigator for the Crown. He's been doing this for years and years and not even his family and closest friends know that he is living a lie. When he meets Miss Elissande Douglas--the niece of a suspect in a case--he immediately recognizes that she is acting a role but underestimates her desire to escape her uncle's household and protect her invalid aunt; thus, he is vulnerable to her attempt to trap him into an undesired marriage. And it doesn't take her long to see the truth under her husband's mask. Thomas's strength lies in portraying these complex--and not always completely likeable-- characters in complex relationships and emotionally intense situations without making you lose faith in their eventual happiness.
24 of 31 people found the following review helpful
What can i say . . .
27 May 2010
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I just finished this book and am bit torn about what to say about it. Lord Vere plays the idiot in society in order to cover
up his secret life as a british agent. While investigating Edward Douglas he encounters his niece, through nefarious means gaining access to her house and finding evidence for his case. That said I found this book rather tiresome to get through. I didn't get the connection between Lord Vere and Elissande. Yes they both put on facades, hers smiling and being pleasant to her uncle who is a bit of a psychopath in order to survive, his playing the idiot. Other then that they didn't seem connected. Why didn't he just drop his facade when she caught him out of character? Instead he continues the distance between them. Motivation for actions is important for me in any novel and in this I kept saying, "I don't get why he is doing this". In the end I didn't feel the connection between the main characters and I found myself bored and just wanting it to end. I have loved every one of Sherry Thomas's prior novels. If i had read this one first I would never have read another one. I loved the depth of emotion explored in those other novels. I felt what the characters felt due to her superior writing style. In this one I felt distant and not connected. More focus on motivation, and emotion rather than facades would have helped.
up his secret life as a british agent. While investigating Edward Douglas he encounters his niece, through nefarious means gaining access to her house and finding evidence for his case. That said I found this book rather tiresome to get through. I didn't get the connection between Lord Vere and Elissande. Yes they both put on facades, hers smiling and being pleasant to her uncle who is a bit of a psychopath in order to survive, his playing the idiot. Other then that they didn't seem connected. Why didn't he just drop his facade when she caught him out of character? Instead he continues the distance between them. Motivation for actions is important for me in any novel and in this I kept saying, "I don't get why he is doing this". In the end I didn't feel the connection between the main characters and I found myself bored and just wanting it to end. I have loved every one of Sherry Thomas's prior novels. If i had read this one first I would never have read another one. I loved the depth of emotion explored in those other novels. I felt what the characters felt due to her superior writing style. In this one I felt distant and not connected. More focus on motivation, and emotion rather than facades would have helped.
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