In the mood for a silly-sweet romance? Try "Mastering the Marquess" by Vanessa Kelly. It was a fairly quick read, the plot was easy to follow, the characters were entertaining, and what sex there was, was pretty hot. Better yet, as an 'author debut' novel from Zebra Historical, the price is an economical $3.99. Now that's hard to beat!
Lady in distress. Meredith doesn't expect much out of life for herself. She has the estate left to her by her beloved father, and her painting. But when it comes to her step-sister, it's a totally different story. Meredith adored Annabel from the time she came into the world via her father's second, and titled, wife. Now, with both parents gone, Meredith is all Annabel has left, well...except for Meredith's uncle, Annabel's guardian. When he and his family (including an apparently bipolar son) descend on Meredith's estate, she's not too worried. Until strange events become frightening and Meredith flees with Annabel.
Stephen is the Marquess of Silverton and is quite bored with life. He knows it's time to marry and begat the next heir, but he's having a devil of a time rousing any interest in the debutante line. Then, while visiting his uncle, a beautiful woman storms in and he's captivated by her energy, her beauty, and her bravery. But she's not titled, even if her sister is...and she's totally unsuitable. Now if only he could convince himself of that.
Yes, the plot is one I've read many times before. Yes, I knew how most of the story would unfold before I was three chapters into the book. And yet, Vanessa Kelly still kept me reading. Her characters are so well drawn I think I could recognize them on the street...assuming I traveled back to their time. And the flow of the action was so smooth, I just couldn't find a good place to take a break and read the whole story in one sitting! And the passion!! This is one steamy regency. I enjoyed "Mastering the Marquess" so much, I've put Vanessa Kelly's name on my list of 'authors to watch'. It wasn't perfect, but it was quite a bit better than many of the historicals I've read recently by some pretty big name authors. So this is one you may want to check out so you can brag that you read the author's 'debut' novel. I'm guessing I'll be seeing more of her books in the future.
