She is a spinster with a secret fortune . . . He is an impoverished earl who must marry money or face ruin . . . Theirs is a love match to be reckoned with
1812. Clever, strong-willed Vivienne Fox is unexpectedly endowed with riches beyond her wildest dreams when a remote cousin dies, leaving her his fortune. Unwed at twenty-four, Vivienne still hopes the right man is out there, but she despairs of ever finding him, and she is determined that rumours of her new-found wealth be quashed, lest she be courted for her purse rather than her heart.
Renowned rake Lord Alex LeSayres comes to an unpleasant decision after the death of his father. If he is to save their family lands, he must marry a wealthy woman – and quickly. Introduced to Miss Fox, his interest is soon piqued. But he must set aside his rising feelings, or else his family will face disaster.
The H/H had “incident” when they first met as children; he threw her into the pigsty, and then she followed by getting him to fall in the duck pond.
Since then, his father has ruined the family through gambling and left a mountain of debt and the only solution is marry a rich woman.
Vivienne, on the other hand, has a “classic” beauty and an argumentative sort of manner, due to her intelligence, that coupled with little connection or money means she returned unmarried at the end of her Season. Since then she has been “chaperoning” her younger cousin (yea, not really sure how accurate that is, either).
This year, however, circumstances have changed. She has inherited a boatload of money from an old plantation owning relative, and although has momentary qualms about the source of the money, seems okay with accepting it (it is, afterall, a lot of money).
Rumours are out in Town about her windfall, but she wants to keep it a secret so she can find true love. A hook up from another uncle puts her in the pathway of Alex LeSayres, her former childhood foe.
There are a lot of problems with this book, including historical liberties yet still trying to pass it off as “Austen like”. I also think Woods sets up LeSayres as sort of detestable in the first couple of scenes, but then suddenly he transforms into this champion for Vivienne, even though he can’t marry her because they are both poor. That transition was not handled adroitly, and therefore is confusing as a reader.
One third of the book (middle and end) largely rely on the misunderstanding trope, so that also didn’t ring my bell.
Despite all this, I still finished this one quickly and overall found it tolerable and amusing in parts. Sticklers for history or clean readers should steer clear, also readers who are sensitive to violence against women.
3 out of 6 Problematic, but still enjoyable masquerade/misunderstandings
| Content Rating/Heat Index | |
|---|---|
| Mature Content |   |
| Adult subject material, including mentions of mistresses | |
| Intimacy | |
| A few intimate scenes, although not overly graphic. | |
| Violence | |
| A savage beating of heroine and maid | |
| Overall |  |
|---|---|
| Sexy intimate scenes and suggestive content make this a better read for mature readers. | |
