Felicity Nevin: Clandestine Passion

"Her writing is sharp and exquisite."-Julia Quinn, author of the Bridgerton Series

Age and rank divide them. She will not face her weakness. He will not embrace his strength. Never have two people needed each other more.

Wealthy widow Catherine Lovelock thinks she will never love again. And then she meets James Cavendish, Marquess of Daventry. A handsome, gray-eyed souse of a rake-and seventeen years her junior. He couldn't possibly be interested in bedding her . . . or could he?

James Cavendish, heir apparent to the Duke of Middlewich, has found a way he can serve his country and his future king. But to do so, he must create a web of lies and destroy his own reputation. And then he meets the one woman who can unmask him.

For too long, Catherine and James have both played roles. She, the good wife and mother. He, the dissolute rake.

The truth will come out when the clothes come off.

Clandestine Passion is book two of the steamy Regency romance series The Lovelocks of London. However, it can be enjoyed as a stand-alone book. It has an age-gap storyline, a widow, spies, a happily-ever-after ending, and no cliffhanger.

Content warnings: steamy sexual material, coarse language, physical and sexual assault.

CW: physical/sexual assault (although not very graphic), misogyny, parental alienation/estrangement, parental abuse, sibling death

I had really liked the first book in this series (Felicity Niven: Convergence of Desire) so happily picked up the whole series to try and do the unthinkable (for me), and complete a series start to finish. This was similarly engaging, but very different in tropes, character, and themes.  I think it would work well as a stand-alone.

The tropes explored include age gap (older woman, younger man), spies, fake rake, insta-love, and a potential marriage of convenience.  There is a fair amount of villainy, but that is to be expected with spy elements.  Honestly, spy plots are not really my jam, but this was different and subtle enough that I enjoyed it.

James Cavendish, the Marquess of Daventry, is widely known as a wastrel, drunkard and rakehell.  By contrast, the former toast of Drury Lane Theatre, Mrs. Catherine Lovelock, is a widow who is now the very picture of respectability.  She is also very wealthy, as a result of her deceased husband’s success as a banker and her own success, and that sets up the circumstance for their first encounter; James is trying to help his best friend meet a wealthy woman to marry, but finds himself instead wildly attracted to Mrs. Lovelock.  Much of that initial interaction occurs off page (a bit of it is featured in the first book), and we are transported some months later when the two’s paths keep crossing.

There is a fair amount of action in this book, but the main focus, deftly done, are on the characters and their growth. Its accomplished in such an interesting and unusual way, that it speaks to Niven’s talent and the immersion in the era is really well executed.

There is a fair amount of on page intimacy, mature themes, some violence, and mature language that means this is not a book for kisses only readers or readers looking for light and fluffy.  There are some humorous elements, but its more on the dramatic side with some angst.

Age gap is also not my jam, and although it worked well enough to keep me engaged, I wouldn’t rate these two in my own personal hall of fame of MCs.  I think the conclusion was well done in the sense that it pushes past some of the criticisms of insta-love to lay a real foundation for a future. I did have some of the heart strings tugs, but not enough of the swoony sighs to rank this high on my list  for rereads– but I am still rating this high as I think it is a well edited, interesting book that some readers will absolutely love.

I am going to push on to the third book in the future, generally liking Niven’s writing style.  Reading this book made me want to revisit the first in the series, too, so I may end up back with those MCs. I would recommend readers who don’t mind mature and sometimes difficult subject matter give Niven a try, and pay attention to the different tropes to find a good fit for your tastes.