To Steal a Marquess (The Sisterhood of Independent Ladies #2)

Maeve Greyson

Blurb:

She returned to England to put him in his place—not to put herself in his bed.

Alec Douglas, Duke of Lionwraith, a war hero betrayed on the home front while he was away at battle, trusts no one and prefers his solitude. But when his sister begs for help because she is ruined, he vows to make the man responsible pay. When the vile rakehell proves impossible to find, Alec isn’t swayed. He can just as easily destroy his enemy with a subtler attack. The Marquess of Ardsmere’s business provides the best wines and rarest imports to the finest houses in all the realm—but by the time Alec is finished, West Belgium International will cease to exist.

But the despicable marquess can’t be the ruination of Alec’s sister, because the man does not exist. However, Lady Francis, better known as Frannie and sometimes as the Marchioness of Ardsmere, is quite real. Born in Belgium after a terrible accident killed her father, Frannie was introduced to the world as the family’s ward rather than an Ardsmere daughter, and a fake Ardsmere son was fabricated for her to marry to keep the wealth, lands, and privileges of the title away from a heartless cousin. The ruse has served quite well, but now some quarrelsome duke threatens everything because his lightskirt sister tossed her reputation to the wind and ridiculously named the pretend marquess responsible.

Frannie is not about to lose her lucrative empire or expose herself as a fraud. There’s naught to be done but assume her usual role as the imaginary marquess’s wife and put the deplorable duke in his place. However, when she meets Alec’s sweet, trusting sister, she can’t bring herself to finish the poor girl off or take down her handsome brother. Cursing her soft-heartedness, Frannie agrees to help Alec. Not just because he’s a tempting challenge she can’t resist, but also because his sister is kindness itself.

While tracking down the real foe responsible, Alec and Frannie come together in a complicated dance that not only risks riches and reputations but also their hearts. Frannie’s life of lies has always provided everything she needs—except love. What’s she to do when the man who steals her heart despises anything that isn’t true?

What do a skillful liar and a man drowning in bitterness have in common? Loneliness and pent-up passion. An exciting combination until secrets are revealed and everything falls apart.

Themes: Historical

Rating: 4.25 stars

Heat Rating:

Review:

The fun trilogy of women well before their time continues as one woman takes a stand to defend another that has been caught in the snare of a predator, because really, we should all stand up for one another. Maeve Greyson’s next book in her politically forward Sisterhood of independent Ladies series truly hits so many beautiful points and at the same time we get to see a passionate and intriguing love story as two people embark on quest bring down a villain. Lady Francis, Marchioness of Ardsmere, has been married since she was seventeen, and promised even before then, because she was the ward of her husband’s family—but the truth is that her husband doesn’t exist, and she is the sole power behind the marquessate. Francis has a big problem though, her business empire is under attack, and she is determined to confront the man that is trying to bring her down, in person no less. But when she travels to the country estate of Alec Douglas, Duke of Lionwraith, she is surprised to learn that he is attacking her empire because he believes her husband ruined his younger sister and left her with child. Now Frannie is just as determined as Alec to catch the imposter, but working together puts them together and the passion between them is not easily denied and Frannie and Alec find that neither of them want to deny it and soon embark on an affair that becomes so much more. But can Frannie let go of the lie and get Alec to see the truth of her life, and if so, can the truth really set the free or will an enemy even closer to home put Frannie’s future in jeopardy before she even has a chance at a happiness with Alec? I LOVED this story even more than the last one and Frannie and Alec were fabulous. Frannie was a kick butt heroine, with all the wit, sass, empathy, sweetness and wisdom I have come to love and expect from Maeve’s writing, but also with the extra passion that surprised me and made me even more of a lover. Alec was the perfect angry, anti-hero that become a wonderful loving, passionate, spirit lover, and protector for both Frannie and his sister. The ending was crazy sauce for sure with all the twists and turns, but I couldn’t stop reading it. I am dying for the finale in the trilogy and to find out where Maeve might be taking us next, but all in all I feel like Frannie and Alec might just be my favorite couple.