Evie Duggan came from poverty to the world of the courtesan.
She had men fighting over her and winning her hand in a game
of cards. She married an Earl with reasonable expecatation
of a charmed life thereafter. However, the sudden,
unexpected death of the Earl changes her life yet again.
She inherits a shabby manor house in Pennyroyal Green. Her
plan is to spend her mourning period there, making a place
for herself in the village. Her hopes are soon dashed as
the stories about her life soon begin circulating.
Adam Sylvaine comes from a poor family and his best option
of making a living is as the vicar. It doesn't hurt that his
relatives can give him a living as the vicar in Pennyroyal
Green. Even knowing all the gossip and being warned away
from her, the first time he sees Evie, he is lost.
With hard work and a concerted effort, Evie is starting to make a place for
herself, then one of the men who vied for her
comes to town to win the hand of a local heiress. Evie does
her best to make her friend aware of his unsavory past.
When he starts spreading lies. all of the work done to
win Evie a place in society is undone. Once again, Evie is
on the outside looking in.
With little hope of achieving their aims, Evie turns Adam
away and is ready to return to London. Events go awry and
life takes a different path.
A big fan of Ms. Long, I really hoped for another one of her
light-hearted, amusing stories. This book is neither.
While I could sympathize with Evie, i found it hard to
empathize with her. Adam was the character who was most
appealing to me. His desire to do good, even as he didn't
consider himself a good man was refreshing. This story
didn't draw me in or allow me to immerse myself in the
surroundings.
There were some amusing parts to the story and some
interesting secondary characters but A NOTORIOUS COUNTESS
CONFESSES will never be a favorite of mine.
From Covent Garden to courtesan to countess, beautiful,
fearless, shamelessly ambitious Evie Duggan has riveted
London in every role she plays. But the ton never could
forgive her scandalous—if shockingly short—marriage, and
when her star plummets amid gleefully vicious gossip, the
countess escapes to the only legacy left to her: a manor
house in Pennyroyal Green.
He never expected to fall so hard . . .
He has the face of a fallen angel and a smolder the devil
would envy, but Vicar Adam Sylvaine walks a precarious line:
resisting temptation . . . and the wild Eversea blood in his
veins. Adam's strength is tested when scandal, aka the
countess, moves to Sussex. But when a woman who fiercely
guards her heart and a man entrusted with the souls of an
entire town surrender to a forbidden desire, will the
sweetest sin lead them to heaven . . . or make outcasts of
them forever?