MARRY ME MARQUESS by Misty Urban Review I love the way the story jumps straight into action - the author immediately immerses the reader into the lives and challenges of the protagonists, Leo and Lillian. The multiple layers of the main characters' personalities are neatly woven into the setting of the story as well as the historical details of the time period. I also appreciated the window into the supporting characters' personalities and the way the author painted these characters as more one-dimensional as compared to the leading characters, Leo and Lillian. The author does a good job of detailing how Leo and Lillian are both products of their upbringing as well as their passions and dreams for themselves. Even though it takes both characters time, the reader can see as the story evolves that Leo and Lillian are a perfect match. In the first scenes of the book, the protagonists are thrown together by circumstance. As the story develops, Leo and Lillian choose to work together at an archaeological site, as much out of a need for each other's skills as for their growing (undeclared) affection for one another. I found the pace of the storyline a little slow as Leo and Lillian work side by side at Leo’s dig site. Lillian’s cousin, Hester, provides a breath of fresh air to the ‘day-to-day’ of trying to uncover a historically worthy find. The slower pace does give the reader a deeper sense of the ’slow-burn’ of the budding romance between Leo and Lillian. Even though historical romance is not my ‘go-to’ genre, this story was a delight to read. I must say, I now know a lot more about the Orchid (flower) family, than I imagined, but that is one of the positive surprises in this story. Lillian will remain one of my favorite characters in a book because she pushed beyond the societal limits for females of her time and stayed true to herself, despite the pressure to change or mold herself to fit into expected norms. Grab a cup of hot tea, pick up MARRY ME MARQUESS and enjoy the romance!
When his cousin’s death puts Leo Westrop in line to inherit a marquessate, he suddenly becomes the target of every matching-making mama in London, including his own. To save himself, Leo offers his hand to the angel who delivers him from a compromising situation—Lillian Gower, the daughter of well-known antiquarians, who could finally help Leo secure a dig of his own.Lillian, in town chaperoning her younger cousin, doesn’t have a romantic bone in her body. She knows Westrop is desperate, and she’s shrewd enough to bargain: she’ll go along with the pretense if he helps her publish her study of the lady’s slipper orchid.It’s not part of the bargain for him to escort her to balls and gardens. She doesn’t need his help organizing her uncle’s library. He certainly oughtn’t be winning over her cousin. And it’s a mistake to bring him to meet her parents—but an even bigger mistake to agree to help him with his own excavation. Because the attentions of the delicious Leo Westrop could make even the most sensible botanical illustrator lose her head.An undeniable passion draws them together even when they both know their betrothal of convenience must end. But when Lillian learns what he’s been after all along, what can Leo do to persuade her the feelings between them are real?
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