Tag Archives: Cat Sebastian

Book Review of Unmasked by the Marquess (Regency Imposters #1), by Cat Sebastian

I purchased a copy of Cat Sebastian‘s Unmasked by the Marquess. I think I may even have pre-ordered it…and then left it sitting on my bookshelf for almost a year.

Description from Goodreads:

The one you love…

Robert Selby is determined to see his sister make an advantageous match. But he has two problems: the Selbys have no connections or money and Robert is really a housemaid named Charity Church. She’s enjoyed every minute of her masquerade over the past six years, but she knows her pretense is nearing an end. Charity needs to see her beloved friend married well and then Robert Selby will disappear…forever.

May not be who you think…

Alistair, Marquess of Pembroke, has spent years repairing the estate ruined by his wastrel father, and nothing is more important than protecting his fortune and name. He shouldn’t be so beguiled by the charming young man who shows up on his doorstep asking for favors. And he certainly shouldn’t be thinking of all the disreputable things he’d like to do to the impertinent scamp.

But is who you need…

When Charity’s true nature is revealed, Alistair knows he can’t marry a scandalous woman in breeches, and Charity isn’t about to lace herself into a corset and play a respectable miss. Can these stubborn souls learn to sacrifice what they’ve always wanted for a love that is more than they could have imagined?

Review:

I quiet enjoyed this. It’s basically a bit of happy fluff. Yes, the cold-hearted marquess seemed to fall instantly in love with Selby for no real reason. Yes, people seemed to accept the deception too easily. Yes, in the end, the solution to all the problems seemed to be Pembroke’s money and power. (This story would not have worked if one party wasn’t a marquess!) But, I enjoyed it. I liked the way Selby refused to compromise herself. I liked the way Pembroke refused to be discouraged. I liked Selby’s past and the fact that Pembroke was willing to accept he had been wrong about things. All in all, another winning read from Cat Sebastian.

Book Review of The Ruin of a Rake (The Turner Series #3), by Cat Sebastian

Book Review of The Lawrence Browne Affair, by Cat Sebastian

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I borrowed a copy of Cat Sebastian‘s The Lawrence Browne Affair from my local library.

Desription from Goodreads:
An earl hiding from his future . . .

Lawrence Browne, the Earl of Radnor, is mad. At least, that’s what he and most of the village believes. A brilliant scientist, he hides himself away in his family’s crumbling estate, unwilling to venture into the outside world. When an annoyingly handsome man arrives at Penkellis, claiming to be Lawrence’s new secretary, his carefully planned world is turned upside down.

A swindler haunted by his past . . .

Georgie Turner has made his life pretending to be anyone but himself. A swindler and con man, he can slip into an identity faster than he can change clothes. But when his long-dead conscience resurrects and a dangerous associate is out for blood, Georgie escapes to the wilds of Cornwall. Pretending to be a secretary should be easy, but he doesn’t expect that the only madness he finds is the one he has for the gorgeous earl.

Can they find forever in the wreckage of their lives?

Challenging each other at every turn, the two men soon give into the desire that threatens to overwhelm them. But with one man convinced he is at the very brink of madness and the other hiding his real identity, only true love can make this an affair to remember.

Review:
Another lovely read from Cat Sebastian. I thought the grumpy Lawrence and snarky Georgie were a wonderful pairing. I love that Sebastian didn’t let the story fall into the normal rut of such stories, but had two men who were able to intelligently read each other. Such that the reader isn’t presented with a lot of artificial drama that could have easily been avoided. There was drama, but not the over-wrought, “He’s been lying to me the whole time. I obviously can’t trust him or myself, bla, bla, bla” type that this particular sort of pairing so often brings about. Sebastian plays with that expectation, but in the end I found it really satisfying to see Lawrence, mad as he might think himself, continue to trust his own perceptions over those of another, even Georgie.

I like that Lawrence mastered his social anxiety (agoraphobia? autistic?) and other issues to rescue Georgie. But I like it even more that it isn’t presented as if suddenly cured. What he did was hard for him and he never wants to do it again. And he’s ok, even with his quirks. I did think the rescue came about a little too easily, but it was a feel-good kind of event more than a realistic one, for me. And, while Georgie’s rescue of Lawrence might not have been as dramatic, it is undeniable all the same.

All in all, I simply enjoyed it and I look forward to reading Uncle Courtenay’s book this summer.

On a side note: I borrowed this book from my local library in a normal mass media paperback form. Man, the margins were all over the place, including in the gutters. Such that some pages had outside margins, some didn’t, with the words running right to the edge of the paper. Some pages had inside margins, and on other the words ran straight into the spine of the book. I don’t know if libraries get different printings, but it was a bit of a mess.