Series: The Swooning Virgins Society, #4
Traits & Tropes: mystery; class difference; hidden identity
Publication Date: 11.02.21
Genre/Setting: Historical; Georgian; London, England, 1795
Heat Level: 3
Rating: 3.5/5
Emma Downing is all too familiar with the seedier side of London, but she’s just as aware that high society homes can also hide dangers of their own. Emma’s benefactor has set her the task of learning what’s going on at the country estate of the Marquess of Lymington, where three housemaids have gone missing under mysterious circumstances. Samuel Fitzroy, the Marquess of Lymington, won’t be easy to fool and Emma is immediately fearful he’ll see through her flimsy disguise and her attempts at indifference to him.
Samuel has been away serving in the Navy for some time and is disquieted to return to find his family in turmoil. His beloved cousin has turned into a disreputable rake, several of his housemaids are missing, and now he must contend with Emma, who he knows is far from the innocent debutante she pretends to be. Despite his misgivings, Samuel cannot squelch his attraction to Emma, beginning a risky game that could result in ruin for them both.
As has sometimes been the case with this series, the mystery very much overshadowed the romance here. Don’t get me wrong, I love some good mystery/suspense in my romance, but I think I didn’t care for it so much here because the mystery was happening for the most part separately from any romance and the heroine was actively working against the hero. I really had a hard time liking or rooting for Emma despite her tragic past, just because of the volume of her lies to Samuel, especially given how long those lies were allowed to continue. Even after Samuel had come to trust Emma and ceased seeing her as the enemy, rather than finally working together, she still kept him mostly in the dark. The mystery here was really solid, but that lack of cohesion just had me wondering what business Emma even had investigating a problem at Samuel’s property given that she was still unwilling to involve him in solving it. I did find Samuel charming even if I couldn’t quite understand his attraction to Emma beyond her physical attributes, but his gruff exterior hiding a cinnamon roll center was endearing. The last quarter or so of this story in which Samuel and Emma were actually working together was lovely and I have to give this book credit for holding my attention and actually making me want to finish it, because that hasn’t been happening much for me lately. Overall, this wasn’t my favorite, but I did enjoy it.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/1184931481
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3867577654
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