Revealed
85. Kate Noble, Revealed
Young and beautiful widow Phillippa Benning is the toast of London society. Her parties are legendary, her presence is always in demand, and the eligible and extremely handsome Lord Broughton has begun showing an interest in her. Phillippa recklessly plans a tryst with Broughton at a large party, but she ends up meeting a very different man: the Blue Raven, England’s most notorious spy. Marcus Worth is not strikingly handsome, and his manners are affable and unassuming, so Phillippa is shocked to discover that there is more to him than meets the eye. As Marcus investigates rumors that a deadly French agent is on the loose and threatening danger to England, he finds himself relying on Phillippa for help - and their mutual interest soon deepens into something more.
Overall, I very much enjoyed this light romantic read. Phillippa and Marcus were both delightful characters, and I especially liked that Marcus is not the stereotypical romance-novel hero. He even wears reading glasses! I also enjoyed the story, which was actually interesting and not just an afterthought tacked onto the romance (which, by the way, is probably at PG-13 level). A few things bothered me, such as that Phillippa behaves very scandalously for a woman during the Regency period, even a widow. I couldn’t understand how her reputation remained unblemished after some of the things that she did. Also, the book could have used a better editor; there were several its/it’s and their/there mistakes. But I was still able to enjoy the book for what it was: reasonably well-written and entertaining fluff. I’m very excited that a sequel is in the works and definitely plan to read it as well!