How I Married a Marquess (The Secret Life of Scoundrels, #3) by Anna Harrington Series: ,
Published by Forever on April 26th 2016
Pages: 368
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A SHOCKING DECEPTION . . .
Josephine Carlisle, adopted daughter of a baron, is officially on the shelf. But the silly, marriage-minded misses in the ton can have their frilly dresses and their seasons in London, for all she cares. Josie has her freedom and her family . . . until an encounter with a dark, devilishly handsome stranger leaves her utterly breathless at a house party. His wicked charm intrigues her, but that's where it ends. For Josie has a little secret . . .
. . . LEADS TO AN EXQUISITE SEDUCTION
Espionage was Thomas Matteson, Marquess of Chesney's game-until a tragic accident cost him his career. Now to salvage his reputation and return to the life he loves, the marquess must find the criminal who's been robbing London's rich and powerful. He's no fool-he knows Josie, with her wild chestnut hair and rapier-sharp wit, is hiding something and he won't rest until he unravels her mysteries, one by one. But he never expected to be the one under arrest-body and soul . . .
I received How I Married a Marquess (The Secret Life of Scoundrels, #3) for free. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Josie is the adopted girl surrounded by four brothers in the Carlisle family. Thomas, Marquees of Chesney, is an ex spy looking to get back in the game after an injury. You might wonder what these two have in common. On the surface absolutely nothing. Josie lives in a wealthy family, but doesn’t believe she belongs and will never marry because of her birth. She longs to help each and every child in the local orphanage get the best treatment possible. Thomas wants his life of intrigue and espionage back, loving the thrill of the chase. When Thomas is invited to a house party with the task of finding a masked highwayman, he meets the intriguing Josie. Athough they know they shouldn’t have anything to do with one another, they can’t stay away.
This is the third book in The Secret Life of Scoundrels series, but the first I’ve read by Harrington. I immediately fell in love with her writing style and read from cover to cover in one day. The intricate plot with a dynamic backstory hooked me from the start. The way Harrington portrayed Josie, I could feel myself really understanding her dedication to the children abandoned in the orphanage. I loved the mystery behind the highwayman’s identity. Such a shock when it was revealed! As a sucker for a happily ever after, I have to say I adored the ending and can’t wait to read more of Harrington’s work soon.
About Anna Harrington
An award-winning English professor and romance writer, Anna Harrington fell in love with historical romances and all things Regency—and especially all those dashing Regency heroes—while living and studying in England, where she spent most of her time studying the Romantic poets and Regency England, reading Jane Austen, and getting lost all across the English countryside.
In addition to earning her B.A. in English from Ashland University, M.A. from Michigan State University in literature, and Ph.D. from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Composition, she has
studied theatre in London, Mexican history in Guadalajara, and Spanish in Ecuador. She has traveled the world, visiting schools and volunteering in Peru, Ecuador, France, Italy, Thailand, and Mexico, and has amassed thousands of photos she unleashes on
unsuspecting friends who dare to ask about her travels.
Anna also loves to be outdoors. She has been hiking and climbing in Alaska, Hawaii, the Andes and the Alps, including one week spent dangling off the via ferrata in the Dolomites, and she has whitewater rafted in Alaska, South America, and the Appalachians. She earned her pilot’s license, high-performance, complex and instrument ratings at Chicago Midway (To all the controllers in Chicago Center—she greatly apologies for every problem she caused you and Southwest Airlines), and she hopes to one day fly in a hot-air balloon over Kenya.
When she read her first Regency romance by Julia Quinn in 2012, she was hooked and longed to create her own independent and spirited heroines, dashing heroes, and the trials and tribulations of Regency England which worked to keep them apart until true love won the day. Her first series, The Secret Life of Scoundrels, was contracted to Grand Central/Forever in 2014, and her debut novel, Dukes are Forever, set for release in November, 2015 (with Along Came a Rogue in February, 2016 and How I Married a Marquess in May, 2016).
The best part of writing historical romances for Anna is falling into history—to live in the world of Regency England through her characters, with dazzling balls, beautiful dresses, and gorgeous estates that she would otherwise never be able to experience. She loves the period’s history, especially the architecture, and finds that all those rules of proper etiquette and propriety can be worked to the heroine’s advantage…if she’s daring enough to seize her dreams.
Anna adores all things chocolate, dives into ice cream of any flavor, and guzzles Kona coffee by the gallon. A Doctor Who fanatic (everyone says her house is bigger on the inside!), she is a terrible cook who hopes to one day use her oven for something other than shoe storage. When she isn’t writing, she spends her time trying not to kill the innocent rose bushes in her garden.
Thank you so much for your kind words and your support. I’m thrilled that you liked the book (it’s my fav of the series). I hope everyone enjoys the book and the other two in the series as well.