Secrets of a Proper Countess
Lecia Cornwall

Avon Books / HarperCollins Publishers
March 29, 2011/ ISBN 978-0-06-201893-9
Historical Romance
Amazon

Reviewed by Linda Young

Lady Isobel Maitland is, for the most part, a prisoner in her own home. After over two years of being a widow, her mother-in-law still insists that she wear mourning attire. She can't afford to be caught doing anything that would cause a scandal. Even the smallest infraction could cost her her son. But as she stands in the shadows in her mask and costume, she watches the Marquess of Blackwood as he makes his way through the ton at the Masquerade ball. Her desires for him are so strong she is willing to risk it all for one moment of passion.

Phineas Archer, the Marquess of Blackwood, is known as an infamous rake. What people don't know is why he lives that life. So, when he spots the mysterious woman across the room watching him intently beneath her mask, he makes his way over to her. Once he is near her, his desires rage out of control. She dares him to prove his skills. After a passionate tryst in the garden, Phin loses his mystery woman without finding out who she really is. He must find her. He has never met a woman of such passion.

Phin is on a mission to find out who is involved with a treasonous plot. But can he keep his mind on that mission while he is looking for the mysterious woman that drives him to distraction? Can Lady Isobel keep her secrets and her son and still fulfill her desires with Blackwood without him finding out who she is?

This is Lecia Cornwall's debut book. She has a winner right out of the gate. This book kept my attention from start to finish, from it's hot passionate encounter at the beginning to the little surprises at the end. The way Cornwall wove all the little details together worked like magic. It has hot passionate romance, a tortured heroine, and a mystery to solve. It was great reading. I loved it and I believe you will too.

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