Lauren Seiberling
This book was quite the adventure! I really enjoyed getting lost in this story! (Not lost as in I couldn't follow along, but lost as in I read for three hours before I realized how long I had been reading for!) While I'm not that well-versed in historical romances, I found this one easy enough to understand and really liked all of the "scandalous" things that took place. Aside from Ned, what I liked most about this book was that I didn't have to wait until the end for the mysteries and conflicts to be resolved. Yes, one conflict held out until the last page, but I felt Elizabeth did a wonderful job of "tugging me along" by resolving one mystery, then hyping up the next one, then resolving that one, etc. I seriously couldn't put this down! I wasn't so sure about Cassie at first, but as the story went on, I really liked how, in spite of the aforementioned scandalous behavior, she didn't take any guff from anyone. I would even call her downright sassy at some points, which I got a kick out of. I really liked Ned. I especially liked his relentlessly protective streak when it came to Cassie. The final scene was absolutely adorable! This was my first Elizabeth book, but I very much like her characters and writing style and I can't wait to catch up with Ned and Cassie in subsequent books and maybe read a certain Captain's story next? ;) (I received a copy of this book in consideration of an honest review)
Sissy Hicks
'Unmasking the Earl' by Elizabeth Keysian is book Two in the "Wayward in Wessex" series. This is the story of Lord Edmund Talbot, the Earl of Stranraer 'Ned" and Miss Cassandra Blythe 'Cassie". I have read the other book but feel this is easily a standalone book. Cassie thinks she is in love with Julian Carnforth. Julian just thinks of her as a little sister. So Cassie wants to learn to seduce him. When Cassie sees Julian going off with a lady named Lucy at a party she feels she needs to save him from this women. Captain Francis Wycherley is who brought Lucy to the party and who has a relationship with her. So Cassie and the Captain go off to confront the two wayward couple. Ned is pretending to be a servant to be in the Captain's house hold to look for clues about what happened to his sister. Ned's sister went missing after a fire happened Ned feels that the Captain has something to do with his missing sister. Ned intervenes when Cassie tries to get the Captain to help her learning how to seduce Julian. But they both find that they can't help fighting their feelings. I enjoyed this story and their banter. Ned was frustrating a few times but overall really loved this book! "My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read."