A Daring Deception

A Daring Deception by Laura Trentham, book six in her Spies and Lovers series is another wonderful read; filled with amusing banter, magnetic attraction, chemistry, and subterfuge. Simon, the Duke of Bellingham, knows his sister is trying her best to find a wife for him; it’s the only reason he can think of for her upcoming house party. After atoning for his wild, misspent youth, Simon has become a sober, respected member of Parliament, and a well-sought after bachelor. Simon is determined to marry a lady he loves; like his parents and sister. Avoiding the eligible women at the party might be part of Simon’s plan, he just never expected to encounter the warmth, wit, and teasing tongue of his unusual neighbor. Jessica Tremaine never forgot Simon and the kindness he showed her when she was a young girl, newly arrived in England, with a bit of a temper; standing up to her stepfather’s cruelty. Unexpectedly crossing paths with him she leads him to believe she a lady’s maid and not the girl from the trouble aristocratic family nearby. She truly believes he doesn’t remember her and dreams of a future far away from her loathsome stepfather. Upon learning the truth about Jessica, Simon rides off to London, nursing a broken heart. Yet, when Jessica finds herself in London and in major danger, she seeks out the one man she trusts; even if she believes he doesn’t trust her. Simon, still caring for Jessica, willingly becomes her knight-in-shining-armor, helping her out of her dilemma. I really loved reading this book and had a great deal of trouble putting this book down. Ms. Trentham wrote a beautiful love story that is not to be missed. She provided a tale rich with kindness, magnetic attraction, off the charts chemistry, amusing conversations, and endearing characters giving Jessica and Simon the opportunity to find a true and forever love. I highly recommend A Daring Deception to other readers.

Another absolutely delightful story by fantastic author Laura Trentham, full of action, danger, humor, good and evil, sweetness, spice . . . . I could probably have written part of this review before even starting to read the book, because every book this author writes is so consistently outstanding with the same warm, sweet, sexy, wonderful feel. But while A Daring Deception has all the sweet and sexy elements we’ve come to expect in a romance by author Trentham, this time she also supplies a fair measure of darkness – spousal abuse, child abuse, greed, and intent to murder. There’s a lot of suspense in this story, a lot to make you frightened for and worried about Jessica. Jessica and Simon have met before – when she was a child and he saved her from harm at the hands of her stepfather Goforth. She’s never forgotten Simon; he is in her dreams. Goforth has never forgotten Simon, either. He married Jessica’s mother after her husband died and moved the family to England when he learned Jessica’s brother Blake would inherit an earldom. He is an evil bully craving money and power and no one, including Simon, will get in his way. Simon, the once wild Duke of Bellingham but now a respected member of Parliament trying to avoid his sister’s matchmaking efforts remembers Jessica as well. But when they see each other again – and the attraction between them is strong - he mistakes her for her own maid, not recognizing her as the Jessica Tremaine he saved all those years ago and never connecting her with the plain, frumpy, boring Jessica she has become to society. Of course she’s intentionally made herself unattractive and of course the secret will come out. And that’s where the story becomes impossible to put down. Jessica knows a relationship with Simon is hopeless and Simon knows a relationship with a maid is hopeless, but ooh, the heat, the passion, the desire to grab what they can while they can. Goforth will stop at nothing to get what he wants, so even when the secret is out and Simon feels betrayed and heartbroken and wants nothing to do with Jessica, it’s then she needs his help more than ever. But will he help? Can he forgive? Is theirs the bond of soulmates? Historical novels are fun. The characters in them battle many of the same challenges we face today while having to fight through the rules and restraints of their time. Author Laura Trentham brings an extra special layer to her historical novels, in fact, to all her romances: excellent writing, strong characters, true love, adventure, grand passion, and some heart-warming and steamy scenes that will have you smiling while fanning your face. Thanks to the author for providing an advance copy of A Daring Deception for my reading pleasure and honest review. The pleasure was immense. I loved this book and recommend it, and anything else written by Laura Trentham, without hesitation. All opinions are my own

I received a complimentary copy of this book and I am voluntarily reviewing it. This is a fantastic story. I was totally enchanted with it. It took me longer to read the story as I tended to go back and re-read many passages. The plot was intriguing and I was immersed to the point that I felt like I was there right in the middle of it. The author gave just enough descriptive detail that my mind was able to fill in the rest. There was nothing to detract from the storyline. I grew up on historical romance and there were some that were so descriptive that I grew bored but not here. This was a sexy read. I would recommend this to anyone over the age of 18. It was also written in my favorite dual POV format. This helped to fully understand the characters.