The Truth about Leo

June 16, 2014
MacAlister brings wit and charm to her lighthearted fourth Noble historical (after The Trouble with Harry). Leo Mortimer, seventh Earl of March and an English spy working in Denmark, falls ill and is discovered unconscious by Princess Dagmar. The poverty-stricken princess desperately needs to book passage to England, a feat she can’t accomplish unless she is wed to an English officer. Dagmar and her maid, Julia, conspire to have Dagmar wed the ill, semi-conscious man before they set sail for England. Much humor ensues when an irritable Leo recovers enough to realize that he is well and truly married. As he becomes accustomed to the idea of marriage to the Danish beauty, the newlyweds arrive in England, where a mystery befalls them. The relationship between Dagmar and Leo is filled with raucous humor and spirited dialogue. The lack of intense drama will appeal to readers who care more about fun and engaging repartee.

Starred review from July 1, 2014
Princess Dagmarhalf English, half Danish, and 100 percent pennilessis stuck in Denmark under the guardianship of her cousin Frederick, the crown prince, who has threatened to send her to a convent in three days. All Dagmar wants is to go to England with her companion, Julia, and open a small shop. But passage on a ship takes money, and Frederick won't pay. The key to Dagmar's dreams lies in an almost dead British officer Julia finds in the garden. It's not hard to get Frederick's permission to wed, so Dagmar takes advantage of the stranger's feverish state and marries him. She figures the British navy will provide her transportation to England if she's an officer's wifeor widow. On the ship, Leopold Ernst George Mortimer, Seventh Earl of March, wakes up from his brush with death only to find himself married to a most peculiar woman, one he's never seen before. What's he going to do with her? With its clever heroine and noble, albeit occasionally befuddled hero, MacAlister's cheeky, charming Regency romp will surely please readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)