Say Yes to the Marquess

October 13, 2014
Dare’s second Castles Ever After Regency (after Romancing the Duke) puts a love-triangle twist on a familiar story of pressures surrounding marriage. Clio Whitmore has been engaged to Lord Piers Brandon, heir to the Marquess of Granville, for eight years. The ostensible reason for nuptial delay is Piers’s work for the Foreign Service, and though he is due to return home soon, she is tired of waiting for a man who appears reluctant to marry her. Clio approaches Piers’s brother, Rafe, asking him to act on his brother’s behalf to end their betrothal. But Rafe doesn’t want to disappoint his brother and instead strikes a bargain with Clio: he will plan the wedding and make sure that she and his brother are married within a month. Rafe, a boxer and the black sheep of the family, is startled when his attraction to smart, tenacious Clio blossoms from mere lust to real admiration. Dare excels at storytelling, creating a powerful, believable romance that evokes a plethora of emotions. Agent: Helen Breitweiser, Cornerstone Literary.

December 1, 2014

Engaged for eight long years to the Marquess of Granville, who is always abroad on diplomatic missions for the Crown, Clio Whitmore is thrilled when her surprise inheritance of Twill Castle means she no longer needs to marry for security and can call off her upcoming wedding. Now all she needs is for her fiance's reprobate, prizefighting brother to sign the papers to dissolve the betrothal in the Marquess's continuing absence. But Rafe Brandon, who's been handling the marquessate's affairs and would like nothing better than to see his brother back home, has no intention of doing so--and it's up to him to convince Clio to go on with the nuptials. Naturally, it doesn't work out that way. VERDICT A smart and spirited woman who wants control of her own life, a caring, responsible nobleman who hides his feelings behind his "Devil's Own" reputation, and a castle full of quirky characters (a brilliant, outspoken teenager is exceptional) keep the hilarious action on track in this latest addition to Dare's whimsical series. Dare (Romancing the Duke) lives in Southern California.

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