Romancing the Countess by Ashley March

Setting: Victorian 1849

Summary:

Sebastian Madinger, the Earl of Wriothesly, thought he’d married the perfect woman-until a fatal accident revealed her betrayal with his best friend. After their deaths, Sebastian is determined to avoid a scandal for the sake of his son. But his best friend’s widow is just as determined to cast her mourning veil aside by hosting a party that will surely destroy both their reputations and expose all of his carefully kept secrets…

Leah George has carried the painful knowledge of her husband’s affair for almost a year. All she wants now is to enjoy her independence and make a new life for herself-even if that means being ostracized by the Society whose rules she was raised to obey. Now that the rumors are flying, there’s only one thing left for Sebastian to do: silence the scandal by enticing the improper widow into becoming a proper wife. But when it comes to matters of the heart, neither Sebastian nor Leah is prepared for the passion they discover in each other’s arms…

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Review:

My first book by this author and while it wasn’t bad, it fell quite short of my expectations, sadly. The premise was very intriguing but the plot fell short in my opinion and failed to provide anything fresh and exciting.

I had heard about Ashley March as the latest star in historical romance so I decided to give her a shot. I really loved the sound of this romance and it was unique considering both main characters’ spouses cheated with each other. I was looking forward to a deeply emotional romance but seriously could not stand the heroine much at all.

We are told Leah just wants to have fun after her husband’s death but she really breaks alot of the rules and quite carelessly too. I get she’s trying to be independent but she really had a selfish disregard for other people, especially considering that her actions could hurt an innocent child-AND she still continues to act that way after being told that! D:

The hero was likable though and I would rather have seen him with someone who was kinder but the heroine does improve towards the middle. Nothing special in the course of their romance though I did enjoy the initial sparks and tension between them. At times it was quite touching, though the writing style wasn’t anything too special. I love romances with children and this one was well done in drawing up a realistic picture of a family growing to love each other.

All in all, not a bad romance but not an amazing one either. Perhaps new romance readers would enjoy this more than a veteran reader of romances.

Sensuality Rating: Pretty sensual (3/5)

Verdict: Just ok

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars