Review: The Duke's Counterfeit Wife by Louise Allen

I love the escapism of historical romance and Louise Allen is one of my favourite authors. The Duke's Counterfeit Wife is a fabulous fast-paced story about a lowly lady's companion and a duke, thrown together after being kidnapped by pirates. 

Sarah Parrish was left almost destitute by the collapse of her father's shipping business, caused by the crooked behaviour of his assistant. Now she has to earn her living as a lady's companion. Travelling around the coast by ship to her next employment, rather than taking a stage coach, she is effectively 'kidnapped by pirates' when the crew turn rogue and begin murdering the other passengers. She is only saved because Nicholas, the Duke of Severton, tells the captain Sarah is his wife and they could earn a large ransom in exchange for their lives. But has Sarah's life been saved only at the cost of her reputation?

Sarah and Nicholas race around the country trying to solve the mystery of what the ship was carrying in its cargo hold that made it a target for the 'pirates'. Sarah is convinced it is connected to the collapse of her father's business and forces Nicholas to let her tag along on his investigation.

I've read most of Louise's historical romances and this is one of her best. Her books are always meticulously researched, the pace does not let up, and the main characters become friends in a very realistic way before becoming lovers. I adored the way Sarah and Nicholas, along with her maid and his valet, become a tight-knit team, working together to solve the mystery regardless of rank. Sarah stands up to Nicholas, despite their social differences (and much to his surprise!) and there is at least one occasion where she saves him!

Fabulous escapism and a solid five-star read. Recommended for all fans of Louise Allen and historical romance.

Thank you to Louise Allen and Mills & Boon for my copy of this book, which I requested via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

Related Posts:

A Chance on Love by Louise Allen

Marrying His Cinderella Countess by Louise Allen

Moonlight and Mistletoe by Louise Allen

A Mistletoe Masquerade by Louise Allen

Once Upon a Regency Christmas by Louise Allen, Annie Burrows and Sophia James

Review: A Chance on Love by Louise Allen

I'm a huge fan of Louise Allen and I've been catching up on the books of hers I haven't read.

A Chance on Love is a short story/novella of about 30 pages, that should only take about 30 minutes to read.

It is 1809 and Lady Johanna Holt arrives in Calcutta to escape from a scandal, with the full intention of turning right around and heading back home again. Instead of her cousin, she is met off the boat by Sir Alexander Darvell and persuades him to give her a tour of the city.

To say much more than that would spoil the story for you, but it's a sweet Regency romance, with engaging characters and a beautiful setting. Recommended!

Related Posts:

Marrying His Cinderella Countess by Louise Allen

Moonlight and Mistletoe by Louise Allen

A Mistletoe Masquerade by Louise Allen

Once Upon a Regency Christmas by Louise Allen, Annie Burrows and Sophia James

Review: Marrying His Cinderella Countess by Louise Allen

While I love murder mysteries and romantic suspense, I suppose you could call historical romance my guilty pleasure - except I don't feel remotely guilty about it! I've read almost all of Louise Allen's books and she is one of my favourite M&B Historical authors. She always comes up with great stories, meticulously researched, which often don't go in the way one would expect - and this is one of those.

It is 1816 and Ellie Lytton is dependant on the charity of her step-brother, Francis. She has money of her own, which he has control of (as was usual at the time), and a small income from writing children's books. Then disaster strikes and Francis dies leaving her destitute - not only had he lost his own money, he'd also managed to lose hers. Ellie has no choice but to pack up and head to Lancaster and her sole remaining inheritance - a small, practically derelict farmhouse. As she has no means of getting there, she manipulates her step-brother's friend, Blake, into taking her in his carriage.

You might think this would be a fairly predictable story (the clue's in the title, etc) but it is so cleverly written that every time you think you know what is coming next, something completely different happens. I also enjoyed the way the main characters actually liked each other and the only thing stopping them getting their HEA was their failure to communicate - both had issues in their past that needed to be overcome.

 So, an enjoyable Regency romance with lovable characters, a few surprises along the way and a very sweet ending. Recommended.

Review: Moonlight and Mistletoe by Louise Allen

I've always been a fan of Louise Allen and I picked this up when I had the urge to read something Christmassy.  The story is about Hester Lattimer, who has arrived in a sleepy English village hoping to escape a scandal. She has a small inheritance, which she used to buy the beautiful if slightly decayed Moon House and sets about trying to establish herself as a respectable single woman, with the aid of a timid ex-governess as her companion, a rescued waif with ambitions to be a butler and her maid. This is slightly hampered by the deliciously dashing Earl of Buckland setting up house directly opposite, setting village tongues wagging.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, because as well as the historical romance, there is also a bit of a mystery, both about Hester's 'scandal', threatening to derail her friendship with the Earl, and Moon House itself, which has not been lived in for many years and might possibly be haunted. Is the Earl's interest in Hester only a sham, to hide his interest in buying the house for himself? And what of the mysterious dead roses, appearing throughout the house?

The story is firmly set in winter, leading up to Christmas, although not overly festive. I loved the light humour and the characters - Hester, determined to be independent and not rely on a handsome man to save her; Jethroe, saved from the slums with ambitions to become the best butler ever; even nervous Miss Prudhome, the companion, determined to do her job and 'save' Hester from the advances of the Earl, even though she doesn't particularly want saving!

This is a well-researched, very entertaining Mills & Boon historical romance with a bit of a mystery and the occasional sex scene, and would definitely appeal to fans of the genre. Recommended!

Review: A Mistletoe Masquerade by Louise Allen

At this time of year I like to read books with a Christmas theme and so I picked this one by Louise Allen, one my favourite authors. It is a novella, of less than 100 pages, and at the time of writing it is only 99p on Kindle.

The story is about Lady Rowan Chilcourt, concerned about a marriage arranged between her timid best friend, Penny Maylin, and the Earl of Danescroft - who is suspected of murdering his first wife! So Rowan arranges to travel with Penny to a Christmas house party, disguised as her dresser (a kind of lady's maid), to find out everything she can about the notorious Earl.

Meanwhile, the Earl's friend Viscount Stoneley is equally concerned that he might have fallen prey to a fortune hunter and agrees to travel to the same house party disguised as the Earl's valet ... 

I enjoyed this story because it is different to the usual Regency romances in that it is set in below stairs and shows the lives of the servants, and how hard their work could be, with lots of well-researched historical details. I loved the characters and the final denouement at the Christmas ball, and the little festive touches, such as kissing beneath the mistletoe ...

Fans of Mills & Boon historical romances will love it!

Review: Once Upon a Regency Christmas by Louise Allen, Sophia James and Annie Burrows

Once Upon a Regency Christmas is a lovely Christmassy book containing three novella-length, Christmas-themed, Regency romances by Louise Allen, Sophia James and Annie Burrows. I am a huge fan of both Louise Allen and Annie Burrows, and have read all their books, but Sophia James is new to me. The theme running through all three stories is that the heroes might not be quite who they seem to be.

On a Winter's Eve by Louise Allen

Lady Julia Charlcott is newly arrived in England from India. Her much older husband has died but her plans to re-enter English society is thwarted when she overhears her sister-in-law bargaining with a gentleman over what he would pay if Julia were to wed him. Furious, Julia walks out, intending to have a traditional Christmas at her late husband's home in the country. Unfortunately she heads straight into a snowstorm, where she meets Captain Giles Markham trudging through the snow with a live turkey...

Marriage Made at Christmas by Sophia James

Christine Howard's heart has been frozen since the death of her fiance but when her life is saved by a mysterious American, she can feel herself begin to thaw. Hired as her bodyguard, it is soon clear William Miller would risk everything to protect her - but what if Christine is not the target?

Cinderella's Perfect Christmas by Annie Burrows

When Alice Waverley catches a cold, she realises it is the perfect excuse to spend Christmas home alone, doing exactly as she pleases, while her horrible relatives head off to a country house party. Unfortunately they've only been gone a few hours when Captain Jack Grayling and his two young children arrive at the house seeking shelter from the snow. 

I loved On a Winter's Eve and Cinderella's Perfect Christmas because they were both very traditional, Christmassy stories - just the thing to read to get into the Christmas spirit. The characters decorated the house, created presents from very little, were snowed in and built snowmen. I loved the tale of the escaped turkey from On a Winter's Eve and the wry, wicked humour of Cinderella's Christmas. Marriage Made at Christmas was not quite so festive as the other two stories, but I did enjoy the very different story of the scarred bodyguard searching for his own happy ever after.

Definitely recommended!


(I received my copy of Once Upon a Regency Christmas directly from one of the authors)