- Title: The Secret Life of Lady Lucinda: A Summersby Tale
- Classification: Adult Fiction
- Genre: Historical Romance
- Format: eBook
- File Size: 602 KB
- Publisher: Avon Impulse (November 20, 2012)
- Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers
- ASIN: B007UPGREQ
- Author's Website: http://www.sophiebarnes.com/
"Ladies and gentlemen," she began, "as surprising as this may be in light of the fact that most of you haven't yet to make my acquaintance, Lord Summersby has just now asked me to be his wife, and I have accepted." What could cause a Lady to throw caution to the wind and in the midst of the ton throw her arms around a man she'd just met and kiss him, thereby, forcing him to marry her or face scandal? In a nutshell, desperation.
"I'll never forget the fear in Mama's eyes the last time I saw her. I didn't understand it to begin with. I was so confused. Before I knew what was going on, we were running through our house in a desperate attempt to escape the men chasing us." She took a deep breath to force away the painful tightening of her throat." I was the only one who got away. My parents were both killed--my mother stabbed in the chest before my very eyes."
Six years ago, at the age of 12, Lucy Blackwell had lost both her parents to some unknown assailant wearing a mask. Over the years her dreams had been haunted by scenes from that night. A night that changed her life forever. She'd waited six long years to come out of hiding and during that time she had done her research and decided only one man could help her find out the who and what of it all and that man was William Summersby. Regarded as the best foreign agent in England, he was the man she needed to take her to Constantinople and discover what had happen all those years ago and bring her parents' murderer to justice. To keep things respectable, however, she had determined they'd need to be husband and wife. After all, a proper lady does have a reputation to uphold.
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I truly loved the beginning of this story. Lucy is a determined young woman, and I loved how when it sounds like William won't help her, she forces his hand. While Lucy thinks she's thought everything through and things seems to be going her way, she forgot one very important thing. Married men expect certain things from their wives. As you can imagine, things start out very rocky for this couple.
Another hurdle the couple has to overcome is that Lucinda hasn't told William the whole story of her family's plight. She hasn't even trusted him with her real name which could cause additional problems because she didn't use her real name when they married. Yet the biggest issue standing in their way is the fact that William isn't happy about being manipulated into the marriage especially since he had planned to marry someone else. So while William is attracted to Lucy, his pride and anger toward her prevent him from initially warming to her. As Lucy finally confides in William, William realizes he can do one of two things. He can either accept Lucy and attempt to make the most of their marriage or not accept her and have a horrible marriage.
Things start to get interesting when the killer makes his presence known during a house party the two throw before they depart on their honeymoon. When the realization dawns on them that the killer is probably someone they know and he still has plans, although they aren't sure exactly what those are, for Lucinda they start to work together in an effort to uncover the murderer. That is when the two truly begin to bond.
Overall, I gave this story 3 1/2 out of 5 roses. I liked the drama and mystery surrounding the deaths of Lucy's parents. I liked how eventually Lucy and William managed to grow closer after such a bleak beginning. The last several chapters held a lot of surprises and revelations which I didn't see coming including a trip to Constantinople which ended up coming about for reasons other than what Lucy and William had originally planned. On the Lisarenee Romance Rating Scale, this one gets a STEAM rating--too hot for a fan, but you still have a handle on things. You should use extreme caution when reading a book with this rating in public. People may inquire as to why you looked flustered and flushed.
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