Early Review of Say Yes to the Marquess (Castles Ever After #2) by Tessa Dare

Title: Say Yes to the Marquess
Classification: Adult Fiction
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Castles Ever After (Book 2)
Format: Paperback; 384 pages
Publisher: Avon (December 30, 2014)
ISBN-10: 006224020X
ISBN-13: 978-0062240200
Author's Website: http://tessadare.com/
Notes: I received and eARC loan from the publisher.

Miss Clio Whitmore is on a mission. For eight years she has patiently waited for the man who proposed to her, to marry her. In that time, she's been the butt of jokes, the center of gossip, and been nicknamed 'Miss Wait-More'. Now her intended is finally coming home to make good on the promise he made, but Clio no longer wishes to marry the man. After coming into a substantial inheritance she's determined to live life on her own terms and not marry someone who doesn't want her. She just needs his brother to sign the papers to end the marriage contract.

Rafe Brandon is the second son of a Marquess. All his life he's played second fiddle to his older brother, Piers, and has always felt second best. Left in charge of things while his brother has been out of the country, he's determined to hold things together and not fail. With his brother's fiance wanting to terminate the marriage contract three weeks before his brother is to arrive home, he'll do anything in his power to hold things together. The problem is that Miss Clio Whitmore has always held a certain fascination for him. Can he hold things together without giving in to the temptation that is Clio?

This was a humorous read that occasionally leaned toward the cheesy side, but it wasn't over done and made me laugh just the same.When you read about the "Wheeee!" moment you'll know what I'm talking about. *grin* The heroine is a curvy blue-eyed blond who's been raised to believe she's overweight and always has to improve herself. The songs All About That Bass by Meghan Trainor and Shake It Off by Taylor Swift came to mind as I was reading. Clio's mother, with the best of intentions, was strict and determined to make her daughter the perfect wife for a diplomat. Unlike most of her fellow female peers, Clio received the best of educations and that is the one thing she is most grateful to her mother for providing. It's her education combined with her inheritance and the death of  the last of the major players (Pier's father) who set up the union that have given her the courage to request the marriage contract be dissolved. 

Rafe is a prizefighter who held the title of  Britain's heavyweight champion for four years. His immediate goal in life is to gain back his title, and he's about to start training when Clio disrupts his life. With his father's recent death and his brother being out of the country, he's determined things will not fall apart on his watch. He'll do whatever it takes, including planning the wedding himself, to convince Clio to marry his brother, Piers, the Marquess of Granville. This leads to many fun, silly, and irresistible situations as Rafe put himself right smack dab in the middle of temptation's way.

Overall, I gave this one 4 out of 5 roses. It was lighthearted, silly, sexy, and fun. If you think you'll have issues with someone engaged falling in love with someone else, let me assure you Clio and Piers had hardly seen or interacted with one another in the 8 years they'd been engaged. It was far from a love match. I loved watching Rafe's inner struggle to do the right thing when all he wanted to do was the opposite. On the Lisarenee Romance Rating Scale, this one gained 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. Oh, and if you're wondering, this was the second book to the Castles Ever After series, but you can dive into it without reading the previous book and not feel lost.

Order of the Castles Ever After series: