The Marquess (1997)

I'm afraid I didn't enjoy this novel very much. I very nearly gave up on it half way through. I like a good beauty and the beast story, and several other elements piqued my interest initially, however I found the plot unbelievable, confusing and boring.

The particular (ebook) edition I read had a couple of OCR transcription errors that should have been picked up by proofreaders (e.g. more than once "bum" instead of "burn"). ( )

After finding out that he is the only male heir left to inherit the title of the Marquess of Effingham, Gavin Lawrence returns to England from his life in America only to find that the inheritance, Arinmede, consisted of a run down manor home on un-worked land with a town that had become used to being taken advantage of. The daughter of a soldier, Dillian Whitnell knew how to take care of herself, but when her fair cousin, Blanche was injured while trying to help others, Dillian had to find a way to protect them both from who ever was trying to get at them. Working with the stubborn and reclusive Marquess might be more than the resourceful and cunning girl can handle.

Book 1, or Book 3 (depending on which series you are following) .....
Kind of a beauty and the beast type of story in it. The Marquess is such a recluse and always uses his scars as an excuse, he leans toward the heroic life, if only he can get over himself. Dillian is a bit overbearing in her own ways, like her protection of Blanche. While I really enjoyed the book, the use of all the titles, names, formal names, ranks, ect. got a little tedious and confusing at times. I was still very happy to have received this as an Early Reviewer (even though it was a re-release) from LibraryThing. This was an e-book version of the previously published book. It is the 3rd in a series (from 1997), but with the re-publishing, it is being followed by a new book, The English Heiress which was due July of 2012. ( )

Dillian ends up in the home of Gavin, the Marquess of Effingham while trying to protect her injured cousin. What ensues is a rather humorous cat and mouse game when Gavin tries to track the hiding Dillian down in his labyrinthine mansion. Before long he succeeds in catching her and against his best intentions finds himself protecting the two cousins from people who want to harm them.

The chemistry between the two main characters was rather delightful in parts. I rather liked Gavin with his brooding ways. The plot however seemed a bit silly at times and the motivations of the characters weren't all that clear to me. I'm still a bit undecided, whether it would be worth the effort to read the second part of the series. ( )

I really enjoyed The Marquess (BookCafe e-edition, originally published 1997). I've tired of recent romances where plot is secondary to um, other things. In this case, the story centers around a mystery--someone is trying to kill Blanche, the beautiful English heiress, or are they after her cousin/companion, Dillian? There's lots of action here--burning houses, hijacked coaches, swordplay, a mysterious brother who's a master of disguise, a scarred hero (and how cool that he is an American war hero?), missing journals, and more and more? A crumbling mansion adds a touch of gothic mystery to the story (and makes me want to revisit that genre!)With twists galore, the action is non-stop, and the romance is believable, as Rice allows the hero and heroine time to get acquainted and understand each other. A very satisfying read!
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This was an ER book that I read back in June but somehow forgot to place the review here.
Enjoyable historical romance with nicely detailed characters. Some slow parts though. This is actually a reissue of an older book which surprised me. ( )