The Naked Marquis is the second book in Sally Mackenzie’s “Naked” series. And I have to say I enjoyed it. While it was not as outgoing and stomp on you as hard as The Naked Duke it was still very good. Mackenzie so far is showing her tune in taking older “on the shelf” ladies or picks maybe not as usual as heroines for her men. And I like it. Miss Emma Peterson is the daughter of the town Vicar, and Charles Draysmith Marquis of Kensdale is a second son who comes reluctantly into the title when his brother dies suddenly in an accident. Or was it?

Not only do we meet a new cast of loveable characters, we also meet again with our Duke of Alvord James and his wife who is now expecting their first child, and Robbie the Earl of Westbroke. It is positively wonderful to see them again and even more so to follow the Marquis as he tries to win his ladies hand.

While Emma followed Charles around when he was a kid (along with Robbie and James) she is determined not to do so now. It was so bad when she was a child that the other boys nicknamed her Shadow. The story is fun, and also there are some hidden twists and turns. While the villain is again obvious exactly what he is up to is not obvious until much later in the story.

Laughable and just a wonderful bit of fun I guarantee you will find yourself laughing out loud. When the Marquis first asks for Emma’s hand in marriage she throws a ceramic dog at his head. It’s nice to see a lady who fights with her feelings, and really wants nothing more than love. She doesn’t want a title; she doesn’t want to just be any mans broodmare. So come and follow the granddaughter of an Earl the daughter of a Vicar as she is chased by the handsome Naked Marquis I promise you will enjoy it. ( )

Though I was a little hesitant when I first picked up The Naked Marquis, after a few chapters, I was pleasantly surprised that I was actually enjoying it. After reading excerpts and summaries about Sally MacKenzie's series, it seemed like the books were more on the comical side of romance--something I do not usually go for. But I felt that MacKenzie was able to combine comedy and romance together very nicely, promting me to grab the next book in the series right away *though I still have to go back and read the first one, The Naked Duke*.

The only thing that kind of bugged me about this book was the hero's name-- Charles. I'm sorry to say that I am a stickler for names, and the older ones, like Charles, seem kind of flat for the hero of a romance novel. Not that it's not a good name, but for some reason, it just doesn't quiet work for me *No offense to any Charles out there!*. Other than that, I thought the story line was nicely written, fairly interesting, and the romance was nice, going from scandalous and passionate to sweet and tender.

Another thing that kind of annoyed me was the heroine's lack of knowledge about 'the marriage bed'. I know that in those times, the young women were only told the bare necessities the night before the wedding, but come on! Emma knew absolutely nothing, and I don't think that the excuse 'She's the vicar's daughter' is a good enough reason. In other books, the heroine usually knows a bit about the sexual act, but not in the Naked Series! I have nothing against a virginal heroine in my romance novels, but please, don't make her as ignorant as a nun! I felt that during the times when the author could have had Charles lovingly explaining some of the details, she instead chose to make it akward and slightly funny. I personally would have liked it better if Charles had decided to give her 'lessons' about passion instead of blushing and avoiding the questions.. but maybe that's just me.

4/5 STARS! All in all, the book wasn't too bad, a possible re-read in the future, and I will grab the other books in the series to read because I am interesting in a couple of the other characters, whom I already know have their own book. A great book if you want a historical read that is light and funny, but has a nice plot line, a bit of a 'who done it? subplot' and some passionate love scenes. ( )

For true Regency aficionados (historical and trad alike), this book is a travesty; for readers looking for Regency-lite and sex this may be your cup of tea. Emma is truly one of the best TSTL heroines ever created, but in the hands of another author, someone with a deft touch and caring for the reader, this well-worn plot could have worked. I had high hopes for this book and . I *still* have THE NAKED EARL to read (thank goodness these are library books and I can return them!) but after TNM I'm not sure about the next book in this series. ( )

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