This one's part historical romance and part mystery, doing a good job of weaving them together. Leopold Randall was forced by his uncle, a very wicked duke indeed, to do his bidding with the whereabouts of Leopold's kidnapped siblings as ransom for his obedience. Now Leopold is back to look for clues after the death of his uncle. It's all he wants, but he finds his cousin's widow in need of help to protect her young son, the current Duke of Romsey - and Leopold holds no grudge against a young child.

Mercy has no good reason to have liked her father-in-law, but after his death she's at her wit's end trying to keep the estate running without help, and that's without the anonymous threats she's been receiving. Her late husband's cousin might be the help she needs. She readily gives him permission to look through the old man's papers in exchange for help sorting those papers out.

I liked this a lot, particularly the way that Leopold and Mercy have both been manipulated and used by the old duke, giving them a shared interest in working together to solve past and present mysteries. I'm not entirely convinced by Mercy chasing after Leopold quite so brazenly in a setting with serious consequences for her if she's caught, but I can certainly see why she wants him after even a short acquaintance, and why he wants her. It's a pity that the book had a very bad case of greengrocer's apostrophe - "whoops, there's an s coming up!". It was so distracting that I very nearly gave up reading a few chapters in, and it would have been a shame if I had.

The book's the first in a series, but can be read as a standlone. ( )

Engaging the Enemy is the first book I have had the pleasure to read by Heather Boyd. Oh my what a first book I choose to read. I thoroughly enjoyed this lovely historical romance.

Mercy, Duchess of Romsey is such a fun character. I loved her spunk and her devotion to her son. She has a lot of responsibility taking care of things for her son until he is able to take charge of the estate. Mercy is in desperate need of some assistance with the estate and also has a problem that she needs some help with. She is so excited when she finds out her husband's cousin is in town. She ask for his assistance with the estate and also confides her problem to him.

Leopold Randall has returned home to locate his siblings. He enlist the help of Mercy to assist him with his search for clues. He is determined to find his siblings that he was forced to separate from. I really liked Leopold too, he is a determined, loyal gentleman that is just what Mercy and her son Edwin need in their life.

I truly enjoyed reading Mercy & Leopold's story. They are such compelling couple that I just could not put this book down. They had so many trials to over come in their path together.

There is a lot of drama, some really hot romance scenes, and some moments that are quite humorous. This story really kept me guessing who was causing the problems for Mercy and Edwin. I had several suspects. The plot is a page turner. I enjoyed this book so much that the next book in the series has moved to next in my to be read pile.

If you enjoy a good historical romance with some mystery, drama, and romance I think you will enjoy this one. ( )