Once Upon a Masquerade

My Rating: 3.5 Stars<br><br>Was she a femme fatale acting the part of a sweet and rather naïve lady? Could she possibly be a callous murderer or did she hold other secrets, just as dark and for her, just as deadly? One thing for certain, Rebecca was nothing like the ladies of society and Christopher Black was falling for her, in spite of himself.<br><br>Rebecca needs help. As a housemaid she had no way of saving her father from his gambling debts and his life was on the line. She needed money and protection. She never expected that impersonating an heiress could be so difficult or that the one man who could help her also suspects her of murder. And she was falling hard for the self-made man.<br><br><b>ONCE UPON A MASQUERADE</b> by Tamara Hughes brings historical romance out of England and places it firmly on American soil. Perhaps it was that setting that changed the atmosphere from a bosom heaving romance to something more down-to-earth. <br><br>The combination of a murder mystery and a damsel in distress was a nice twist, but Rebecca seemed almost too naïve for such a daring plan on her part. Then again, when your life hangs in the balance…her plan fit her desperation!<br><br>Christopher has been burned before by love, and seemed rather hard at times. Still, Rebecca did seem to send his heart reeling, in spite of his assumptions about her.<br><br>Together, they DID have chemistry as a couple, but it became a bit too much of a roller coaster ride. I would have loved more on the setting, I wanted to visualize it in my mind a little clearer and would have liked the pace to pick up a bit. I will say though, this was a nice way to watch a mystery be solved and love found!<br><br>Publisher: Entangled: Scandalous (February 10, 2014)<br>Publication Date: February 10, 2014<br>Genre: Historical Romantic Suspense<br>Print Length: 295 pages<br>Available from: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Once-Upon-Masquerade-Entangled-Scandalous-ebook/dp/B00HP1JZNU/" rel="nofollow noopener">Amazon</a> | <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/once-upon-a-masquerade-tamara-hughes/1117987586?ean=9781503386846" rel="nofollow noopener">Barnes &amp; Noble</a><br>For Reviews, Giveaways, Fabulous Book News, follow: <a href="http://tometender.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">http://tometender.blogspot.com</a><br><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VzWcuxwzgIg/VCiZSxUyvmI/AAAAAAAAfb0/Zeysvfwdgos/s1600/June%2BHeader%2Bw%2Bhttp.jpg" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1411946937i/11303744._SX540_.jpg" height="250" width="400" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a>

Christopher Black is a self made shipping magnate. Rebecca is a housemaid impersonating an heiress to become a mistress to a rich gentleman, in order to get the money she needs to pay off her father's gambling debts. The deadline has been lessened to a week, and if she fails, she'll be killed. <br /><br />Christopher spies Rebecca at a masquerade ball and is captivated by not only her beauty, but her personality. She's so different to the other ladies of the ton, especially from his ex fiancee. But the closer he gets to her secrets, the more she pushes him away, and when he notices she bears more than a passing resemblance to the housemaid who spilled tea on him days before....he tries to fight his feelings for her. <br /><br />When Christopher's investigation of the murder of his best friend leads him straight to Rebecca, he fears the lady he's started to love, could be a murderer. He now has to decide if she's guilty, if he can trust this woman he's come to love, and if her secrets will be his downfall. <br /><br />I thought Once Upon a Masquerade was full of intrigue and mystery, it kept me hooked from the beginning and I couldn't put it down. There where so many threads to the story all woven together, and I honestly could not work out who the murderer was, I was in the dark until the big reveal! <br /><br />I loved the character of Rebecca, she was very genuine to me, and full of depth, and was just one of a whole host of well written characters with many different sides to them, and depth that is nearly deep enough to hide their secrets. <br /><br />The world building was fantastic, I felt like I was there, and there was so much beautiful imagery. The costumes for one of the balls for instance, provided some beautiful visuals. The story itself was fast paced, trotting from point to point, with details being very concise, and no pointless words bogging down the pace, or the flow of the book. <br /><br />The romance between Rebecca and Christopher was the kind I love, slow burn. I loved how the attraction built, and then the secrets got in the way, and then Christopher was an ass and they had so much to overcome. I loved the jealousy Christopher felt, and how protective he was, it was such a realistic, and totally cute romance to see develop. <br /><br />Once Upon a Masquerade is a truly enchanting read, filled with beautiful imagery and a deep and dark mystery, all woven together to create quite a romantic masterpiece that will have you hooked until the end!

<b>My review contains spoilers and they're mostly my thoughts as I went with the book...</b><br><br>TBH, I requested for <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/20442459.Once_Upon_a_Masquerade" title="Once Upon a Masquerade by Tamara Hughes" rel="noopener">Once Upon a Masquerade</a> for its gorgeous cover as I had no idea what to expect. The blurb sounded quite interesting. Debut author Tamara Hughes’s efforts are seen throughout the story but the plot seemed bit too scattered for my liking. I’ll try my best to elaborate in my review.<br><br>The story is set in mid 1880’s New York. Apart from the gorgeous cover, what caught me in the blurb was that the heroine masquerading as an heiress when she’s anything but. Rebecca is one of the maids of the Endicott houseold and has been for the last 5 years. But she hasn’t been a maid all her life. Rebecca is actually from a once prosperous family where she had the love of her parents who doted on her. Sadly, ever since her mother’s death, her father sort of gave up on ‘life’ and living, starting to depend more and more on incessant gambling and heavy drinking to bury the pain of losing his wife. Things went downhill from there. As an only daughter, it fell on Rebecca to take care of her ailing father. She has been doing whatever she could so far, hiding away her own hopes and dreams in the plight of her daily life.<br><br>Lately, things have become real bad and her father has had death threats from men to whom he owns huge amount of money lost in gambling. Rebecca has tried talking to her father but it seems all in vain; he doesn’t seem to listen, or even care. Right now, she’s desperate for this money she needs and probably would do anything for it. There comes the plan, an utterly ridiculous one, hatched by Mary, the lady’s maid of Ms. Endicott, the spoiled daughter of the master of the house where she works. Mary convinces Rebecca that she needs to attend this masquerade ball hosted by some high-society family and ‘trap’ some wealthy peer..... what I couldn’t understand was what Mary wanted her to do. She didn’t exactly ask Rebecca to prostitute herself, though she hinted at it, she being the more ‘adventurous’ type or so to speak. Rebecca knew she can’t really sell her body, she’s the marrying-type. Yet marrying a wealthy man is also out of question because, when her <i>real</i> identity is out, no man with fortune will give a sh!t about her. So I kept thinking, on what basis did she agree to Mary’s plan when there was nothing practical or even remotely logical in it? The only answer I could come upon that Rebecca was way too desperate to even think exactly what she’s jumping into. Her near blunders throughout the story proved this to some extent.<br><br>Christopher is the heir to the Black Shipping legacy and has come into a big fortune lately. He’s the one who mans his father’s ship, has been working with him since he was a teenager. He’s even toured around the world and loves his sailor’s pants. Lately, he’s been itching to return to the sea again, but his plans have been thwarted by the very sudden and unexpected murder of his close friend, Nathan. Christopher is not only mourning his death but also, helping the police in the case to identify the killer. It’s been a year though, and his efforts have almost been zero, except for the fact that the police are sure the killer was a woman because of a comb found near Nathan’s body. Christopher also hasn’t been able to identify the woman Nathan asked him to ‘save’ before taking his last breath. Christopher is sure that ‘woman’ was Nathan’s love. He’s growing frustrated not knowing what to do. Nathan was a kind, generous man in life so he has no idea who might’ve done this to his friend and for what purpose. Christopher also feels guilty that he didn’t accede to Nathan’s request for borrowing some money before his murder. But, guilt or not, Christopher is resolved to find this woman and whoever killed him and bring that person to justice ASAP. Or he’ll die trying.<br><br>Rebecca and Christopher’s first meeting turns out to be something less than spectacular. Christopher, at that time, was paying a very reluctant call on Ms. Endicott. It was plain awkward as Rebecca spills tea on him because she was feeling jittery after learning of her father’s latest mess. Christopher doesn’t see her face as she’s required to keep her head down, thanks to Ms. Endicott and her owl-eyed stare. But both notice each-other on a different level, as in, a sense of each-other’s presence. Christopher, though, shakes it off, blaming it on the burn she gave him (he’s not as mean as his hostess) but Rebecca can’t seem to forget him. And when she dresses herself as a ‘maid’ for the masquerade, thanks to Mary’s help(?), to attend that ball, Rebecca instantly zooms in on Christopher cause she couldn’t take her eyes off of him.<br><br>But before that, she manages to pull off a façade of an heiress from Boston, very new to the society of New York. She also meets a few other interesting characters. One would be the dashing Phillip Westerly, a rakishly handsome man who shows an amount of interest in her that gets her both exhilarated and confused. Another man was Christopher’s best friend, Spencer, a jolly young man who loves all sorts of exaggeration and hyperbole; who is constantly sprouting Shakespeare and acting as Hamlet or whatever comes to his mind. I instantly loved Spencer cause he made me laugh on many occasions. But, rest assured, he’s not nearly as idiotic and air-headed as the impression he likes to give. Spencer is as witty and sharp as they come.<br><br>Though Christopher notices Rebecca, he can’t identify the déjà vu, that he saw her somewhere but can’t remember <i>where</i>. Rebecca tries her best to act as a noble lady. It was, at times, impossible to believe that she somewhat convinced other people that she’s an heiress. Rebecca tries to avoid Christopher, afraid that he’d recognize her and blow her cover. She shifts her interest towards Westerly instead. Christopher is attracted to her no doubt. But his interest piques when he finds Westerly attached to her. He always harbored a dislike for the man, and knowing what kinda rake he is, Christopher decides to warn Rebecca away from him. In doing this, he also begins his own pursuit of her.<br><br>Now, this far, I was enjoying the story much. But when Christopher identifies the comb Rebecca was wearing in the masquerade ball as the twin of the one found in Nathan’s murder scene, instantly he decides two things: one, this is THE woman who murdered Nathan and two, probably, also THE woman of Nathan’s life. <br><br>After that, Christopher’s attitude towards Rebecca changes too. He doesn’t want to get close, but can’t stay away either. He wants to find out if his hunches are correct or not. When he finds that Rebecca has been living in the Endicott house, his suspicion grows tenfold, because on his last days, Nathan seemingly had an obsession with that place. The only other person Christopher thought might be involved was Ms. Endicott. But after meeting her that suspicion had been laid to rest cause the woman is not nearly smart enough to pull it through. So Rebecca must be involved in it somehow!<br><br>Rebecca was, of course, feeling guilty of lying to Christopher. She knew nothing about him being suspicious of her or whatever it is going inside his head. She tries her best and keeps avoiding him in social gatherings tough it proves to be difficult because he won’t let her. Yet another thing I found unbelievable, as Rebecca goes through several social gatherings, that none recognized her, not even Ms. Endicott when they’re ‘introduced’ by Spence at his house party. But it was becoming obvious that her plan of ensnaring a peer is not working and time is running out. Her outings with Westerly don’t come to bear any fruit. Instead, after Christopher saves her from some thugs while she was on her way after meeting her inebriated father in his hidey-hole, Rebecca decides she has fallen in love with him. He takes her on his ship that was anchored nearby to spend the night... and, they end up having sex. I wasn’t expecting sex because there was basically nothing between them but subtle attraction. I would say that their relationship was still awkward at best, and in the lights that both were hiding things from each-other, the sex felt entirely wrong to me. <br><br>Then, the next day, another misunderstanding. To Christopher, it was wrong to have sex with the woman Nathan had loved and asked him to take care of. But he doesn’t explain the <i>whys</i> of it but only that what they did was wrong...... Way to go buddy, to tell a girl on the morning after that the sex was wrong! As you can guess, Rebecca is hurt and tries to leave........ Christopher comes after her, offers his protection from those thugs who, it was revealed, were paid to kill her and not her father and Rebecca is a puddle of longing once again. She becomes super jealous when she meets Christopher’s ex-fiancée, Nathan’s sister Adele at a gathering. I’d not even go into the details of what she does next because she was feeling hurt and jealous. Then we find Christopher fighting with Westerly when he tries to talk to Rebecca alone, because he was feeling the ‘all-protective-alpha-jerk’ in him. *sigh* <br><br>Well, this went on for way too long. Rebecca would put herself in the danger’s way, Christopher would save her. She’d want him, sometimes throwing herself at him and he’d push her away because it didn’t <i>seem</i> ‘right’ and he’d be a colossal jerk to her to ignore what he <i>really</i> feels for her. He also kept validating his actions by trying to convince himself that there’s no future for them. But buddy, did you even try? To me, for a long time, you didn’t! Christopher kept on telling Rebecca that he can’t marry her, which I assumed, was because of her social status. Yet he wouldn’t be able to stand anyone coming near her. So yah, I thought he was a jerk to her... yet, when Rebecca would do something exasperating (i.e. doing something she shouldn’t), I’d end up thinking maybe he has reasons to be a jerk. But, at the least, Rebecca was honest about her feelings and more than once, tried to show Christopher that. Either way, for me, it got old after a while because story-wise nothing much was happening but this cycle of frustration.<br><br>Honestly, I couldn’t see exactly <i>why</i> Christopher was so sure it was Rebecca or she was involved in some way in Nathan’s murder. And for the majority of the story they let this ‘misunderstanding’ between them fester; both hurting, creating more misunderstanding. It was just too obvious a plot scheme, one that I’m not fond of. The more I read, the more I felt if they only had taken a few mins and talked seriously, things would be so much easier for them. Soon enough, Christopher even figures out that Rebecca is not an heiress, then that she’s THE maid that spilled tea on him <i>that</i> day at the Endicott’s. He already had his suspicions because of her faltering social etiquettes, yet he never confronted her. His first excuse was that he wanted to be sure about her involvement. But when he became sure she wasn’t, I don’t have any idea why he still didn’t confront her, until the very end of the story. As I said, it got old...<br><br>And the entire time, I didn’t even feel the ‘love’ between them but some lukewarm attraction. Apart from this, the scattered plotline, the drama and those misunderstandings just took away the fun of the story for me.<br><br>Now, onto the good things. The interactions between Rebecca and her father and her yearning for those happy days when her mother was alive and everything seemed perfect. It very much tugged at my heart-strings, so much so that I ended up shedding tears. I was so happy that her father finally saw that he had done wrong to ‘his Becca’ by leaving her to fend for herself for so long and how he was squandering away his precious time that he can enjoy spending with her. And, I think Spence was my most favorite character in the book. I’m willing to read his story if the author decides to give him his own book.<br><br>I also have to give it to the author that she kept me going to find out exactly who Nathan’s murderer was and why that person did it. I wasn’t surprised but the revelation sure was unexpected! The last few chapters were the most engaging (and the best IMO) with all the action (though, yet once again, Rebecca jumped into a situation and made herself an easy target *sigh*), so I ended up wishing that the rest was this good.<br><br>When every puzzle was put into place, and solved, I liked that both Rebecca and Christopher came to see their fallacies and acknowledged those in earnest, rather than playing the blame-game any longer. 3.75 stars.<br><br><br><b>This ARC was provided to me by Entangled Scandalous via <u>netgalley</u> which didn’t influence my review and rating in any way.</b> <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1380358558ra/709749.gif" alt="thankyou" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy">

This one, provided by the publisher through netgalley, was a little bit different. It had lots of redeeming features, but didn't quite fulfill its potential and left me feeling a tad flat.<br /><br />What did I like?<br /><br />- The setting: why is that the only romances-with-corsets seem to be set in England? There is a whole world out there, and I LOVED that this was set in the US, when Society was every bit as ridiculously restrictive as Regency England, but with a melting pot of immigrants and poverty right outside the swanky doors of the elite. I loved that this was the setting for this book.<br /><br />- The plot: I guessed who the baddie was, but not straight away. There were some interesting twists and turns as well.<br /><br />- The pacing and balance: for a historical romance with a murder mystery, this book seemed to balance everything going on really nicely. Not easy to do, and it felt right<br /><br />What didn't I like so much?<br /><br />- Much, much more could have been made of the setting. It felt that apart from a few descriptions of locations (which were really good), not enough was made of the New York Society setting. What was a servant's life like, for example? What about more about the New York harbor docks? What was there was really good, but there could have been more.<br /><br />- The heroine, quite frankly, was a passive idiot, and it drove me nuts. Would she really have been able to support her wastrel father on a maid's salary? (What was a maid's wage in New York then?) She spent half the time being pushed around by the hero, and the other half doing TSTL stuff. It was all very annoying, because the maid playing at Society Lady is a superb idea.<br /><br />- The hero and heroine were intimate far, far too soon. They trusted each other straight away, with no real justification, and they go it on far too quickly. It would have been wonderful to have had much more tension and unrequited attraction between before they did the dirty. It threw the pacing and the plot, and I couldn't figure out why they were so attracted to each other because it happened too fast.<br /><br />So, 3 stars. I liked it.

Just finished Once Upon a Masquerade last night, let me first say, I am not a romance fan, but I love a good mystery with a wonderful love story and a bit of history thrown in. That's why two of my childhood loves were Phyllis Whitney and Victoria Holt. Thank you, Ms. Hughes, the author of this great book, for reminding me of them. <br /><br />From page one, the author had my attention, to the point that putting it down so I could actually get some work done was difficult at best. The main character, Rebecca, was truly a heroine I could enjoy, support and admire. As for Christopher Black, wow! Yes, I really liked him.<br /><br />I hope you keep writing, Tamara Hughes, you have a fan for life!

Good book, set in the 1800's. Lot's of scandal and mystery. Loved it! Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to review this book for my honest review.

<br />I love starting out my reviews with confessions, so here goes; Historical Romance use to be one of my least favorite genres. Ever. No particular reason why, per se, I just didn't care for em. But over the years, our taste change and we grow as readers, and for me-- it has become one of my *new* favorite genres to read. So when I got the invite to join the tour, I jumped right on it. Plus, hello pretty cover with a mask.<br /><br /><strong>Once Upon a Masquerade</strong> was so much more than I was expecting. Sure, there's obviously a mystery from the synopsis and since the tag line speaks for itself, I had it in my head which way the book was going to go. Well, I was wrong. This totally surpassed my expectations.<br /><br />This is a very well written, fast paced mystery that had me enraptured from page one. I loved how smooth the story flowed and everything intricately weaved itself together. Told in dual POV with Rebecca and Christopher, we get to see both sides of what it going on and that definitely made things more interesting. I was really shocked at the all the twist and turns, not even figuring out everything until almost the end.<br /><br />As far as our main characters go, we have Rebecca; a housemaid impersonating an heiress to save her father; and Christopher, a self-sufficient wealthy man, on a mission to find his best friends murderer. I really liked Rebecca. I loved how loyal she was to her father, although personally, I would have held a stronger grudge. Having once been apart of Society, her father had gambled everything away, leaving her to care for herself <strong>and</strong> him. Which goes to show how loving she is. She had her times of "damsel in distress", but overall, I thought she did pretty well holding her own. She's a very strong, brave woman and I admired that about her. She was a little daft at times, but her heart was in the right place.<br /><br />Now Christopher. Whew, this man gets a lot of conflicting emotions from me. On one hand, I admired his drive to find the person who killed his friend. He is determined, resourceful and loyal as well; but man this guy was a pompous ass. He was so hot and cold with Rebecca, it drove me mad. In the same token, from where he started and where he ended up, he grew a lot--more than Rebecca, in my eyes-- and redeemed himself in the end. Their relationship was very sweet and passionate. I loved how they got to know each other-- albeit with a few lies between them-- and their connection developed slowly as the story progressed.<br /><br />My Peeve- The world building was really good. I thought she did a great job capturing the beauty of the Era,<strong> but I wanted more</strong>. This doesn't hinder my thoughts of the story overall, just something I wished I got more of. Have I mentioned I can be picky?!<br /><br />Overall- Loved it. Edgy, enchanting and full of twists, <strong>Once Upon a Masquerade</strong> is a must read for all romance and mystery fans! Highly recommend!<br /><br />*An eBook was provided by the publisher for an honest review*

Rebecca Bailey first spots Christopher Black while pretending to be an heiress in a high-society ball. Despite being drawn to the charismatic, self-made shipping magnet, she knows that she’s on a mission: raise the money to pay her father’s gambling debts. And the clock is ticking since she has only a week to come up with five hundred dollars. So she needs to stop thinking about Christopher before she gives away the secret that she’s actually a maid.<br /><br />Christopher Black notices Rebecca’s naivety and spunk when he first spots her at a masquerade ball. He can’t get his mind off her, though his investigation into the death of a good friend leads him to suspect that Rebecca may be the murderer. Now he must figure out whether he can trust the woman he’s quickly falling in love with and how she fits into his investigation.<br /><br />This was the first historical romance that I’ve read in a while, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.<br /><br />The best thing about this novel was the balance of historical details. It’s set in New York in the late 1880′s, and there were enough details to remind me about the setting. But they didn’t overwhelm me either. I especially enjoyed the way that the author wove historic aspects into the story, making them cause difficulties for characters or make parts of the plot possible. This happened numerous times with cumbersome women’s clothing.<br /><br />As for the characters, Rebecca and Christopher were pretty well matched. Rebecca’s plucky nature made her endearing. She may have been out of her depth stepping into high society, but she still knew who she was. Christopher, likewise, didn’t exactly conform to the upper crust standard since he only recently came into money. But that allowed him to see things differently than those around him.<br /><br />My only complaint was that the Rebecca’s relationship with her father felt pretty cliche. I predicted pretty accurately how it was going to end. While I understand that there’s a standard with romance novels, I’d hoped that there would have been more tension that gave me doubt about the outcome.<br /><br />Once Upon A Masquerade would be a great light read for a fan of historic romance set during the late 1800′s.<br /><br />Rating: 5/5<br /><br />Once Upon A Masquerade by Tamara Hughes will be published by Entangled Publishing on February 11th, 2014 and will be available as an eBook.<br /><br />*I received an advanced copy of this book in return for an unbiased review.

Full review here: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="http://lilmissvixreads.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/review-once-upon-masquerade-by-tamara.html">http://lilmissvixreads.blogspot.co.uk...</a><br /><br />I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.<br /><br />First of all, to state the obvious, the cover to this novel is stunning! It sold the book to me before I had even read the blurb. Rebecca Bailey is a maid desperate for money to pay off her father's gambling debts, and in a moment of madness she decides to pose as an heiress in the hope of attracting a wealthy suitor. Christopher Black, a dashing shipping magnate who is both captivated and intrigued by Rebecca from the moment he sets eyes on her at the masquerade ball, seems the likeliest candidate, were it not for the fact that he might recognise her for who she really is. <br /><br />Stories with multiple view points tend to grate on me, but in this instance it worked perfectly as it allowed Christopher and Rebecca to each tell their side of the story.<br /><br />I couldn't help but be a little infuriated by Rebecca; I liked how she was capable of defending herself - far from your conventional damsel in distress- yet despite Christopher's honest intentions to help her, it takes her forever to muster up the courage to tell him the truth about her situation. As for Christopher, what can I say? Not quite the blue-blooded Prince Charming, but a perfect gentleman - even better in my opinion. I couldn't help but picture Matthew Goode as I was reading the descriptions of him, which only made him all the more lovable. All of the other characters are well written and distinctive, I especially liked the overly theatrical Spencer Henley. From ballrooms to vast country estates and run down side streets, the settings are so well depicted that you could picture the scenes as vividly as if you were watching a film.<br /><br />The perfectly paced blend of action, mystery and romance had me gripped, and I finished the novel in a day. I predicted the ending, but that didn't lessen my enjoyment of the plot; I almost didn't want it to end.<br /><br />5/5 stars: Cinderella with a twist; an enchanting read that will hold your attention from start to finish, perfect for lovers of fairytales and historical fiction, with enough action and adventure to appeal to the more cynical romantic.<br /><br />

Nice Historical Romance. It started a bit slowly but then you couldn't have pried my hands away from my reader if the house was on fire! <br /><br />Take a girl that had once been from a wealthy family, whose father has never gotten over her mothers death. He gambles himself into a real mess and she has 1 week to pay his debts or they will kill her.. But why kill THIS girl? What in the world will these men get from killing her?<br /><br /><br />Enter Mr. Black a man on a mission trying to find the girl of his late best friends dreams.. protect her... That was what he was charged to do.. did this girl kill his friend or was she his love? <br /><br />The only clue a hair comb.. and the matching one he spots in a house maids hair as she is playing a wealthy heiress.. though it takes him a while to realize this lady once spilled tea on him. <br /><br />Now it got me why does the other maid in the story push her into playing an heiress and then suddenly go with her every where? Why is she seen with the man she is encouraging her friend to become a mistress too? <br /><br />And still how to keep her alive, make the money to pay for her fathers debts.. yet would that even save her life? And why do they want her dead? <br /><br />Will her love interest Mr. Black save her or turn her in as his friends murderer? <br /><br />Don't let the slow start get you bogged down.. when this gets going the plot twists and turns have you thinking and jumping and looking for clues.<br /><br />Add in a crazy guy who loves to dress in odd costumes including walking around in his union suit :) Makes for a great read! <br /><br />I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.