Dangerous

Minerva Spencer

Jun 2018 · The Outcasts Book 1 · Zebra Books

About this ebook

First in a daring Regency series. “A delight from start to finish with swashbuckling action, scorching love scenes, and a coolly arrogant hero to die for.”—Elizabeth Hoyt, New York Times bestselling author

 
Lady Euphemia Marlington hasn’t been free in seventeen years—since she was captured by Corsairs and sold into a harem. Now the sultan is dead and Mia is back in London facing relentless newspapermen, an insatiably curious public, and her first Season. Worst of all is her ashamed father’s ultimatum: marry a man of his choosing or live out her life in seclusion. No doubt her potential groom is a demented octogenarian . . .
 
Adam de Courtney’s first two wives died under mysterious circumstances. Now there isn’t a peer in England willing to let his daughter marry the dangerously handsome man the ton calls The Murderous Marquess. Nobody except Mia’s father, the desperate Duke of Carlisle. Clearly Mia must resemble an aging matron, or worse. However, in need of an heir, Adam will use the arrangement to his advantage . . .
 
But when the two outcasts finally meet, assumptions will be replaced by surprises, deceit by desire—and a meeting of minds between two schemers may lead to a meeting of hearts—if the secrets of their pasts don’t tear them apart . . .
 

“Readers will love this lusty and unusual marriage of convenience story.”—Madeline Hunter, New York Times bestselling author
 
“Smart, witty, graceful, sensual, elegant and gritty all at once. It has all of the meticulous attention to detail I love in Georgette Heyer, BUT WITH SEX!”—Jeffe Kennedy, RITA Award-winning author

Ratings and reviews

Euphemia (Mia) Marlington has just returned to the UK after nearly two decades in the harem of Sultan Babba Hassan in Oran where she bore him a son. Now her father, the Duke of Carlisle, is trying to marry her off, but with her age and her murky unknown past the available men of the right pedigree are sparse and mainly consist of the bankrupt, the decrepit, the deviant and/or the insane. Adam, the Marquess of Exley is an outcast from polite aristocratic society and is widely believed to have murdered both his two wives. He has three daughters by his first wife but needs an heir to secure the line. When he is invited by the Duke of Carlisle to a ball in honour of Mia he sees an opportunity for a marriage of convenience, they will conceive a male heir and then he will leave her alone. Soon Mia's unconventional life makes Adam's plan a distant memory. She is sensual, open about her secual desires and far too tempting. But the newly-weds each have a secret, one that threatens to tear them apart just as they begin to fall in love. I know that many thousands of Europeans were kidnapped, ransomed and/or forced into harems for several hundreds of years - it still makes a fantastic romantic read, with all those inferences about exotic sexual practices and blood-thirsty corsairs. This was a rip-roaring romance with exotic locations, plenty of steamy encounters between the newly-weds, engaging characters and a fast-paced plot. Loved it.

First I will say I enjoyed everything about this book!! What a heroine, Lady Euphemia (Mia) is with all that she gone through that is a story in itself!) and being forced by her father to marry or live out her life alone. She is such a fun character with her outspoken manner and not your run of the mill debutante. The man her father has picked for her, Adam de Courtney has lost two wives and being under suspicion of their murder, he is almost shunned by the Ton. Given the moniker the Murderous Marquess, he would rather be anywhere but in society. When Adam and Mia meet, there is a spark between them, but they have so much to get through. This story was so enjoyable. Full of humor, surprises, secrets and emotion that slowly come together and you will not believe the outcome! A wonderful cast of characters that hopefully have their own stories written, I cannot wait to read more by this author. Do miss miss this book!! Definitely on my keeper shelf!

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ 💋💋 I loved , loved , loved this book , it was such fun to read . Dangerous is a great title and apt for the characters and the storyline. Mia is brilliant such a great character, she sassy and different, not your usual Debutante at all , she’s got her own ideas and is not afraid to flaunt it . Adam I loved so much , damaged by the experience of two bad marriages , kids he doesn’t gel with , the ton who avoid him , he’s just not excepted , until Mia , she slowly worms her way into his life , not changing him but giving him more reasons to develop himself and his attitude to people and life , she shows him how to relax and love and not be scared of his emotions. By introducing the quantity and quality of secondary characters that she has , the author has left herself in an envious position. She can use Adams sister and Daughters ,Mia’s Brother and sons and go down the family saga route . Or she could use the friends route , to create a series , all of them are wonderful and would work well in their own right . This book is well written with humour ,tension, and emotion . I can’t wait to read more of Minerva’s books , and I believe their is much more to come from such a good writer . I received an advanced copy of this book and chose to submit a review

About the author

Minerva Spencer was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She has lived in Canada, the US, Europe, Africa, and Mexico. After receiving her M.A. in Latin American History from The University of Houston she taught American History for five years before going to law school. She was a prosecutor and labor lawyer before purchasing a bed and breakfast in Taos, NM, where she lives with her husband and dozens of rescue animals.