The Secret of Flirting

When I see a book by Sabrina Jeffries, I know before reading that I will be lost in a wonderful world of the imagination. I picked up a book of hers years ago, "The Truth About Lord Stoneville" and it opened up the world of historical romance for me again after a few years hiatus. I have been hooked ever since! This author has a wonderful prose that draws you quickly into the story and it is easy to get lost in the characters. Such is the case with the hero Gregory, Baron Fulkham, spymaster (yes we have a wonderful spy!) and actress, Monique Servais aka Princess Anne of Chanay (which she isn't!). Does that get your attention yet? It should because this is a story of things not being what they seem but outside forces make it seem so. Monique is the granddaughter of a Royal princess of Chanay but ran away with an actor years ago and became an actress. Estranged from her family she meets Gregory after one of her performances but nothing comes of it. Fast forward three years later, Monique is taking care of her grandmother and asked to impersonate her cousin and pretend to be a royal. Gregory steps back into the picture and just knows, Monique is the girl he met years ago. This story is full of intrigue, suspense, betrayal and yes a romance. I so enjoyed this tale and although part of a series, this can be read as a standalone. Do not let this one pass you by!

3.5* I love the Sinful Suitors series and this is book #5! Gregory Vyse, Baron of Fulkham, lives a lonely life of a spymaster. He guards his personal life and never lets anyone to close, especially women. His parents relationship was proof that Love was unstable and empty. Monique Servais is a beautiful actress in Dieppe and she the talk of the town. She has no time for admirers, her grandmother who was in declining health needed her at home. Monique loved her grandmother but she longed for freedom to pursue her acting career. On the night that Gregory and Monique meet they proceed to insult each other with arrogance and insults but they both are left with a lasting impression of the other. Three years later Gregory meets Princess Ann of Belgium who looks remarkably like the beautiful Monique Servais. Gregory knows that the princess is Monique but how to prove it? Then the attempts on her life and their mounting feelings for each other start things are not as clear as they seem to be. With Monique’s life on the line and his career hanging in the balance Gregory must find away to save them both. The book has strong characters and is full of witty banter and sexual tension, with that being said it was not as good as the other books in the series. I think it just missed the mark with a bit of a far fletched plot. I still think the book was very much worth the read.