Beautiful heiress Madelene Dowding has finished the required six-month mourning period for her mother. Her focus is on the orphanage her mother had always wanted and ignoring the matchmaking mamas and their senseless sons. When her friend goes missing, Madelene sets out to find her, no matter the cost. Her path crosses that of the newly returned Marquis of Hawthorne, who has his own secrets. Will they ever see eye-to-eye or will the plot hanging over them end a romance before it has begun?

I've seen this author's books associated with some of my favorite authors, so I was excited for the chance to read this. The premise sounded fascinating: a young lady who ventures into the unsavory side of London in pursuit of the truth and a lard who spies for his country. There have been several spy-Regency books that have been marvelous reads.

Unfortunately, while the plot was interesting, it did not have the characters to pull it off. I was constantly confused at the actions of both main leads. Madelene confused me the most. She came across as spoiled because it was constantly pointed out that she could do as she pleased because she was a young, beautiful heiress. And she would just do that, with no regard for her reputation until it suited her to be concerned. (Also, why did she take up boxing? It is never explained how she became interested in this unusual pastime.)

They proclaimed Lord Hawthorne as a skilled spy who evaded the French on foreign soil. But in the entire course of this story, he has some rather idiotic plans and did not have the caution someone in his position must have needed. Lying well (And he doesn't even do this well) does not a spy make. When they are together, this pair mostly argue and insult each other until suddenly...they love each other.

I had the feeling both characters would do something just for the plot to happen. None of it had a natural flow, and they both had contradictory behavior. The dialogue was stilted and often used for exposition.

Overall, this just wasn't a book for me and I doubt I will continue with the series. I received a free copy from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own. ( )