To Wed a Scandalous Spy (The Royal Four, Book One): Celeste Bradley

"Lovely, highborn Willa Trent was an orphan, raised by a local, somewhat odd family in the country, who want nothing but the best for their girl. So when she drags home the unconscious man she accidentally hit with a slingshot, they arrange a hasty marriage and pack the couple off with best wishes. Armed with a groggy husband and a new future, Willa's pie-eyes optimism has no limits...until she discovers the secret, dangerous world of Nathaniel Stonewall, Earl of Readon, a.k.a. "Lord Treason."

"Though Nathaniel is reviled by most of England for his devious plot against the Crown, he is, in reality, a member of an elite cadre of secret royal defenders on a daring undercover mission. He must keep his secrets at all costs, especially from Willa. And yet, he is enchanted...though he stubbornly refuses to surrender to his passion. Far better, he tells himself, to turn his back on love than risk everything for it. Luckily, his bride has other plans..."

So, this author and series is AMAZING! This is the first book in The Royal Four series. I love the time period it is set in and the writing is fantastic. Granted the "romance" scenes are some of the most numerous in a single book that I have ever read, they are far from mundane and boring.

The characters captivate the readers throughout the book and their interactions range from cringe-worthy awkward to laugh-out-loud hysterical. Sometimes the reader wants to punch out Lord Reardon while other times you nearly wish to cry for his agonizing pain and forced decision between life and country. The dialogue is amazingly witty and entirely believeable. I would HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone interested in delightfully witty, sexy, and relatable plotlines as well as characters.

(Don't make the same mistake I did. I read the FOURTH book first, not knowing it was part of a series and it almost ruined the rest of the series for me, but just make sure that you get the right one. Bradley has written another series called The Liar's Club which is almost a disconnected prelude to this one--I don't know how else to explain it. You are able to read this series without reading the other--like I did--but there are some connections and relationships that may not make complete sense unless you read the four books in the Liar's Club Series. The first one--I believe--is titled The Pretender, and as soon as I am able to, I will get that series!)