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SAY YES TO THE MARQUESS
Castles Ever After Book 2
Tessa Dare
Avon Publishing
ISBN# 978-0-06-224020-0
January 2015
Historical Romance

Clio Whitmore has been waiting for her betrothed for eight years. Eight years and she's barely even seen or heard from Piers Brandon. So when she's suddenly inherited a castle of her very own, she realizes that she doesn't need a man. She'll take her castle and live happily by herself. The only problem is she needs to get the betrothal agreement rescinded and in order to do that, she needs his brother to sign some legal papers to that effect.

Rafe Brandon, prizefighter and second son, is not about to sign papers dissolving his absent brother's engagement. He knows that Piers wants Clio, something she doesn't understand or believe. How could Peirs not when he himself has always wanted her? So he decides to make the wedding arrangements himself, with the help of his "wedding planner", aka his boxing match organizer. He lavishes her with flowers, cakes and gowns, all the while singing his brother's regards for her.

Clio doesn't care how much effort Rafe puts into this farce, she is not about to marry a man who doesn't love her. And what's more, she doesn't love Piers. However, though, as the days wear on, she becomes more entranced with Rafe and after he admits his attraction to her that began a long time ago, she can't help but wonder what it would be like to be with him. With Piers' arrival soon approaching, Rafe must convince Clio to marry Piers or she must convince Rafe to sign the papers. The only drawback is the unexpected little snag called love.

Having read previous books by Ms. Dare, I was quite excited to read this scenario. I loved the idea that Rafe has secretly loved Clio from afar for years, and secretly Clio has always had a fascination with Rafe. The attraction is immediate of course, but it takes longer for the passion and heat to build up. The secondary characters are mostly fun, except for her annoying sister Daphne and her husband. The younger sister, Phoebe seems to make a good candidate for a romance of her own. The funniest characters is Rafe's tag-a-long, Bruiser, trying to be a wedding planner but has little to no idea of etiquette. It is a charming and satisfying read, even though there wasn't much of a real question of if these two would end up together, it was how. I look forward to reading about Piers at some point as well.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Jones
Rating: 4