A Wicked Liaison

The blurb for A Wicked Liaison promised a fun, easy read and so I picked it up when I was in the mood for one. In this regard, I was not disappointed. The story is a pretty basic one. Antony Smythe is a sort of gentleman thief who steals from the rich on behalf of the government and occasionally because he's just bored. His latest assignment is Lord Barton who has stolen engraving plates for ten pound notes from England. Antony needs to get them back and to do so, he must spy on the woman believed to be Barton's mistress. This woman is Constance Townley, dowager Duchess of Wellford, who is actually innocent of being a mistress and of any crime. However, it soon becomes obvious that Barton wants to take her innocence so together she and Antony must defeat the lecherous lord. I was immediately drawn to this book because of the charming romance. Constance and Antony are both likable characters and easy to root for. He's a caring, compassionate and surprisingly honourable man who's been secretly in love with her for years and never has anything but good intentions toward her. She's practical and a little shy, a more than worthy woman. There are lots of sweet, stolen kisses and chance encounters between them and I never doubted that they were soulmates. The writing style here was solid; no annoying head-hopping, good descriptions and entertaining banter between the leads. The plot was simple but carried along at a pleasant pace and came to a satisfying, if slightly sappy, conclusion. A well constructed book for sure. A couple small things made this only a four star read. Constance, in keeping true to her name, is constantly at the mercy of the powerful men in her life and she often acts like a martyr. It was distressing for a reader who just wanted a fun experience. I also felt that the friendly relationship between the leads and their servants was too silly even for me. Neither of these things were enough to ruin the book for me though and I don't hesitate to recommend it as a pleasant afternoon read.