Married to the Viscount (Swanlea Spinsters, Book 5)

Congratulations to Sabrina Jeffries on this effort. This gal can write comedy. I giggled and laughed through the amusing pages. Yet, I found the author still maintained an air of yearning and passion. Not a small feat!The storyline is delightfully pure - a stuffy English Viscount and a beautiful, exotic woman. His attitude? "Appearance is everything." Her attitude? "Hogwash."The year is 1821, and in a Philadelphia pub two brothers sit and drink hard cider. Spencer Law, the fifth Viscount Ravenswood daydreams and mutters about the maddening, intriguing Miss Abigail Mercer they recently met. After several mugs of cider, the normally reserved viscount even spouts love poetry. His brother watches in astonished fascination and an idea is born.Viscount Ravenswood returns to his uncluttered life in England. Weeks later, Abigail Mercer travels to England to begin her role as his viscountess. One problem, Ravenswood is not Abigail's husband or is he? With this, Sabrina Jeffries opens the flood gates.This talented author pens a cheerful, tantalizing book from the first page to the last. Spencer Law is a man who does not know what he is neglecting; Abigail Mercer is only too happy to show him. She is an adorable heroine; she is perpetually upbeat and methodically waves her magic wand over the viscount, the refined upper class, and the spellbound reader. Truly, "Married to the Viscount" is an amusing, sensual book. Why not a perfect score? Disturbingly, this reader felt a contemporary touch in some struggles and expressions. Nevertheless, this is a good book, and I will continue my search for this clever author.Grace Atkinson, Ontario - Canada.

Sabrina Jeffries is one author that has written romance novels that I have absolutely loved and written others that I could barely finish. What have I not liked in those books? Aggravating heroines. But Married to the Viscount's heroine, Abigail Mercer, did not fall into that category. She was a highly likable heroine and I loved this tale of Abigail and her viscount. True to Jeffries style, her hero is strong, strong, strong and in control - or at least he tries to be.Viscount Spencer Law has recently returned from a trip wherein he visited his brother in America. During his trip he had become acquainted with Abigail Mercer, the daughter of a successful medicinal inventor. Spencer never intends to marry so he ignores his attraction to Abigail. His refusal to marry is at the heart of Married to the Viscount and is not your usual "I don't plan to marry" hero talk. Spencer plans for his younger brother to continue their family line. However, his brother doesn't want that responsibility either although their reasoning is vastly different.Abigail was fascinated with Viscount Spencer Law when he visited America. She fondly remembers him and eagerly accepts his proposal of marriage by proxy. Spencer's brother stands in for him at this proxy marriage and makes plans for Abigail to travel to England to join her new husband once her father dies. Abigail arrives in England at the viscount's residence about a month later and gives the viscount one big surprise. It seems that Viscount Spencer Law knows nothing of his proxy marriage. Their initial confrontation is made somewhat public since the viscount is hosting a dinner at the time. Abigail faints, as she is thoroughly humiliated and greatly saddened at the truth - she is not married. The viscount is confused, enraged, and at the same time sympathetic of Abigail's vulnerable situation. He wants to do bodily harm to his scheming brother who masterminded this fake proxy marriage but he can't. His brother has disappeared and taken Abigail's dowry with him.Just how this debacle is resolved is, of course, the story of Married to the Viscount. Abigail is well rounded, sensible and mature. She is also older than most virginal heroines. Spencer is not so mature although he is the older, more seasoned of the two. It is his fears and hurt that drive the interaction between the couple. It is not a boring book in the least - it is a fascinating story that I found difficult to put down. The action begins within the first dozen pages and it is basically a love story. There are no villains lurking around the corner. The couple doesn't spend time with silly misunderstandings or lies. Jeffries treats her readers to an intense love story beyond the typical romance plot lines. The story is a luscious one as well and the sensual rating is about a 4.25 out of 5.0 (see More About Me for rating guidelines).All said - I think you can tell that I highly recommend Married to the Viscount. It is a refre

This was a great book to read on a snowy day. I loved it. The main characters, Abby and Spencer, truly were likable. Too often in romance novels, one or other of the leads is likable, but the other is just so-so. Not in this case. They both were instantly likable. Abby is an American with a questionable pedigree. Spencer has a problem which keeps him from wanting to get married, but this problem wasn't overdone or unrealistic. I won't give spoilers, but this book moves along quickly, has some really funny secondary characters, and comes to a believable and satisfactory conclusion. I have always read Sabrina Jeffries. The Pirate Lord is one of my all-time favorites and Married to the Viscount is a keeper, also. Characters from the last book are mentioned and it was nice to see them again. All in all, this was an excellent book that was hard to put down.

Readers of Ms. Jeffries' previous books will remember the hero of this one, Lord Ravenswood, from "Dance of Seduction." Like me, they probably viewed him as a stuffy bore....but believe me, he's been holding out on us. The heroine is vibrant, intelligent, and more than a match for the former spymaster and his uptight Regency cronies. This one is hot, folks! Don't miss it! A fitting end to an excellent series

In 1821 Viscount Spencer Law accompanied his brother Nat to Philadelphia where he meets attractive Abigail Mercer and her ailing father, owner of Mercer Medicinal Company. Nat wants to own half of Mercer Medicinal, but Spencer has some doubts yet promises to fund the venture. However, the Home office calls Spencer back to England so he leaves Nat behind in the states.A year later, Spencer waits for the arrival of Nat, who is late to his own engagement party to lady Evelina. However, instead of Nat's grand entrance, Abigail, in mourning due to her beloved father's death enters claiming to be Spencer's wife by proxy. Apparently, Nat forged documents, stole Abigail's dowry, and sat in for Spencer at a ceremony. Spencer, who had no plans to marry due to a war injury leaving him unable to produce children, sells Abigail with the idea of a marriage of convenience until they find his wastrel brother who is in hiding.Before readers draw negative conclusions about Nat, he paid for Abigail to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Thus he is much more complex than just the first brush con artist that he seems. Spencer is an intriguing lead protagonist firmly believing he has no future and that the heir must come from Nat. Abigail is a charmer who makes Spencer feels whole. Regency romance fans will have good feelings towards author Sabrina Jeffries for this enjoyable historical.Harriet Klausner