Guest Review: Romancing the Countess by Ashley March

Tracy’s review of Romancing the Countess by Ashley March

Sebastian Madinger, the Earl of Wriothesly, thought he’d married the perfect woman-until a fatal accident revealed her betrayal with his best friend. After their deaths, Sebastian is determined to avoid a scandal for the sake of his son. But his best friend’s widow is just as determined to cast her mourning veil aside by hosting a party that will surely destroy both their reputations and expose all of his carefully kept secrets…

Leah George has carried the painful knowledge of her husband’s affair for almost a year. All she wants now is to enjoy her independence and make a new life for herself-even if that means being ostracized by the Society whose rules she was raised to obey. Now that the rumors are flying, there’s only one thing left for Sebastian to do: silence the scandal by enticing the improper widow into becoming a proper wife. But when it comes to matters of the heart, neither Sebastian nor Leah is prepared for the passion they discover in each other’s arms….

Leah George should be wracked with grief over the loss of her husband but she feels nothing but relief. She’s known that he was having an affair with his best friend’s wife and the knowledge ate at her every day that he was alive. Leah wants nothing more than to move on with her life – she’s only 20 years old after all – but there are many things and people standing in her way. First there’s society. They expect her to be in widow weeds for a year and she hates that! Then there is her dead husband’s best friend, Sebastian, the Earl of Wriothesly. He wants Leah to say that her husband was just accompanying Sebastian’s wife, Angela, and to quell any rumors of the affair that might appear. She agrees but only because he’s doing it because of his son, Henry. He wants absolutely no speculation that Henry might not be his son.

Leah decides that she needs to break out of the mold a bit and throws a house party just 4 months after Ian’s death. She says to the attendees that the party is to honor Ian and to have them all do the things that he loved to do – but they’re really just things that Leah herself wants to do. Since she only invited those who didn’t know Ian well they have no clue. Sebastian shows up at the house party to berate Leah for her callousness and to try to stop her but he doesn’t succeed. What does happen is that Sebastian finds himself becoming attracted to this woman who was once just an extension of Ian with no personality of her own – but he’s found that’s not who she is at all.

Sebastian himself has been tortured with the knowledge that the wife that he loved and could hardly be away from not only was having an affair but with his best friend. If that wasn’t bad enough Leah says that she has letters that Angela wrote to Ian that state her love for him. Sebastian wants to wallow in his grief but instead he decides to live. He starts spending more time with his son which is a wonderful thing. But then he needs to keep Leah in check – especially when she goes a bit crazy at her house party and people start spreading rumors about not only Leah and Sebastian but also Angela and Ian. In order to stop the rumors Sebastian proposes a marriage to Leah. He states that it is in name only and they won’t consummate the marriage until she’s ready – if she ever is. He tells her it’s because of the rumors and the need for a mother for Henry but he’s really fallen in love with her and wants her near. Leah, though she agrees has issues that stemmed from her marriage with Ian and they are holding her back from truly giving the marriage her all.

This was a very good story that had my attention from start to finish. The tension throughout the book was palpable. From the carriage accident to the house party to the marriage between Sebastian and Leah I could feel whatever the characters were feeling whether it was anxiety, sadness or love.

I have to admit to being confused about Leah for a long time during the book. I understood some of her motivations but for a long while in the story we weren’t given all of the information. The minute everything was brought to light my feelings for her character changed and she became much more likeable. I felt bad for her with regard to her relationship with Ian but was so happy to see her have the possibility with Sebastian who truly loved her.

Sebastian seemed a little obsessed with Angela when I first started the book and I wasn’t sure if I liked him very much. I guess after reading that in the letters she wrote to Ian that she couldn’t stand to be touched by Sebastian any longer I thought maybe Sebastian was a bit dense and blind because how could he not see that? I assume in this case he loved her, never thought badly of her and chose not to notice how she was pulling away from him. I felt as horrible for him as I did Leah after a bit and was quite happy with him when he chose to start living again.

The romance between Leah and Sebastian was not always easy but it was very well written and I enjoyed reading it. The ending was quite satisfying with a conclusion that made me smile. I can say that if you like historical romance you will like this book.

Rating: 4 out of 5

You can read more from Tracy at Tracy’s Place

This book is available from Signet. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

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