Review

Miss Charlotte Allston is unwittingly ensnared in a sinister web of traitors and spies when she is literally swept off her feet by a handsome stranger on the beach. Fiercely determined to redeem his honour after a humiliating military defeat, the Earl of Backport is living incognito, hunting a band of smugglers at the centre of a French plot to invade England.

The enigmatic Miss Alliston instantly becomes a person of interest to the earl…and not just in the smuggling case. Passion flares swift and hot between the two. But when her attempts to help with his secret mission only endangers it, he must question where her loyalty truly lies.

Stunned by the sudden revelation that the woman he is falling for is the daughter of a notorious smuggler, Backport feels duty bound to report her. But then Charlotte is captured by the very traitors he is after, forcing the earl to decide between redemption …and love.

What a fun and thrilling romance which is full of intrigue and twists and turns, this is the first book I have read by Elizabeth Keynesian but it is a book that I initially thought sounded interesting and I was right, and from this, I would definitely read more of this authors work.

The only thing I will say against it is I thought the first part was a little long-winded and it took a while to get into the story and for Charlotte and Rafe’s personalities to really show, but after that is highly enjoyable read. Once we have got past the initial introductions and Rafe and Charlotte find out each other’s true identity then it’s an exciting romance. The highlight for me is definitely when Charlotte gets kidnapped by the very men Rafe has been hunting, the complications of what has happened and who they both are is the driving force of the story and it takes you on a thrilling adventure.

Dorset 1804, Charlotte Allston is out wandering the beach when she finds a scrap of expensive lace, as she wades into the sea to rescue this piece of material that she is planning to use later she literally gets lifted off her feet by a dark and mysterious stranger – whom she finds is more interested in a scrap of lace then her. She is both mystified about and relieved, being the daughter of a smuggler, she knows the goings on in this bay and his attitude suddenly makes her wonder if he is a smuggler too and if not then he could be even more dangerous than she could ever imagine.

Rafe is drawn to the independent and beautiful Charlotte, he longs to know her and yet deep down he is highly suspicious of her. He thinks that it wasn’t a coincidence that this beautiful young woman suddenly appears on the beach and finds this illegal piece of lace that has been brought in by the smugglers, was she involved in the shipment of lace? Or is she as innocent as she makes out to be? Either way, he knows that this woman is so much more than he originally thought, and she must be watched either to prove her innocence or protect her from those that could do her harm.

Charlotte is living quietly trying to not bring attention to herself for she has a secret that must never be known, one that again could ruin her life as it had before so when she meets the handsome and mysterious Rafe Pomeroy she knows that her secret could very well be revealed.

Rafe Pomeroy; Earl of Backport after leaving the military under somewhat embarrassing circumstances has been given the assignment to find a traitor, someone who is in league with Napoleon in this little sleepy fisherman village. He has been informed that the person is in this village and he is determined to uncover the identity of the villain. He is a proud dutiful man who just wants to prove that yes, he is worth something and yes, he can do something useful because before this point he has been at a loss, especially after his humiliating military career.

I like the relationship between Charlotte and Rafe, they have both skeletons hidden and both on high alert and yet you can see that out of all others they trust one another. Their romance is a slow burner and develops throughout the story and it is highly satisfying when they do finally give in to their feelings for each other.

A Perilous Passion is sweet, charming and with an exciting undercurrent with smugglers and traitors running through the story and it is one that I do recommend. The story is exciting, fun and hugely entertaining.

This was an ARC/Complimentary copy via the author in exchange for an honest review.

A Perilous Passion is out now and can be purchased on Amazon.