Its a buy buy book! A unique twist to the normal historical writing. This author has a way of entertaining her readers. She creates characters that you can like and enjoy reading about as well as those you can feel empathy and bond with. She has humor and passion, and love and life in her story. Though this is a part of a series, you do not need to read the first to read the second. I liked the first but the second was maybe a little hilly in words at times, so I gave it 4 stars. By all means understand it is only my thought. You must read this book, as it is enjoyable and gives the reader the escape into another world that is charming and consuming. Not the normal type of historical romance so perhaps that will be of interest also. I was given this book in return for a honest review. Anna

Jack, the new Marquess of Lendale is Lia Kincaid's oldest and dearest friend. Lia is the granddaughter of the previous Marquess' mistress and the illegitimate daughter of the Duke of York. She lives with her grandmother in Bluebell Cottage on Jack's estate, Stonefell.

Since the passing of his uncle, Jack has made some shocking discoveries, the main one being the ghastly state of the estates finances. He has no idea how he is going to be able to support the estate, let alone Lia and her grandmother. Jack has loved Lia for as long as he can remember, in a strictly platonic way, but seeing her again after so long, he begins to realize that Lia is no longer a little girl and is horrified by the lust he feels for her.

When Lia realizes that Jack is not in a position to support them any longer, she hatches a plan. She will move to London with her mother and become an actress - the only problem with her plan is that she can't sing, dance or act. Her grandmother suggests that she become a courtesan and Jack is adamantly opposed to this plan - he assures Lia that he will always take care of them.

Lia loves Jack and doesn't want to burden him, so she slips off to London without telling him. Lia knows that Jack will have to marry a rich woman to save the estate and knows that she and her grandmother will only cause him grief. When she arrives in London, she realizes her options are limited and being a courtesan might be the only thing she is qualified to do.

When Jack finally tracks her down, Lia learns that she has an extended family that she never knew about. Chloe, Dominick, Charles and Gillian all welcome Lia with open arms and tell her they will help her find a husband, by launching her into society. Again Jack is not happy with this plan, Lia is his responsibility and he wants her to go back to Stonefell.

Lia is still certain that she will have to become a courtesan and as much as she appreciates her new family, she continues to pursue her original plan and ends up needing to be rescued more than once. After one such rescue, Jack and Lia share a passionate encounter and Jack declares that they will marry. Lia knows that marrying Jack will ruin him and refuses - but they make a bargain, three weeks to either come to an agreement or Jack will help her find a protector.

What could possibly go wrong?

This is a wonderful addition to the Improper Princesses series! It is well written, flows nicely, has a lot of twists and turns, some laugh out loud moments, some tense moments and some very thought provoking scenes, it is not as steamy as most of the other books in the series, but the love scenes are on the warmer side. This is the second book in the series, but it could be read as a stand alone - however to truly appreciate Gillian's role in this book, you should read the previous book, My Fair Princess.

Kindle Copy for Review

The Easton men has a thing for Kincaid women but it did not lead too marriage.

Lia is the illegitimate daughter of the Duke of York and was raised by her grandmother who was mistress to the late Marquess of Lendale. She knows she will not be able to have a suitable match. Unfortunately her childhood friend Jack Easton the new Marquis is honorable and would not bed her.

Jack finds himself with a title that he does not want and the expectation to find a wealthy bride. All he really wants is to marry Lia but she is against it. But Lia makes an outrageous suggestion for him to test possible candidates as potential subjects for her to test possible lovers for her role as a courtesan.

Tests that include flirting and kissing which leading to more than they bargain. Will they be able to resist once they had a taste and realize they want more? Will they be able to go past their family and be able to let each other love the other? A sweeping love story.

I loved this book! It was exciting, suspenseful steamy and heartwarming at the same time. Lia and Jack just drew you in as if you were there with them. I couldn't put it down!

From the Improper Princesses series.
Lia Kincaid and Jack Lendale practically grew up as family, but Lia was being raised by her grandmother, an infamous courtesan.
Jack's uncle, Lord Arthur Lendale, met Rebecca after the passing of his beloved wife and installed her in the dower house as his mistress. However good intentioned, Arthur did not provide for the pair upon his death, or really even before their home was deteriorating fast.
Grandmother suggests she become a mistress as she has no dowry for the marriage mart and no connections.
After Jack has a meltdown upon hearing her plan, Lia leaves for London to try to come up with a solution for their dilemma.
This historical tale has it all, mystery, angst, romance and tidbits of humor. Colorfully woven, I looked up at the end …..Damn it was over.
I look forward to the next impatiently.
When I saw the opportunity on NetGalley for an ARC I jumped on it and was thrilled to get one.
My opinions are my own but if you want a sweet historical with some STEAMY passages, this is the one.

This is the best book, of childhood friends, growing into adulthood. Jack Easton, heir, to a Marguis, goes off to war, to come home to a failing Estate.
Lifelong friends, Lia, the illigitimate daughter of The Duke of York, and granddaughter of The old Marquis Mistress. The two are now grown, and facing grown-up problems. This is in my top Four books of this year! I highly recommend it today! Thanks! Enjoy!
Carolintallahassee 👒

I was lucky enough to be able to read an ARC and I very much enjoyed this book. The plot is a little reminiscent of Gigi except of course that our hero Jack is not rich and really should be looking for a wealthy bride in order to repair the crumbling estate he has inherited from his Uncle. There are many funny moments when our intrepid heroine Lia tries and fails find a way to support herself and her grandmother, as well as quite dramatic and suspenseful moments and a lovely HEA. Once again Vanessa Kelly has written a lovely story that will definitely find a place on my favourites shelf.

Consider this the trope of a victorious childhood friend--he eventually overcomes family disapproval, bad estate finances and realizing the woman he considered a tag-along little sister is really the one he wants--in a very slow burn book that only really gets hot about 3/4 of the way, and with a romantic rival red herring who deserves a book of his own.

This novel was a good read and the second book in the series. You do not need to read the first book but some of the characters in the first book appear in this book. This series is about illegitimate children from royalty that are trying to achieve respectability in society despite their upbringing.
Lia Kincaid, illegitimate daughter of the Duke of York, was raised on the Lendale estate since her grandmother was the lover of the late marquess. Lia's mother is an actress and mainly left Lia with her grandmother. Lia is kind, compassionate, and protects others.
Jack Easton, the current Marquess of Lendale after his uncle died grew up with Lia and spent time with her, even though his mother discouraged it. Jack's mother has her reasons for disliking the Kincaid women, even though none of it has to done with Lia. Jack has inherited debts and needs to marry an heiress. However, Jack will not have the marriage his parents had, where is father had several mistresses and did not treat his mother well. Jack always cared for Lia, and she him.
Lia knows Jack needs to marry well and that she and her grandmother cannot stay on the estate. She plans to go to London and tries acting, but is not successful and then starts to think she should get a protector. This angers Jack and he does not want Lia with any man but him. They argue constantly over this, both having valid points. However, with Lia's background, it would be hard to find a respectable gentleman to marry. However, Lia gets help from family she did not know she had. Still, there are others who want to see Lia fail and will try to hurt her and others around her, since Lia is protective of people and will stand up to those, regardless of their status. Jack realizes he loves Lia and wants to marry her despite some people's objections. When he realizes Lia is serious about getting a protector, he does everything he can to convince her that she belongs with him. Will Jack convince Lia to marry him or will Lia try to save Jack from what she believes is a mistake even though she loves him?